Welcome everyone to the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series Preview!! We are going to take a look into the upcoming Xfinity and Truck races at Pocono Raceway and help get you on the path to success this weekend. We will give info for each race as well as detail into what we can expect for the upcoming DFS slate. Of course, this article will be brought to you by DFS Army and is being written by Ryan Larkin aka @Larkin8 on twitter. For next-level DFS coverage of NASCAR and every sport, you should become a DFS Army VIP Member!! VIP membership gives you access to VIP articles, research and domination stations as well as elite coaches. Sign up today and use promo code LARKIN for 20% off membership.
Pocono Raceway
This week the Truck Series makes its way to the tricky triangle of Pocono Raceway. Pocono is a massive 2.5 mile track with three distinctly different corners. Due to it’s uniqueness, Pocono can be difficult for rookie drivers. Considering the lack of practice, I will be leaning heavily on veteran drivers who have decent experience here. This race is the shortest of the season for the Truck Series at only 60 laps. It is also one of the shortest for the Xfinity Series at 90 laps. We have seen everything from crash filled races with nine cautions to completely clean races with zero natural cautions between the two series over the last few races. Short run speed and track position will be key throughout both races. Still no Practice or Qualifying so we will lean heavily on the DFS Army Research Station for past track history and 2020 performances to help build lineups.
Jul 28, 2018; Long Pond, PA, USA; NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Stewart Friesen (52) races to the inside of driver Matt Crafton (88) during the Gander Outdoors 150 at Pocono Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Xfinity Series
Date: June 28th
Race: Sunday 12:30 pm ET.
Laps: 90 Stages: 20/40/90
Drivers: 36
Defending Champion: Cole Custer
AVG. # of Cautions: 3.5 excluding stage breaks
AVG DNF’s: 7 per race
Weekend Preview
Considering the low number of laps for this race it will be hard to get more than one dominator in the true sense of the word. There are roughly 60 Fast lap and Laps led points available for this race and that number drops 2-3 points for every caution. We have seen one driver dominate these races leading the majority of laps and going on to victory. I will work heavily on playing drivers who can finish top 5. A stars and scrubs lineup build. There are still going to be a few good place differential plays starting deeper in the field that we will want to take advantage of. I will also be very interested in the Justin Haley, Riley Herbst types who may still be underpriced relative to their top 10 finishing ability.
If you are new to NASCAR check out this article I wrote explaining lineup creation!
Race Procedure
Pit selection:
- Order based on finishing position from the June 20th race at Talladega, followed by new entries in order of points.
Starting lineup:
- Starting Positions 1-10: Random draw of teams in those positions in owner points
- Positions 11-21: Random draw of teams in those positions in owner points
- Positions 22-32: Random draw of teams in those positions in owner points
- Any vehicles that are eligible for the Event in position 33rd – 40th will be assigned starting positions based on their order of eligibility.
Favorite Play: Daniel Hemric
This my favorite play because DraftKings has been undervaluing Hemric and for his track history here. Hemric finished 3rd his last time here in the Xfinity Series and finished 13th and 7th here in the Cup Series in 2019. He has had the best pure speed at the end of races in 2020 when driving this #8 car. If he can be top 5 at the start of the final stage then I believe he will be a top contender for the win. At his recent pricing though we just him to be a top 5 stud play paired with the main dominator.
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NillyJay’s – Calming the Chaos: Exceptional slate breakdown
AuburnFan30’s – The Sway Bar: Slate coaching and top plays.
Cheat Sheet notes from Larkin8, Nilly Jay and Taco for each Cup slate
Cheat Sheet notes from Larkin8 for each Xfinity and Truck slate
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(This is a massive tool considering we currently have no qualifying or practices for all NASCAR races.)
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Truck Series
Quick Facts
Date: June 27th
Race: Saturday 12:30 pm ET.
Laps: 60 Stages: 15/30/60
Drivers: 40
Defending Champion: Ross Chastain
AVG. # of Cautions: 3.5 excluding stage breaks
AVG DNF’s: 5 per race
Race Preview
At 60 laps this is at most a one dominator race. If the race goes caution free besides the stage breaks there will be a total of 41 dom points available. Each additional caution/caution laps will decrease that number. Due to this playing the one dom who can lead the most laps and will most likely win is vital. Ross Chastain was that driver last year. Outside of that drivers with the most upside are CRUCIAL. Look for the drivers with top 5 upside especially ones that offer position differential upside as well. There are a couple of absolute killer plays who will be starting towards the rear of the field. I will be saving those plays for the VIP Cheat Sheet for our members.
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Race Procedure
Pit selection:
- Order based on finishing position from the June 13th race at Homestead, followed by new entries in order of points.
Starting lineup:
- Starting Positions 1-10: Random draw of teams in those positions in owner points
- Positions 11-21: Random draw of teams in those positions in owner points
- Positions 22-32: Random draw of teams in those positions in owner points
- Any vehicles that are eligible for the Event in position 33rd – 40th will be assigned starting positions based on their order of eligibility.
Favorite Truck Series Play: Christian Eckes
Eckes is still relatively young and erratic results wise but I think there is great upside and value here. His price has been fantastic over the past month. Last year here the 3 KBM trucks finished 3rd, 4th, and 7th with Eckes scoring the 4th place finish. I really like the speed KBM has shown this year and I love that Rudy Fugle is Eckes crew chief. From 2015-2017 Fugle worked with 3 young drivers (Erik Jones, William Byron, and Christopher Bell) winning 15 races and scoring 37 top 5s. Fugle will get the most out of Eckes and I believe this race will be a big one for them.
This will conclude this edition of NASCAR Buffet: Xfinity and Truck Series DFS Preview. If you would like to reach out and talk NASCAR Follow me on twitter @Larkin8 or of course Become a VIP member and join me as well as our other DFS Army NASCAR contributors (Gage, Taco, and NillyJay) in the NASCAR coaching channels.