United Rentals 300
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
Course: Daytona International Speedway
Format: Tri-Oval
Lap Length: 2.5 miles
Laps: 120
United Rentals 300 Preview
It feels as if Justin Allgaier was just crowned the Xfinity Series Champion, yet it's time to kick off the 2025 calendar. Like the other two major series, Xfinity will kick off at the iconic Daytona International Speedway. As happens every offseason, there are some new faces to get familiar with and also some departures. Some of the biggest names have departed for the Cup Series and now can be viewed on Sundays, including Riley Herbst, Cole Custer, Shane van Gisbergen and AJ Allmendinger. Luckily, there's a strong crop of rookies ready to step up in their place, highlighted by Connor Zilisch, Carson Kvapil, Christian Eckes and Nick Sanchez. There are plenty of additional newcomers that will come up throughout the season and this weekend, but for now let's jump into the United Rentals 300 preview.
Key Stats at Daytona Speedway
- Number of Races: 66
- Winners from Pole: 6
- Winners from Top 5: 31
- Winners from Top 10: 47
Previous Winners at Daytona International Speedway
2024- Ryan Truex
2024 – Austin Hill
2023- Justin Allgaier
2023- Austin Hill
2022- Jeremy Clements
2022- Austin Hill
2021- Justin Haley
2021- Austin Cindric
2020 – Justin Haley
2020- Noah Gragson
Daytona International Speedway is one of the most well-known speedways in the country and annually kicks off the NASCAR calendar. The superspeedway is known for producing the "big one," a race-altering crash that often alters the outcome of the race in a significant manner. That isn't to say there's no predictability or skill involved. As the results suggest, qualifying is important as 47 of the 66 races have been won by a driver starting inside the top 10.
Superspeedways are unique compared to other tracks we see throughout the calendar. Cars often race in packs by manufacturer and follow similar strategies. Chevrolet has been the dominant manufacturer in recent years. Of the last 10 races, Chevrolet drivers have won on eight occasions with Toyota and Ford winning only once each.
We don't have much of a sample on the track this year, though Toyota looked particularly strong in qualifying and the Duels in the Cup Series. In Xfinity practice Friday, five of the 10 fastest laps were recorded by Toyota drivers. Perhaps there will be a changing of the guard.
NASCAR Xfinity DFS Tools
DraftKings Values for the United Rentals 300
Based on a Standard $50K Salary Cap
Tier 1 DraftKings Values
Austin Hill - $10,500
Justin Allgaier - $10,000
Tier 2 DraftKings Values
Brandon Jones - $9,000
Taylor Gray - $8,400
William Sawalich - $8,300
Tier 3 DraftKings Values
Carson Kvapil - $8,100
Ryan Truex - $8,000
Justin Bonsignore - $7,300
Dean Thompson - $7,400
Tier 4 DraftKings Values
Anthony Alfredo - $6,900
Matt DiBenedetto - $6,600
NASCAR Xfinity Picks for the United Rentals 300
Austin Hill - $10,500
Brandon Jones - $9,000
Taylor Gray - $8,400
William Sawalich - $8,300
Anthony Alfredo - $6,900
Matt DiBenedetto - $6,600
There's a lot of opportunity early in the season in the lower series of racing due to all of the uncertainty and turnover in the driver pool. Several of the top drivers have vacated the Xfinity Series, leading to opportunity for drivers to rise up the field and newcomers to make their mark. However, we'll begin with Hill. He's won each of the last two winter/spring races in Daytona and is one of the strongest (if not the strongest) drivers on superspeedway tracks. From that perspective, he's an easy choice. The question comes from a gaming perspective, as he's approximated to be rostered at a 29 percent clip. There are available pivots in the Tier 1 range, with Allgaier being my preferred option over Jesse Love. Love's results can be interpreted two different ways, as he's qualified well only to struggle in races. He could be due for a strong finish, or he may struggle to convert at the track.
From there, there are strong options to lean into the theory that Toyota could overperform relative to recent track history. Brandon Jones is one of the more experienced drivers in the field. He admittedly doesn't have strong results at the track during his career, but with a lot of unknowns in the field, he could be worth leaning on.
Speaking of inexperienced drivers in the Xfinity series, the price range of $8,500-$7,000 is filled with young and promising drivers. Gray and Sawalich both turned in excellent practice times and project to be some of the top values at a minimal roster rate. Kvapil is another option in the same price range but is projected to be one of the most popular selections in lineups. In bigger tournaments, swapping to Gray and/or Sawalich could be the right move.
There won't be many times that we compare Alfredo and Love this season, but they have had similar results at Daytona. Alfredo has qualified inside the top 10 in three of the last four races at the track but has yet to finish above 24th in any of those three races. Relative to Love's price, I'm more willing to take the chance on Alfredo finally converting potentially strong qualifying into a result.
Watch out for DiBenedetto's qualifying. He finished with the ninth-fastest practice lap time and could be a sneaky punt option.
NASCAR Xfinity Best Bets for the United Rentals 300
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 10:00 AM ET Saturday
Race Winner – Justin Allgaier +600, Sheldon Creed +1300
There isn't a robust market for the Xfinity race, with the only wager available being for the race winner. Austin Hill would be my pick without odds being involved, but he's currently priced at +300. In a race with several big collisions likely, that's a big risk to take even on a driver with Hill's track record. Meanwhile, since 2022, Allgaier has the second-highest driver rating at Daytona among Xfinity drivers.
Creed has never won an Xfinity race, but he's consistently at the top of the field and has finished second at Daytona twice. He moved from Joe Gibbs Racing to the Haas Factory Team this offseason so there is some risk here, but his odds are long enough to be intriguing given his track record.
