This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
The Loop 110
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Course: Chicago Street Course
Format: 2.22 mile Street Circuit
Laps: 50
The Loop 110 Preview
For the second consecutive week, we got a Cup series winner in the Xfinity race with John Hunter Nemechek taking the checkered flag in Nashville. Ryan Sieg was the big beneficiary of the weekend, as he finished 11th and walked away with 27 points, picking up ground on Sammy Smith without a new winner claiming a playoff spot. That leads us into a unique weekend in Chicago. Though they were already fairly safe for playoff spots, Riley Herbst and AJ Allmendinger also had positive weekends.
Key Stats at the Chicago Street Course
- Number of races: 1
- Winners from pole: 1
- Winners from top-five starters: 1
- Winners from top-10 starters: 1
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 0
Previous Winner at Chicago Road Course
2023- Cole Custer
Chicago is the most unique date on the calendar because it literally takes place on the streets of the city, more closely resembling an F1 or IndyCar race as opposed to the NASCAR series. Nevertheless, the inaugural event was considered a success with the exception of the weather, creating plenty of anticipation for the second try this weekend. Projecting the race is also clearly different than most other weekends. Recent form can be discarded nearly entirely, with the focus instead being driver's track records at other road courses.
There are a few Cup Series drivers taking part in Saturday's race. The standout is Kyle Larson, but others such as Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs and Daniel Suarez aren't traditionally strong at road courses.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Xfinity Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for The Loop 110
Based on a Standard $50K Salary Cap
Tier 1 Values
Shane van Gisbergen -$10,500
Kyle Larson - $10,300
Tier 2 Values
AJ Allmendinger - $9,800
Sam Mayer - $9,500
Cole Custer - $9,200
Justin Allgaier - $9,000
Tier 3 Values
Parker Kligerman - $8,200
Sammy Smith- $8,100
Tier 4 Values
Connor Mosack- $7,500
Riley Herbst- $7,400
Tier 5 Values
Parker Retzlaff - $6,900
NASCAR DFS Picks for The Loop 110
Kyle Larson - $10,300
Sam Mayer - $9,500
Parker Kligerman - $8,200
Connor Mosack - $7,500
Riley Herbst - $7,400
Parker Retzlaff - $6,900
The top tier offers a clear choice between van Gisbergen and Larson. After last year's dominant performance in the Cup series, it's difficult to choose against van Gisbergen. However, Larson was also had a strong race with a fourth-place finish with strong stage finishes before that. The biggest reason to choose Larson over Van Gisbergen is that the element of surprise is gone. Racers went into the first race at The Loop blind, and while there's still missing information this time around, van Gisbergen's advantage is diminished. In a heads-up race, Larson is the easy choice.
Tier 2 offers several different choices, and ideally, we'd jam in two drivers from this section. Allmendinger and Allgaier offer experience and some success on road courses (Allmendinger in particular) and would be a good direction to turn. Mayer is a proven winner on road courses. Two of his first three career victories came at COTA and Watkins Glen. This year, he qualified on pole in Portland and finished third at Sonoma. Finally, Custer took pole and won the race here in 2023, so he's clearly comfortable with the track and its layout.
The final couple of options that we can feel comfortable banking on come in Tier 3. Kligerman snuck into the playoffs last year primarily on the strength of his finishes non-ovals to close the year. His run was impressive: fifth place at Sonoma, ninth at Chicago, second at Road America, seventh on the Indy Road Course and third at Watkins Glen. He would be a pretty easy choice over Smith, though the latter was worth at least mentioning due to his success at Chicago last season and some solid finishes at Watkins Glen, COTA and Sonoma on his resume.
DraftKings did a good job with pricing, so most of the best road course races are priced up. There's still some value to be had, however. Mosack has limited experience in the Xfinity Series, though much of it has come on non-oval courses. He was quick at Chicago last year for long stretches and he also finished fifth at Watkins Glen last year. Herbst has similarly had scattered positive results at road courses, but he's a good driver overall in the series and is underpriced as a result.
We can close things out with Retzlaff, who simply presents good value at his price. We'll need value options and potentially even punts to reach some of the drivers in the top tiers, and Retzlaff has finished inside the top 10 four times this season and inside the top 20 in nine of 17 races. Any finish 20th or better is passable for his price, but he has the upside to deliver better.
