NASCAR DFS Playbook Shriner's Childrens 200: Top DraftKings Picks

The NASCAR Xfinity Series pushes forth to Watkins Glen International for some Saturday afternoon road course action. It feels a little odd with back-to-back road courses on the schedule. Honestly, don’t be too surprised if you see some familiar named from last week’s NASCAR DFS Playbook. But Watkins Glen plays host to this weekend’s action. Ty Gibbs is back for another round after winning last week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and is going to be a key piece to our lineups for Saturday’s race.

There are a couple of different layouts for Watkins Glen, but NASCAR uses the short course with the inner loop. It features 11 turns although some may argue it’s more like eight. This course measures 2.45 miles in length and we’ll see 82 laps in this race. Similar to last week, those dominator points play less of a role unless a driver can collect a majority of them and win. We won’t have stage breaks (that pesky new rule on road courses) so long green flag runs will make it difficult to gain track position if starting deep in the field. In the last three races for the Xfinity Series at Watkins Glen we’ve seen at least seven cautions.

The NASCAR DFS strategy for the Xfinity and Cup Series is pretty much the same as last week. We only have 82 laps for Saturday’s race. At most we have 57.4 dominator points up for grabs if every single lap is run under green. We know that won’t happen. With cautions, it’s just impossible for this to occur, especially with the Xfinity Series. Realistically we are probably looking more at 48-52 dominator points for Saturday’s race. Not a whole lot. So while it makes sense to target dominator points if a road course specialist lands on the pole, we ultimately want drivers that finish well and get some PD. I likely wouldn’t start more than two drivers starting in the top ten, but I’d probably want at least four drivers starting inside the top 20.

Practice Notes

NASCAR DFS Driver Pool

Ty Gibbs ($10,900)

Surprisingly going to start the Playbook without Kyle Busch leading off. I want to see where he qualifies in the 10-car for Kaulig Racing and then will update the Playbook with my thoughts on whether I’m playing him or not. Gibbs, on the other hand, won last week’s road race at Indy and he won the Xfinity Series race two years ago at Watkins Glen with 43 laps led. Last year he finished 27^th but did lead 25 laps. There’s win equity here and I’d rather take the discount ahead of P&Q with Gibbs because we know he can win in his equipment. I’m not as sold this early on with Busch in a Kaulig car on a road course with only 82 laps. Update: Gibbs is FAST. The practice speed looks kinda “meh” because his car was so fast he kept running into traffic and the drivers in front of him slowed him up. But with less cars on track in qualifying he flashed the speed of this car and landed on the pole. Likely needs to win and lead laps to be optimal, but we know he has that upside as evidenced by last week's fight.

Alex Bowman ($10,500)

Bowman is running the Xfinity Series race this weekend to likely get some extra practice in for the Cup Series. He’s down to just two races to try and win his place into the playoffs so he needs some extra practice. We rarely see him make the jump down here but he did finish second in this car last year at Indy’s road course. William Byron drove this car to a runner-up finish this year at COTA and then Kyle Larson finished third in this ride at Sonoma but did lead over 50 laps. So we know the equipment is good enough to contend. Historically, this track hasn’t been great for Bowman in the Cup Series as he doesn’t have a top ten in six races here. But he does need momentum and as much practice as possible so he’s definitely worthy of exposure this weekend. Update: Bowman starts next to Gibbs. He did okay in practice but really shined in qualifying laying down pretty fast laps. This car clearly has speed similar to when William Byron and Kyle Larson were in this seat earlier in the year.

Justin Allgaier ($10,000)

Custer may have two wins on road courses this year, but I’m giving Allgaier the slight lean heading into Watkins Glen. He almost won at Road America a couple weeks back after leading a resounding 42 laps with ten fastest laps. But he spun on the last couple laps and ultimately finished 18^th but he bounced back with a top five last week at Indy. Allgaier wrecked in this race a year ago, but prior to that he had four straight top four finishes here. It is the Xfinity Series so consistency is tough to find, but Allgaier’s had solid form on road courses of late. Update: Allgaier's car is fast. If we had a clean race today it would probably come down to Allgaier and Gibbs racing for the win. You can pair both together in Tournament lineups hoping they finish one-two and share the majority of dominator points.

