Kansas xfinity

It's a pretty short 250 mile race for the Xfinity Series on Saturday night. Stage lengths are 40-40-87 laps. A competition caution is expected at Lap 20.

There's some decent value on this slate, so I'm fine paying up for at least two (and possibly three) of the big guns. To me, the two I can trust the most in this situation are Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe.

• Cindric has been an absolute beast on the 1.5 mile tracks this season. In the last two weeks (three races) at 1.5 mile tracks, Cindric has put up 91, 123 and 68.5 DK points. And dating back to when the season resumed, his worst performance in the seven races at 1.5 mile tracks was 57.5 DK points. The only wart here is that he's been terrible at Kansas with a 39th and 25th place finish in his two races here. I'm still looking to roll with him because of his series best performance at the 1.5 mile tracks this year.
• Briscoe has just been real solid all season long. He's not necessarily the fastest car or the best at anything, but he doesn't make a lot of mistakes and the team usually executes well. He's finished 4th, 2nd and 3rd in this string of recent races at the 1.5 mile tracks.
• Justin Allgaier has been fast the last two races. He could lead laps and he could win this race. What worries me is the mistakes and catastrophic finishes he has too often. In the last five races at 1.5 mile tracks, Allgaier has had two really good performances and three complete duds where he's finished 20th or worse. For a guy who should have a Top 5 car every single week in this field, it's simply not good enough.
• Noah Gragson is a little tougher call for me. I could see using him over Briscoe to save a little and because Gragson might just have more potential to lead laps or run fastest laps. And he's got some position difference upside starting 10th. On the flip side, he's overly aggressive and it wasn't surprising to see him get wrecked last week and finish 31st. It could happen again as Gragson never seems to shy away from contact. It's also possible to use Gragson as the third head of a three headed monster.

Value, value, value

• Joe Graf Jr -- He's been about an 18-20th place car on the 1.5 mile tracks. In the seven races at 1.5 mile tracks since the season resumed, he's finished 19th, 26th, 16th, 13th, 13th again, 22nd, and 22nd again. Starting 34th for $6,200 is a great deal. If he were to finish 20th, that's 38 DK points, which is a 6x return.
• Josh Williams -- I just love his consistency. He won't mess up and he'll get you all the car has in it. Relative to what's around him in this salary range, he's the most solid play there.
• Brandon Brown -- Should be a Top 15 car. Has been a bit more consistent then a guy like Ryan Sieg this year.
• Ryan Sieg -- I just can't use him in cash right now. He's having an issue almost every week and has three finishes of 30th or worse in the last six races. He's also got limited upside starting 16th. Maybe he could gain 4-5 spots if all goes well? It's a great price and as cheap as we've seen him, so if you can stomach the risk, he could pay off. 
• Colin Garrett -- Part time effort with nothing but upside starting at the back in 37th position. He ran both races at Homestead (a 1.5 mile track) and finished 21st and 14th. He's been priced way up here compared to Homestead, but he still hits value if he finishes 22nd or better. Not a must play or free square, but a good option.
• Jess Little, B.J. McLeod and David Starr -- All these guys should finish right about where they start. If you want to go real cheap and take a chance on them to spend up elsewhere, it's a reasonable option.

Other

• Myatt Snider starting 33rd might seem attractive for cash games. But he's in the #93 again this week and that car is really not all that reliable. The very best you could realistically hope for is about a 15th place finish, which would be 47 DK points and right on the 5x line. If I'm paying $9k+ for a guy, I want a much better ride.