The Xfinity Series will drop the green flag on their 2022 season with the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner 300 (You have to love the name of these races… LOL). The series, “Where Names are Made” is packed with talented drivers. There are a lot of changes to the Xfinity Series in 2022. Team Penske is gone and so is Kyle Busch. Richard Childress has two rookie drivers (Austin Hill and Sheldon Creed) and Kaulig Racing has the defending champion in their car (Daniel Hemric). Be sure to check out my DFS Xfinity Series Preview article to help prepare for the 2022 season.
Strategy
The race Saturday is scheduled for 120 laps (300 miles). That means there are 30 points available for leading laps and 54 points available for fastest laps. The trend in this race is to have one driver lead 30 laps, two other drivers lead 25 each and the fourth dominator lead 15 laps. The fastest laps are spread throughout the field and do not factor into DraftKings scoring too much. The top dominator usually scores 7.5 bonus points; the second dominators scores 6.25 each and the last dominator scores 3.75 bonus points. Those are not enough dominator points to chase Saturday. We need to focus on finishing position and place differential points.
The top drivers have an easier time staying up from in the Xfinity Series than they do in the Cup Series. It is OK to take a chance with one or two drivers who start in the top-10 in the Xfinity Series but the majority of your team needs to be made up of drivers who start in the back with a good chance to score place differential points.
The Cash Contests strategy this week is simple… Select the best cars from the back and ignore the drivers who start in the top 10. You need to eliminate your risk in Cash Contests and selecting drivers who start up front can ruin your lineup if they crash out of the race early. You will not lose as many points with drivers who start in the back if they crash because the position differential points will not be as significant.
Kaulig Racing Cars: It is always a good idea to stack the Kaulig Racing cars on the Superspeedways. AJ Allmendinger, Justin Haley and Jeb Burton always worked well together and they typically finish up front. AJ Allmendinger will have Daniel Hamric and Landon Cassill to work with this year. I plan to play some lineups where I stack all three Kaulig Racing cars. Two of the Kaulig Racing cars have finishing in the top-five in the last two races at Daytona.
Do not be afraid to leave some salary on the table today. Our goal is to have the best lineup possible and not spend the most money possible. The winning lineup in this race often has $500-$1,000 left on the table.
* The winning lineup in the Truck Series last night had all drivers who started outside the top 20. I expect the winning lineup may be the same today. Here is the lineup…
The Cash Contest that is posted below is similar to the Truck Series lineup which won last night.
Average DraftKings Points at Daytona
This chart shows the best drivers for your lineups Saturday. It is sorted by average DraftKings Points scored at Daytona. Ideally, we want drivers who rank high on this list and start deep in the field. These drivers will have the best chance to score place differential points Saturday.
Core Drivers for Daytona
Kaulig Racing: AJ Allmendinger ($10,400) and Landon Cassill ($9,400) will all be in my core. The Kaulig Racing cars are going to lineup and stay together the entire race. That is what they do. If one finishes in the top-five, typically they all finish in the top five. I have won some I will fade Daniel Hemric since he starts on the pole but I will have some stacks with Allmendinger and Cassill. Allmendinger is a good play for both Cash and Tournament Contests.
Joe Gibbs Racing. The Joe Gibbs Racing cars have the speed but they do not have the experience. Ty Gibbs ($10,100): Gibbs will be making his first start on a Superspeedway in the Xfinity Series. I am not worried about it though. Gibbs has the talent to run well today. Brandon Jones ($9,300) has the most experience and should be a good play in a JGR stack or on his own. Drew Dollar ($7,800) has the most risk because he does not have any experience in this race. I will still be playing Dollar as part of a JGR stack.
Justin Allgaier ($9,900): It is surprising that Allgaier has never won at Daytona before. That does not mean he does not know how to race at this track. Allgaier finished 3rd in the last race at Daytona. Allgaier will be a good pick for Cash and Tournament Contests from the 17th starting position.
Noah Gragson ($9,800): Gragson is either going to win the race at Daytona or wreck trying. He is the most aggressive driver in the Xfinity Series. He will also be racing in his first Daytona 500 and I think the extra seat time will help Gragson today. I will stack Gragson with Allgaier in some Tournament Contest lineups and he should be a good play for Cash Contests from the 14th starting position.
Sam Mayer ($8,900): Mayer only has one start in the Xfinity Series at Daytona. He started 22nd and finished 12th last year. He does not have a lot of experience, but he has a lot of talent. He is a lock for my Cash Contests lineups from the 34th starting position. He is going to be a popular play in Tournament Contests, but we may have to “eat the chalk.”
Myatt Snider ($8,300): Full disclosure… I never have any luck with Snider. When I pick him, he crashes. When I fade him, he finishes in the top-10. Snider should be a good pick today. He finished 7th and 8th at Daytona last year. He will not be in the Richard Childress Racing car any more. Snider will compete for Jordan Anderson Racing today. There is little risk in using Snider today since he starts 33rd. He is a lock for all Cash Contest lineups.
Jeb Burton ($8,000): Burton has been one of the best drivers at Daytona but that had a lot to do with the Kaulig Racing team he was driving for. Now Burton will compete in a Our Motorsports car. Burton should still be able to run well and work with Brett Moffitt and Anthony Alfredo in the race. He is a good pick for both Cash and Tournament Contests today.
Jeremy Clements ($7,300): Clements wasn’t on my radar for this race but then he went out and qualified 35th. Clements has an average finishing position of 20th in his last five races at Daytona. He will have a good chance to score 15+ place differential points so I will use him in Cash and Tournament Contests today.
Ryan Truex ($7,000): Truex has been pretty good at Daytona in the Xfinity Series. He finished 7th in 2018 and 13th in 2018 while driving for Kaulig Racing. Now he will be driving for Sam Hunt Racing. The team received a charter from the No. 19 team at Joe Gibbs Racing and they needed it. Truex had no speed in qualifying. He starts 38th and there is nowhere to go but forward so I will take a chance with him.
Ryan Sieg ($7,100): Sieg is usually a reliable driver at Daytona. He has a lot of experience at this track. He has 10 starts at Daytona and he usually finishes in the top-10 when he brings the car to the finish line in one piece. He has only crashed out of one of his last six races at Daytona so he is showing that he is getting back at this track. Sieg should be a good pick for Cash and Tournament Contest lineups.
Josh Bilicki ($6,700): Bilicki will be driving for DGM Racing today. He is known as a road course racer, but he has been good at Daytona when he hasn’t had engine problems. Bilicki finished 21st and 23rd in his last two races at Daytona. That is not bad since he starts 31st today.
Tommy J. Martins ($6,500): Martins always gets more out of his car than what it has under the hood. Martins has competed in three races at Daytona in the Xfinity Series. He finished 14th, 24th and 18th. Martins starts 32nd so he should score positive place differential points today. I will have Martins in both Cash and Tournament Contest at Daytona.
J.J. Yeley ($6,400): Yeley is always my go-to-driver at Daytona. His average finishing position in his last five races at Daytona is 14th. Not too bad for driver who starts 21st. I was hoping he would qualify a little deeper in the field, but Yeley is still in play since he starts outside the top-20.
Punt Plays for Xfinity Series Race: Shane Lee ($6,800), Josh Williams ($5,900), Joey Gase ($5,700), Kyle Sieg ($4,800)
Here are my picks for the race at Daytona …
DraftKings Cash Contest Lineup
DraftKings Tournament Lineup
Good Luck this week! Let’s go make some $$$!!
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