This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Ambetter Health 302
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Course: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Format: Tri-Oval
Laps: 201
NASCAR Xfinity Ambetter Health 302 Preview
The NASCAR playoff system is a hot topic for debate given the perceived randomness it can create. However, there's no doubt it creates plenty of drama, and we saw that on full display in the last two races with Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer both earning wins to advance from the bottom of the playoff standings. Instead, Sheldon Creed, Parker Kligerman, Shane van Gisbergen and Riley Herbst were all eliminated. Kligerman's elimination came in particularly heartbreaking fashion as he was a split second from taking the white flag to earn the win at the Roval. Van Gisbergen also had his impressive start to the weekend derailed, as he started both the Xfinity and Cup race on the pole but did not hold on to win either.
After some chaotic races in the first round of the playoffs at Talladega and the Charlotte Roval, it's time to settle into more traditional oval tracks as we barrel toward the championship race. That begins this week as the Series heads to Las Vegas.
Key Stats at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
- Number of Races: 34
- Winners from Pole: 6
- Winners from Top Five: 16
- Winners from Top 10: 26
Previous Winners at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway
2024 – John Hunter Nemechek
2023 – Riley Herbst
2023 – Austin Hill
2022 – Josh Berry
2022 – Ty Gibbs
2021 – Josh Berry
2021- AJ Allmendinger
2020- Chase Briscoe
2020- Chase Briscoe
2019- Tyler Reddick
Las Vegas hosts two races a year, which gives us a lot of data to work from. Similarly, the intermediate track also has a lot of comparable tracks, providing even more comparable tracks to study. One thing to note is the importance of track position. Qualifying takes place at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, which should go a long way to helping us identify the top contenders and values.
NASCAR Xfinity DFS Tools
DraftKings Values for the Ambetter Health 302
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Justin Allgaier- $10,500
Chandler Smith - $10,200
Austin Hill-$9,800
Riley Herbst - $9,400
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Sammy Smith - $9,000
Brandon Jones - $8,500
Parker Kligerman - $8,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Ryan Sieg - $7,800
Corey Heim - $7,700
DraftKings Tier 4 Values
Josh Williams - $6,900
NASCAR Xfinity Picks for the Ambetter Health 302
Chandler Smith - $10,2000
Riley Herbst - $9,400
Parker Kligerman - $8,000
Ryan Sieg - $7,800
Corey Heim - $7,700
Josh Williams - $6,900
After a few tracks that are harder to predict or allow unconventional drivers to contend (or at least perform well), we return to a more traditional oval. That will likely make balanced roster builds more popular, as it's pretty straightforward to pick drivers projected to perform at various price points.
With that come some of the household names in Tiers 1 and 2. This weekend will present Chandler Smith with a great opportunity to lock himself into the final. He has three races at Las Vegas in his Xfinity career, finishing third twice and fourth on another occasion while leading a total of 215 laps. In that three-race span, Smith has also never had a driver rating below 116.3. He's a good driver to build around.
Herbst has a longer track record. Some of that sample isn't kind to him, but he won this race a year ago and has three straight finishes inside the top five. In the spring race, he ran every lap inside the top 15 of the field with 21 fastest laps (third in the field). Though he's been bounced from the playoffs, this still looks to be a good shot for a good weekend for him.
Kligerman isn't a particularly exciting option, so there are arguments to pay down in Tier 1 (Austin Hill) to be able to pay up from Kligerman to Brandon Jones. Jones is a safe pick to finish near the top-10 barring an incident, and he's moved up from qualifying 13th to finish eighth and ninth, respectively, in his last two races at Vegas.
The value options in Tiers 3 and 4 are also relatively strong. Sieg had a very strong spring race at the track, finishing with a driver rating of 98.0 while running 96.5 percent of laps inside the top 15. That was an anomaly for his record at the track, but his price is still reasonable. Heim has the chance to be a top value as well. His only appearance from the Xfinity series at the track came in the spring, when he notched a driver rating of 82 while running over three-quarters of the laps inside the top 15.
Lastly, Williams is a good punt option. He qualified 13th for the spring race and ran well at Kansas a few weeks ago (11th-place finish, 39 DK points), a top comparable track to Vegas.
