Focused Health 250
Location: Del Valle, TX
Course: Circuit of the Americas
Format: Road Course
Length: 2.426 miles
Laps: 65
NASCAR Xfinity Series Bennet Transportation & Logistics 250 Preview
The unique start to the NASCAR schedule continues as we've gone from two speedways – albeit ones distinct from each other – to the road course at COTA. Austin Hill continued his dominance with another win at Atlanta, leading 146 of the 164 laps. While he's an ace on those tracks, he won't be the favorite heading into COTA and there's a strong chance of seeing a new winner Saturday afternoon.
Key Stats at Circuit of the Americas
- Number of Races: 4
- Winners from Pole: 3
- Winners from Top 5: 4
- Winners from Top 10: 4
Previous Winners at Circuit of the Americas
2024- Kyle Larson
2023- AJ Allmendinger
2022- AJ Allmendinger
2021- Kyle Busch
There isn't a significant history of any NASCAR series at COTA with Cup, Xfinity and Trucks all having completed four races prior to the weekend. In addition, the course both Xfinity and Cup will race on has shifted from the full 3.4-mile layout to a shorter 2.3-mile layout. That change cuts out Turns 7-11, which includes the S curves and a tight hairpin turn.
For the first time this season, we also have Cup series drivers in the field. That includes William Byron, Ross Chastain, Carson Hocevar and Riley Herbst. As a final note, Parker Retzlaff was disqualified late Friday night, so be sure to exclude him from all lineups.
NASCAR Xfinity Series DFS Tools
DraftKings Values for the Focused Health 250
Based on a Standard $50K Salary Cap
Tier 1 DraftKings Values
William Byron - $10,500
Connor Zilisch - $10,300
Ross Chastain - $10,000
Tier 2 DraftKings Values
Sam Mayer - $9,600
Austin Hill - $9,000
Corey Heim- $8,800
Tier 3 DraftKings Values
Sammy Smith - $8,300
Jesse Love-$8,200
Carson Kvapil - $7,700
Tier 4 DraftKings Values
Harrison Burton - $7,400
Austin Green - $7,200
Anthony Alfredo - $7,000
NASCAR Xfinity Picks for the Focused Health 250
William Byron - $10,500
Sam Mayer - $9,600
Sammy Smith - $8,300
Harrison Burton - $7,400
Austin Green - $7,200
Anthony Alfredo - $7,000
There are several elite options to choose from thanks to the influx of talent from the Cup Series. Byron and Chastain both have excellent records at COTA and generally on road courses. Both are set to start within the first two rows and there is little reason to expect them to fall back in the pack. Zillisch is the wild card of the highest-priced group and is a road course ace. It would be impressive for him to hang with Byron and Chastain, but he did manage to take pole.
Sam Mayer and Sammy Smith would be my priorities to build around in the mid-tier of pricing. Mayer hasn't necessarily truly threatened for wins, but he has been a fixture inside the top 10. After qualifying eighth for the race, he's in position for another good showing. Smith will have more work to do after qualifying 16th, but he has consistently hung around inside the top 10 in his two races at the track in the Xfinity series.
RCR's dominant run to begin the season is likely to be over at COTA, but Love and Hill are no slouches on road courses and specifically COTA. Hill has a pair of second-place finishes in the last three years at the Circuit and his 37th-place finish was due to engine failure. I'd prioritize him over Love, though the substantial discount in price should also be factored in.
It would be a stretch to call Burton a road course ace, but he has a strong track record of top-15ish results at COTA, Road America and Watkins Glen in the Xfinity Series. He's a key value I'd expect him to deliver strong results, particularly when taking cost into account. Green is more of the traditional road course specialist. He made his Xfinity debut in 2024 and took part in the primary road courses at COTA, Portland, Sonoma, Chicago, Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Roval. Of that six-race sample, Green finished in the top 15 on four occasions and inside the top 10 on three occasions. Alfredo is uninspiring, but he qualified 17th and should hang around in that area and not drag down the overall score of the lineup considering his price.
Overall, this is a weekend to build a stars and "scrubs" lineup. There has been a lot of value available due to the injection of new talented drivers to the Xfinity Series, and this week introduces a new wrinkle with the road course element. That should allow specialists to emerge in the lower tiers of pricing, allowing enough salary freedom to pay up for your choice of elite driver.
