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 Kentucky Speedway. 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. We will have 8 NASCAR races in 11 days. Now is a fantastic time to join the best team in the industry. Sign up today and use promo code LARKIN for 20% off membership.
Kentucky Speedway
We have THREE races this week between the Xfinity and Truck Series at Kentucky Speedway. The Xfinity group will run back to back races on Thursday and Friday, while the Trucks will run on Saturday. Kentucky is a 1.5 mile track with turns 1 & 2 being rather different than turns 3 & 4. The track has recently been repaved leaving it essentially a one groove track. NASCAR but down the PJ1 traction compound last year to help with this and I expect they will do so again this year. I will be leaning heavily on teams that possess elite speed but also experienced drivers with track time here at Kentucky. For example, The Xfinity race last year only saw 4.9 green flag passes per lap which is a very low number. Track position and elite speed will be everything this weekend. We will not have practice or qualifying so yet again we will rely heavily on the DFS Army Research Station for lineup building.
Jul 12, 2019; Sparta, KY, USA; NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers race out of turn three during the ALSCO 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Xfinity Series
Dates: July 9th and 10th
Race one: Thursday 8:00 pm ET.
Laps: 134 Stages: 30/60/134
Race two: Friday 8:00 pm ET.
Laps: 200 Stages: 45/90/200
Drivers: 36
Defending Champion: Cole Custer
AVG. # of Cautions: 3.5 excluding stage breaks
AVG DNF’s: 9 per race
Xfinity Preview
For race one, I am going to treat it much like we treat Truck Races. The race distance and strategy will mirror what we see from a Truck Series race. The shorter distance will set up well for short run speed and strategy to keep drivers out front will be crucial. I will to have exactly 2 dominators for race one but if salaries lineup and you can fit 3 top tier cars definitely do it. This race will really favor elite equipment so I will be playing the cars showing the most speed through 2020. Race Two will be a good bit longer and should offer teams with long run speed a chance of working their way forward. This in my mind helps the more talented drivers who can maintain pace even after tires start to wear out. With 66 more laps thus 66 more laps of dom points available, I will switch my dom strategy to at least 2. There aren’t as many start and parks this year so I am not going to expect as high a DNF rate this year. Should be hard for the punt plays to deliver good scores this week.
If you are new to NASCAR check out this article I wrote explaining lineup creation!
Race Procedure
Pit selection:
- Order for race one based on finishing position from the July 4th race at Indy, followed by new entries in order of points.
- Order for race two based on finishing position from the July 9th race at Kentucky, followed by new entries in order of points.
Starting lineup for race one:
- Starting Positions 1-12: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
- Positions 13-24: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
- Positions 25-36: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
- Lastly, Positions 37-40: Open teams in order of owners points
Starting lineup for race two:
- Starting Positions 1-15: Inversion based on race one results
- Positions 16-40: Determined by finishing order from race one
Favorite Xfinity Series Play: Austin Cindric
Cindric has had 5 top 5 finishes on this track type this year and was the best car at Atlanta before getting caught out on strategy. I think they have the pure speed to compete for the wins and he should rack up a decent amount of fast laps and a top 5 finish no matter what. I really like the speed this team has shown this season. Matches up well for these races.
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NillyJay’s – Calming the Chaos: Exceptional slate breakdown
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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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Truck Series
Quick Facts
Date: July 11th
Race: Saturday 6:00 pm ET.
Laps: 150 Stages: 35/70/150
Drivers: 40
Defending Champion: Tyler Ankrum
AVG. # of Cautions: 5.5 excluding stage breaks
AVG DNF’s: 7.5 per race
Truck Preview
We get an extra 25 miles for this truck race than we normally see from the series. This simply gives our dominators just a little more viability. They can separate themselves from the pack a little better as a result. I will be playing at least two dominators here for this race but will also look for a third threat depending on how pricing is very the high place differential plays. There are going to be a few great plays this week due to how points ended up post-Pocono so we can justify lineups with only 1 dominator. The truck races have been relatively tame here in recent years but as we have seen in 2020, these drivers can’t help but wreck each other. I will look to spread ownership out a little more as a result. Chalk bombs have been a major factor in the Truck Series this year. I really like the KBM trucks this week, including Chandler Smith who just turned 18 and is now cleared to run on this track type.
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Race Procedure
Pit selection:
- Order for race one based on finishing position from the June 28th race at Pocono, 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: Parker Kligerman
No brainer here for me. Parker has tons of experience and is a constant top 15 finisher in these truck races. He offers massive place differential upside as well. As far as place differential plays go he will be the best. He will be chalky so if you are looking to differentiate yourself then going light on Parker is a decent play. However, I believe he will be in the optimal lineup this week.
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.