Sam Mayer ($9,600)

Mayer has been rolling the last month as he’s been a contender in each of the last four races. He finished second at Pocono, then he won Road America for his first career win, following that he was fifth at Michigan, and second last week at Indy. He also finished third at Portland and tenth at Sonoma. The seal has been broken as Mayer has really been turning in strong performances of late and he could be in contention once again this weekend with all the momentum he has. He has a pair of top tens in two previous races at Watkins Glen. Update: The Jr. Motorsports cars look like they nailed the setup this week. Mayer spun in practice and almost spun in qualifying. And yet, he was still laying down fast laps. He's really come into form lately and has been outstanding on the last two road courses.

Austin Hill ($9,200)

I mentioned this last week, but while Creed may have the better road course pedigree, Hill continue to deliver the better results. Last week he started and finished fourth for only 41 fantasy points on DraftKings. That’s okay for a road course. He’s finished top five in the last three road course races and he was eighth at Sonoma and fifth at Portland as well. On top of the consistent results, he also signed an extension with Richard Childress Racing so that job security probably has him feeling pretty good heading into the weekend. Update: Starts P11 and has top five upside. Sheldon Creed in play as well so don't sleep on the full-time RCR drivers today in Tournaments.

Parker Kligerman ($9,000)

Kligerman comes in with great form for this race. He’s finished ninth or better in four straight races posting at least 43 fantasy points on DraftKings in each of those contests. He was 14^th at Portland, fifth at Sonoma, ninth at Chicago, second at Road America, and seventh last week at Indy. Kaz Grala drove this 48-car to a top five finish at Watkins Glen last year and this team has been nailing the setup for road course the last couple months.

Ross Chastain ($8,600)

This is the cheapest Chastain has been in the Xfinity Series this year. His results haven’t been great when he’s driven for DGM. He hasn’t had a single top 15 finish in the 91-car in four races this year. His best finish came with Kaulig Racing at Michigan. So I completely understand if you choose to avoid him for Saturday’s race. Even last year he finished 28^th in this race. But there is still the possibility he gets a great setup from DGM and puts up a top ten performance. Update: Offers some PD starting outside top 15. Speed wasn't elite but he is discounted and could be optimal if he finished eighth.

Riley Herbst ($8,300)

Feels weird to skip over Josh Berry ($8,500), who I still like, but I’m going to lean Herbst here in Tournaments. Herbst was top five at Road America and then finished 12^th at Indy last week. He was also tenth at COTA earlier in the year before posting less-than-enthusiastic results at Portland and Sonoma. Berry for $200 certainly has a safer floor and probably more top five equity. For that reason, he’s too cheap. But with Herbst at $8,300 we’re looking at a great pivot off Berry. Herbst finished seventh here last year and 13^th in 2021. Update: LOVE the play in Tournaments. Do not play him in Cash games. He will have minimal ownership in Tournaments and has top five potential. But there is variance here. Josh Berry might be a safer play for $200 more starting P7. Jr. Motorsports brought very fast cars this weekend.

Kaz Grala ($7,900)

The pricing is getting aggressive for Grala but this is a road course and with Sam Hunt Racing he’s finished top ten at Chicago, Road America, and Indy. In two career races at Watkins Glen he’s finished fifth (2022) and 15^th (2018). He’s shown plenty of top ten upside of late on this style of track but part of me is concerned that he could be a trap play with his momentum. I’m hoping the wheels don’t fall off this weekend. Update: Looks pretty quick but unfortunately looks to be more of a Tournament play than Cash game play.

