Xfinity 500: NASCAR DFS Picks & Preview

The Xfinity 500 represents the final chance for all playoff drivers not named Joey Logano (he’s already in) to secure their place in the Championship.

Location

Martinsville Speedway

Track Type

• 0.53-mile oval

Laps

• 500

Last 10 Track Winners

• Spring 2022: William Byron
• Fall 2021: Alex Bowman
• Spring 2021: Martin Truex Jr.
• Fall 2020: Chase Elliott
• Spring 2020: Martin Truex Jr.
• Fall 2019: Martin Truex Jr.
• Spring 2019: Brad Keselowski
• Fall 2018: Joey Logano
• Spring 2018: Clint Bowyer
• Fall 2017: Kyle Busch

Last 10 Track Winners by Model

• Toyota: 4
• Chevrolet: 3
• Ford: 3

Xfinity 500: NASCAR DFS

We continue our march to the Cup Championship by heading to Martinsville and its half-mile oval in the last elimination race before the final four drivers compete for the title. After dominating last week’s race, Kyle Larson will sit in pole position when the cars enter the starting zone on Sunday afternoon. He is racing with a chip on his shoulder at this point, it seems, and is a viable play for DFS if you want to collect laps led or fastest lap times.

However, Larson is no longer a playoff driver. So much like the past couple of weeks, let’s look at the remaining eight’s starting positions (SP), the driver’s rating (DR) at Martinsville, and his salary on FanDuel (FD) and DraftKings (DK). For today, we’ll simply call all eight drivers “The Contenders” before moving into optimal DFS plays to round out your lineups for the Xfinity 500.

The Contenders

The drivers are listed in order of their current ranking in the Cup Standings.

1. Joey Logano (SP 12, DR 105.3): $12,000 FD / $10,000 DK
2. Ross Chastain (SP 9, DR 55.2): $10,500 FD / $9,700 DK
3. Chase Elliott (SP 2, DR 117.3): $14,000 FD / $11,200 DK
4. William Byron (SP 25, DR 100.0): $13,500 FD / $10,800 DK
5. Denny Hamlin (SP 11, DR 92.5): $13,000 FD / $11,400 DK
6. Ryan Blaney (SP 4, DR 109.0): $12,500 FD / $10,400 DK
7. Christopher Bell (SP 20, DR 80.3): $11,000 FD / $9,300 DK
8. Chase Briscoe (SP 3, DR 61.2): $8,800 FD / $8,000 DK

Blaney and Logano top the chart for driver ratings over the most recent seven races. However, Martin Truex and Denny Hamlin have the strongest historical resumes in Martinsville, and goodness knows that Hamlin will be motivated. He is five points below Byron for the final spot.

It’s important to remember that while playoff drivers are often good choices at this stage of the season, it’s important to find values up and down the lineup. When analyzing the data for the Xfinity 500, here are some values for each site.

Regarding positional points, William Byron, the most recent winner at Martinsville, looks like this week’s slam dunk at No. 25. Chris Buescher shows up on both sites as a value, having finished in the top 20 five times and the top 10 once in the last seven races. Interestingly, the biggest values on DraftKings are the high rollers, with the best lineup builder (under $6,000) being Ty Dillon at $5,300.

With so much attention on the other sports in DFS, October really is the best time to join both cash and GPP contests in NASCAR. If you want to chat about any and all things fantasy, hit me up on Twitter at @thewonkypenguin. The following are two lineups for each site that I plan on entering into GPP contests for the Xfinity 500. And, as always, good luck!