The NASCAR XFINITY Series continues the road course-heavy portion of its summer schedule with a trip to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend. Saturday’s B&L Transport 170 will be the seventh time the series has visited the 2.25-mile, 13-turn track, and with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series bust at Michigan International Speedway, the race should be decided by the series regular and some road course ringers.
At the top of the list of ringers will be A.J. Allmendinger, a former winner at Mid-Ohio in the XFINITY Series and a former road course winner at the Cup level. He will be joined by Regan Smith, another Mid-Ohio winner, who will be back in the XFINITY Series for the first time since 2017. You also have series regulars like Justin Allgaier and Austin Cindric who both excel at road racing.
Keep an eye out to see if DraftKings adds Jack Hawksworth to the player pool, as well. Following the announcement that Jeffrey Earnhardt would no longer drive for Joe Gibbs Racing, Hawksworth was tabbed to drive the No. 18 JGR machine this weekend. He has never made a start in the XFINITY Series, but he has plenty of road racing experience from his time in IndyCar and IMSA. Plus, he has some of the best equipment on the track. File the name away.
In general, I recommend building around these road course aces when constructing your NASCAR DFS rosters at DraftKings this weekend. This means that for the second race in a row, I don’t expect to have a ton of exposure, if any, to the “Big 3” of Christopher Bell, Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick.
Don’t get me wrong, all three of the championship favorites ran well last weekend at Watkins Glen. Bell was the runner-up, Reddick rallied to finish in the Top 5 and Custer finished seventh. However, Bell and Reddick both started in the Top 5 to begin with, and the trio combined to lead a total of three laps and recorded just five fastest laps.
When you pay a premium for a driver, they either need to have a lot of place differential upside or be able to lead a decent amount of laps. The “Big 3” aren’t dominant road course drivers at this point in their careers, but you aren’t getting much of a discount on them. If one of them happens to qualify in the middle of the pack or worse, then I will have no problem paying the price. If they all start towards the front, I don’t think you will get your money’s worth out of them.
Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter at @BPolking after qualifying for lineup advice or with any questions about a particular driver. In the meantime, take a closer look at the drivers I expect to target at DraftKings for the XFINITY Series B&L Transport 170 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Course.
Must-Own Drivers
A.J. Allmendinger ($11,100)
Yes, he was disqualified at Watkins Glen for a post-race violation, but Allmendinger has now crossed the finish line either first or second in all four of his road course starts in the XFINITY Series, leading more than 20 laps in all four of those races. In his only start at Mid-Ohio, Allmendinger led 73 of the 94 laps and went to victory lane. Dominator points seem like a given, and there is a great chance he finishes as the top scorer at DraftKings.
Justin Allgaier ($10,700)
Coming off a third-place finish at Watkins Glen, Allgaier has now finished in the Top 3 in four of the last five road course events. He has a pair of wins in that stretch, including a win at Mid-Ohio last year. Allgaier has finished outside the Top 15 just once in his last 10 road course starts, finishing sixth or better seven times. Allgaier has the safest floor among the series regulars this weekend to go along with plenty of upside.
Austin Cindric ($9,800)
He snuck through a logjam on the final restart and went on the pick up the win at Watkins Glen last weekend, his first victory in the XFINITY Series. Of course, it seemed like only a matter of time before Cindric sealed the deal at a road course. He has finished third or better in three of his last four road course starts, leading a race-high 59 laps and recording 33 fastest laps in a runner-up effort at Mid-Ohio last year. Cindric should deliver his share of dominator points while contending for another win.
Difference Makers and Value Plays
Noah Gragson ($9,600)
He made his first road course start at the XFINITY level last weekend at Watkins Glen and ran well, gaining nine spots and coming away with a ninth-place finish. Gragson also showed promise in his two road races in the Truck Series, finishing second in one and leading the most laps in the other. He should be able to crack the Top 10 Saturday, and Gragson will be hard to pass up if he qualifies in the middle of the pack again.
Chase Briscoe (8,700)
Briscoe’s first road course start in the XFINITY Series came at Mid-Ohio last year, and he managed a Top 15 despite driving for a mediocre Roush Fenway Racing team. He has since made two more road course starts in Stewart-Haas Racing equipment, leading 33 laps in a win at The Roval last fall and finishing sixth at The Glen last weekend. Briscoe is a Top 5 threat available at a midrange price. Take advantage.
Alex Labbe ($8,300)
Labbe turned in another solid road course performance last weekend at Watkins Glen, moving up five spots at finishing 16th. He has now finished inside the Top 20 in all five of his road course starts at the XFINITY level, posting a 14.6 average finish and logging a positive place differential four times.
Regan Smith ($8,200)
Smith has been in just four XFINITY races since the end of the 2015 season, but don’t sleeper on the journeyman this weekend. He landed a ride in the JR Motorsports No. 8 machine, and Mid-Ohio just happens to be one of his best tracks. Smith was the runner-up here in 2014, and he led 19 laps and picked up the win the next year. He could make his presence felt in a big way in his return to the series this weekend.
Jeremy Clements ($7,400)
On the heels of an 11th-place finish last weekend at Watkins Glen, Clements continues to show he can hold his own with the big teams on the road courses. He has a 12.3 average finish in his last six road course starts, cracking the Top 20 in all of them and pulling off an upset win at Road America in 2017. A mid-pack starting spot would seal his status as one of the best value plays.
Josh Williams ($6,900)
Considering he just made his first road course start in the XFINITY Series last weekend, we don’t exactly have much of a sample size on which to judge Williams. Still, he did manage to finish 19th at Watkins Glen after starting way back in 30th. At this price, the Top 20 potential alone should be enough to get your attention, and it will be even easier to gamble on Williams if he starts deep in the field again.
Sleeper Specials
Scott Heckert ($6,300)
He has never made an XFINITY start at Mid-Ohio, but Heckert’s background in road racing paid dividends last weekend at Watkins Glen. Not only did he finished a respectable 13th, but he also gained 10 spots in the process. Back with B.J. McCleod Motorsports for this weekend’s race, you won’t have to spend much to roster this road course ringer.
Will Rodgers ($5,200)
He will make his second career XFINITY start this weekend, and although he had a forgettable debut at Iowa, Rodgers could be in for a much better showing this weekend. He has four career wins in the K&N Series, and all four have come at road courses. He will be back with Brandonbilt Motorsports, a team that has shown Top 15 upside all year. Rodgers could be a bargain this weekend.
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