phoenix xfinity

I'll post my Xfinity Series notes late Friday night after we get through Friday practice. We won't have qualifying until shortly before the race, so things will be somewhat limited. But check back here before you finalize your lineups.

I think it's a stars and scrubs approach this week. Let's go through the best options for cash games.

• Austin Cindric -- He's won the last two races here in pretty dominant fashion. Put up the second best time in practice, but didn't do a long run. That is sometimes a Penske thing and I'm not worried about it. They probably feel good about what they have and didn't want to get wrecked or show all their cards in practice. Top play.
• Noah Gragson -- On the flip side, Gragson did a real long 30 lap run in practice and maintained pretty good speed throughout. Has been his best on short tracks this year and I think he's got a real shot at winning this race if he can be patient early on and save his attack mode until the end.
• J.H. Nemechek -- The #54 has really been the best car all year long. He was fastest in practice. And this car is still fighting for the owner's points championship so they're not going to roll over for the Championship 4. My only concern is Nemechek's state of mind. He's got to be devastated by not winning the Trucks championship after the season he had. Can he refocus for this race? I think he does, but it's a risk.
• Daniel Hemric -- Second best car to the #54 all year long. There's a good chance he leads at some point. But can he close the deal?
• Overall, I like Cindric best no matter where he starts. For the other three, I could see using any of them and it might come down to which one can give you a few extra points for + position difference.
• I don't really have much in the mid-tier other than possibly Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg.
  
  • Herbst finished 4th here in the Spring race and has generally run well here. If he starts a little further back, he could be a good option for under $8k. I generally shy away from him because of the numerous "issues" he tends to run into, but I think that risk is already baked into this price.
  • Sieg was fast in practice and maintained good speed over a long run. His 15 lap average was right on par with Sam Meyer and Michael Annett. I'm hoping they don't try some goofy hero strategy since it's the championship race and they won't want to wreck the field in front of the Championship 4. He's awfully cheap if he offers some + position difference upside.
• Josh Williams and Ryan Vargas would be my top punt targets pending their starting spot. I don't like a whole lot in the sub-$6k range.