Brandon Jones ($7,400)

I don’t love the play but he’s still just too cheap. He drives for one of the two best teams in the series. I mostly like him ahead of qualifying because he’s qualified so poorly this year and I expect more of the same for Saturday. But he has gained PD on road courses when he’s qualified poorly this year. He started P26 at COTA and finished 11^th. He started P37 at Portland and finished 13^th. He gained seven spots at Sonoma and finished 21^st. And at Road America he started P33 and finished tenth. So despite the new rules, the equipment is helping Jones move up. He’s not a slam dunk, but he’s a value play in great equipment that has shown he can move up despite the new stage break rules. Update: Qualified poorly again. Offers PD again. Has a great car again. Hopefully doesn't screw the pooch… Again.

Brett Moffitt ($7,200)

Moffitt is pretty consistent so long as he can keep the car clean, which wasn’t the case at Road America where he wrecked and finished 36^th. However, he grabbed a top ten last week at Indy and grabbed top 12 finishes at Chicago, Sonoma, and Portland. His price tag never really seems to budge and he’s shown he can return over 40 fantasy points on this type of track. Even if he starts top 15 he has a shot at making the optimal lineup. Update: Has shown he can finish top 12 on road courses and he starts P20 today offering PD. Love the play. I kind of like Jeb Burton as a pivot as well.

Alex Labbe ($6,500)

Last week was a whiff by me because I had concerns over Alex Labbe in a non-DGM car on a road course. He proved me wrong as he gained 15 spots of PD and finished 11^th in Emerling-Gase equipment. I still have concerns this week because he’s in the 08-car for SS Green Light Racing. He finished 28^th in this car at Pocono and wrecked in this ride at Road America, where he also had travel issues and wasn’t able to get practice or qualifying in. But at the end of the day he is a good road course driver and we might see less ownership if the community lays off him because of his results in this car. In other equipment he has three top 15 finishes on road courses this year. Update: Still worried about the equipment obviously but he's great on this type of track and took awful equipment to a great finish last week.

Parker Retzlaff ($6,200)

I don’t really have a ton of confidence in Retzlaff on road courses. But the recent results have been pretty good as he finished 17^th at Indy, ninth at Michigan, and 14^th at Road America. He also has top 20’s at Portland and COTA so it does depend on where he qualifies. This will be his first race at Watkins Glen but that “debut factor” didn’t really bother him too much at Indy, Road America, Portland, or COTA.

Anthony Alfredo ($5,800)

Alfredo’s equipment is always at risk of blowing up but from a DFS perspective he’s put up at least 25 fantasy points in four straight races, with two road courses in that sample size. He only finished 23^rd last week but he started P32 and was a good PD play overall. His 16^th place finish at Road America is pretty impressive and he was 16^th at COTA. He does have a bit of a road course background and he grabbed a top 20 finish in this race a year ago. Update: Starts deep enough to offer PD. But recent results may elevate ownership.

Kyle Weatherman ($5,500)

Weatherman has driven for five different teams this year and I’m really just dying to see what he could do in great equipment. He’s back with JD Motorsports for this race and in this car he finished top 20 at Indy’s road course, Road America, and Chicago. He finished 22^nd at COTA and Sonoma with two other teams as well. He finished 22^nd in this race a year ago with Jesse Iwuji’s team and can definitely return a top 20 against this weekend. Let’s just hope he offers a little PD as well. Update: Spun the car in practice and got into the tire barrier. Didn't sustain much damage, if any. Starts very deep in the field and will likely be popular.

Blaine Perkins ($4,600)

Perkins’ results this year haven’t been great. But $4,600 is just stupid cheap. He’s already worthy of being a value play each week, but he’s not so terrible that he should be this cheap. He’s gained at least six spots in position differential in each of the road courses he’s run with Our Motorsports this year. He started P27 and finished 15^th at Portland. Started P36 and finished 30^th at Sonoma. Started P29 and finished 17^th at Chicago. Started P25 and finished 17^th at Road America. And he started P38 last week at Indy and finished 31^st. Now, not all of those results are good. But realistically we’d be entertaining him as a value option if he was $1,000 more expensive, which he was at Road America. I’m totally fine punting to him at $4,600 if he can find a way to 20-30 fantasy points. Update: I do believe he can finish top 20 but I won't go overboard with exposure. Would be happy if he simply finished 24th.

NASCAR DFS Core Drivers