This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Alsco Uniforms 302
Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
Course: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Format: 1.5-mile oval
Laps: 201
Race Preview
The NASCAR Xfinity Series championship playoffs get started with this week's visit to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. AJ Allmendinger won the spring trip to this track and wrapped up the regular-season championship one week ago at Bristol in a wild sideways finish. He and Austin Cindric will start this week's race alongside one another again on the front row as the 12 championship contenders will all start inside the top 15. With races at Talladega and the Charlotte ROVAL completing the first round of championship eliminations in the coming weeks, drivers will be anxious to get off to a strong start Saturday at Las Vegas. Allmendinger led 44 laps in his victory at the track in March while Cindric led 43 and finished fourth. Daniel Hemric topped the lap leaders that day with 74 laps spent out front.
Key Stats at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
- Number of races: 28
- Winners from pole: 6
- Winners from top-5 starters: 16
- Winners from top-10 starters: 24
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 2
- Fastest race: 145.415 mph
Previous 10 Las Vegas Winners
2021 spring - AJ Allmendinger
2020 fall - Chase Briscoe
2020 spring - Chase Briscoe
2019 fall - Tyler Reddick
2019 spring - Kyle Busch
2018 fall - Ross Chastain
2018 spring - Kyle Larson
2017 - Joey Logano
2016 - Kyle Busch
2015 - Austin Dillon
Track position is one of the most important factors at Las Vegas. Only four Xfinity races at the 1.5-mile oval have been won by drivers starting outside of the top 10, and no one has done it since Mark Martin in 2008. Drivers starting at the front at this track tend to perform the best, and with all the championship contenders starting in the first eight rows, it could be tough for others to come from behind to win. The relative lack of cautions at the track also tend to play into the outcome. The long periods under green allow teams with faster cars to stretch their advantage, often lapping well into the field. Like most 1.5-mile ovals, though, late cautions can shake things up, and the spring race earlier this season produced eight yellow flags including stage breaks. Teams must be mistake-free on pit road, and doing so will help drivers make up some spots on the track. Teams having trouble or making mistakes on the stops risk losing track position, which will make any restarts a challenge.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Ty Gibbs - $11,000
Noah Gragson - $10,700
Austin Cindric - $10,200
Justin Allgaier - $10,000
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
AJ Allmendinger - $9,800
Daniel Hemric - $9,600
Brandon Jones - $9,400
Harrison Burton - $9,200
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Justin Haley - $8,800
Ty Dillon - $8,600
Myatt Snider - $8,300
Jeb Burton - $8,100
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Jeremy Clements - $7,100
Josh Williams - $6,800
Bayley Currey - $6,100
Dylan Lupton - $5,800
MY PICKS THIS WEEK
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Austin Cindric - $10,200
AJ Allmendinger - $9,800
Harrison Burton - $9,200
Jeb Burton - $8,100
Jeremy Clements - $7,100
Alex Labbe - $5,500
Cindric and Allmendinger were two of the best cars at Las Vegas earlier this season, and they have also been the best two cars all season. After they duked it out for the win and regular-season championship last week at Bristol, fantasy players should consider selecting Cindric and Allmendinger again this week. Allmendinger won at the track in March, and Cindric finished sixth or better in his last three visits. Harrison Burton is another easy choice this week. In three Las Vegas starts, his average finish is 7.7, and he will line up fifth for this week's race. Jeb Burton is another championship contender who warrants consideration this week, too. He didn't have a great outing last week at Bristol but will be feeling confident this week despite having finished 10th at Las Vegas in March. Jeremy Clements made the championship 12 and has three finishes of 13th or better in the last three races. His best Las Vegas finish is 13th, and he will start in that spot this week, too. Rounding out the lower-risk options is Alex Labbe. He has one top-10 and two other top-20s in the last three races and should be a top-20 contender this week, too.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Ty Gibbs - $11,000
Daniel Hemric - $9,600
Justin Haley - $8,800
Riley Herbst - $7,900
Josh Williams - $6,800
Dylan Lupton - $5,800
Ty Gibbs will make his first series start at Las Vegas this week. He will line up sixth for this race and has only missed the top 10 on rare occasions in his part-time appearances this season. Fantasy players know he has a fast car and should be in the mix without any mistakes this week. Hemric led 74 laps at this track earlier this season in a runner-up finish. That was his best result at the track, but he also finished third in this race last season. In five Las Vegas starts, Justin Haley has never finished outside of the top 15. He lines up fourth for this week's race and got his best finish at the track of eighth earlier this year. Riley Herbst enters this week's race on the bakc of consecutive top-five finishes. He has momentum at his back and finished 12th or better in three of his four series starts at this track. Josh Williams has seven Las Vegas starts with a best result of 13th. He has been a contender for top-15s and top-20s this season as well as at this particular track. Finally, Dylan Lupton will join the series this week for his first Xfinity start since 2018. He had a one-off appearance in the Trucks at Darlington a few weeks ago and will line up 25th for this race.
