This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Production Alliance 300
Location: Fontana, Calif.
Course: Auto Club Speedway
Format: 2.0-mile D-shaped oval
Laps: 150
Race Preview
Austin Hill and Richard Childress Racing kicked off their 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season with a victory at Daytona International Speedway. Hill led the second most laps on his way to the win, which was his first in the series. This week the series returns to California's Auto Club Speedway for the first time since 2020 when Harrison Burton made the turn into Victory Lane. The track was absent from the calendar for the last two seasons due to pandemic restrictions. This race will be the 32nd time the Xfinity teams have competed at the circuit. Those races produced 18 different drivers. Cole Custer is the only former series winner entered in this weekend's race, and Brandon Jones is the only prior pole winner tackling this race again this weekend.
Key Stats at Auto Club Speedway
- Number of races: 31
- Winners from pole: 5
- Winners from top-5 starters: 19
- Winners from top-10 starters: 26
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 2
- Fastest race: 155.957 mph
Previous 10 Fontana Winners
2020 - Harrison Burton
2019 - Cole Custer
2018 - Joey Logano
2017 - Kyle Larson
2016 - Austin Dillon
2015 - Kevin Harvick
2014 - Kyle Larson
2013 - Kyle Busch
2012 - Joey Logano
2011 - Kyle Busch
Auto Club Speedway is a sister circuit of Michigan International Speedway. Both are D-shaped ovals of the same distance, but the difference in banking make the two circuits relatively unique from one another. While Cole Custer and Brandon Jones are the only two Xfinity Series drivers with noted achievements entered this week, fantasy players can reasonably look to recent statistics at Michigan in preparation for making selections for this race. A.J. Allmendinger was the Michigan last season and led 70 of the race's 139 laps. Chevrolet and Toyota took nine of the top 10 finishing positions in that race. However, Cole Custer's Fontana win in 2019 was in a Ford machine. Xfinity teams will practice, qualify, and race Saturday, which will give fantasy players the best indication of who is primed for success in the race. The good news is that this week should give us a better indicator of where teams stand in relative competitiveness against one another as two more west coast races loom.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Ty Gibbs - $11,300
Noah Gragson - $10,900
AJ Allmendinger - $10,500
Justin Allgaier - $10,100
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Cole Custer - $9,800
Josh Berry - $9,500
Brandon Jones - $9,300
Trevor Bayne - $9,100
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Landon Cassill - $8,900
Sam Mayer - $8,700
Sheldon Creed - $8,500
Riley Herbst - $8,300
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Austin Hill - $7,800
Jeb Burton - $7,600
Brandon Brown - $7,200
Jade Buford - $6,200
MY PICKS THIS WEEK
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Noah Gragson - $10,900
AJ Allmendinger - $10,500
Myatt Snider - $8,100
Anthony Alfredo - $7,300
Brandon Brown - $7,200
Timmy Hill - $5,900
Noah Gragson started his 2022 season with a third-place finish at Daytona. He has two prior Auto Club Speedway starts with a best finish of 12th, but he also finished second and third in two Michigan starts. He was second fastest in opening practice for this week's race, too. AJ Allmendinger crashed out of his only Xfinity start at Fontana. He won last year's race at Michigan, though. Both he and Gragson are expected to be championship contenders this season. Myatt Snider's visit to Daytona didn't end the way he hoped. He was lucky to walk away from a violent last-lap crash. That shouldn't affect him this week as he returns to Fontana where he finished 11th in 2020. Fantasy players should also take a look at Anthony Alfredo this week. He came home sixth at Fontana back in 2020 and finished seventh last week. Brandon Brown has two Xfinity starts at this week's track. His average finish there is 24.0 with a best result of 15th in 2019. Timmy Hill rounds out the lower-risk selections this week after finishing inside the top 25 in Saturday practice. He raced last week for his own team in the trucks for a finish of 14th and will add to his more than 400 starts across NASCAR's top three series this week.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Ty Gibbs - $11,300
Justin Allgaier - $10,100
Sheldon Creed - $8,500
Austin Hill - $7,800
Jade Buford - $6,200
Josh Williams - $6,100
Ty Gibbs has not made an Xfinity start at Auto Club Speedway, but his part-time showings last season suggest that lack of experience may not matter too much, especially considering he was inside the top five in opening practice. He remains one of the fastest drivers in the field and finished 13th in his Michigan start last season. On the other hand, Justin Allgaier has 12 series starts at this track. His best finish was a runner-up in 2018 and has six top-10s in total. Like Gibbs, this will be Sheldon Creed's first series start in Fontana. The truck series veteran does have a second-place finish from Michigan in that series, though. Last week's winner Austin Hill will be another driver making his first series start at this week's circuit. He does have an Xfinity Series start at Michigan from 2020, though. He finished 16th that day. Road racer Jade Buford was 23rd last week at Daytona. Like others, he has one series start at Fontana's sister track Michigan. He grabbed a ninth-place finish in that start last season. Finishing off the higher-risk lineup this week is Josh Williams. He is one of the few Xfinity Series drivers with experience at this week's stop. From three Auto Club Speedway starts he has a best finish of 10th, which was in the last series trip to the circuit.
