Welcome to The Xfinity Series Setup. I am Ryanlarkin88 and you can follow me @Larkin8 on twitter. In this edition of the setup I will be previewing the Daytona Xfinity Race. Before we get started I would like to suggest for anyone who isn’t already a VIP member of the DFSArmy to sign up so you can read my weekly race previews, utilize our Xfinity Series Research Station and our Domination Station Optimizer (our team had a great opening Nascar week…see screenshots below). With that being said lets get going!
Xfinity Series NASCAR Setup
Finally, the start of the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity season is here. We start the season off at Daytona International Speedway. In this article I will be going over the basics in strategy for the race. For more in depth statistical information as well as VIP articles make sure to sign up and become a member of the DFSARMY!
Race: NASCAR Racing Experience 300
Laps: 120
Cars: 38
Defending Champion: Tyler Reddick
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When going to Daytona the first thing on my mind is avoiding the wrecks. Racing at Daytona involves running in tight packs with 20-30 drivers right on top of each other. When one thing goes wrong it usually ends in a massive wreck involving multiple cars. Over the last 4 Daytona Xfinity races we have seen DNF (Did Not Finish) totals of 20, 14, 13, 18. Due to this high DNF total there have been 19 drivers who started 25th or worse finish in the top 15 over the course of those 4 races. Those 4-5 drivers who have great position differential will be the key to a winning lineup.
Start your lineups with 3 or 4 of these drivers starting 25th or worse. Recognizing the team and driver is important as well. The low tier/punt teams become the safest plays as they usually ride far enough behind the main pack to avoid the wrecks. The top/mid tier drivers starting in the back offer the most upside but carry that higher risk of wrecking.
At most you will want to take 1 dominator. Due to the low number of laps available a dominator isn’t always needed. The driver leading the most laps usually ends up with 40-50 led. These additional points are great if they can maintain a super high finishing position. However, any finish outside the top 10-12 offsets those points gained. Fast Laps are usually split throughout the field with no particular driver getting a large advantage.
With the remaining spots fill your lineups with drivers who have good positional upside. Look in the 12th-20th range for drivers who can finish top 5. This race last year saw the top 3 finishers have starting positions of 9th, 11th, and 16th.
At the end of the day Daytona really is a mixture of luck and educated guesses. There are very few bad plays. If you are the type to make a small amount of lineups then I recommend playing it safe. Simply avoiding the wrecks will almost always result in profit. If you are someone who plays a lot of lineups then don’t be afraid to take chances. Build a strong base of safe drivers and then mix in numerous drivers with high finishing possibility but who will have lower ownership.
If you want to see more of what we have in store, see this video breakdown of our new NASCAR Dominator Tool Kit by NillyJay and Choppodong!
Later this week I will be doing a VIP article with my pre-race favorites.
This will conclude this initial edition of The Xfinity Series Setup. If you would like to reach out and talk NASCAR Follow me on twitter @Larkin8 or Become a VIP and join me as well as our other DFS Army NASCAR contributors (Brady Miller, Taco, and NillyJay) in the NASCAR coaching channels.