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AustYn

We are heading to my favorite track on the NASCAR circuit, Richmond Raceway for the Cookout 400. Playoff implications galore here, but Richmond is no longer the cutoff track for making the playoffs. There wasn’t much news going on in the world of NASCAR and honestly, it’s one of the quietest seasons I can remember on record. The CW network will be covering Xfinity Series races starting in 2026, so that’s exciting to see new networks getting involved with the sport. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson may have started a rivalry with the way Denny ran Kyle up the track at Pocono. Kyle Larson was visibly and verbally upset, and I am not so sure the competition wants a more determined Yung Money. Hamlin pretty much clinched his inability with not winning a title…ever. This is the role he wants to play though, so he has made his bed in my opinion.

On to the race…Richmond is one of the most difficult tracks to play in DFS. You have to select a minimum of 3 drivers you think will dominate and lead laps (because there are 400 of them) and basically 3 throwaway drivers that sneakily perform well at short tracks. While this is easier said than done, I think I have a good plan. I selected all the “short-tracks” raced this season, including Phoenix and Loudon, excluding Bristol Dirt and I looped all the drivers finishes. It was an easy selection after doing the math and one that may shock a lot of players and he could even have low ownership because of his practice speeds. I will look at practice some, but the race itself breeds a totally different animal that you just know with experience in playing in these things. Numbers do not lie, so if there is a team with a good short-track program coming into this race…go with them, don’t think twice about how they rolled off in practice. As I said earlier, there will be 400 laps and teams will have 9 sets of tires, which are insanely critical as Richmond is a high tire-wear track.

Top Pick: Kyle Larson ($10,800) Starting 14th

I may have given this one away, but Kyle Larson has an average finish of 2.25 at the 4 tracks that I looped together (Phoenix, Richmond, Martinsville and Loudon). I don’t care if his practice speeds didn’t look so great, Kyle Larson will be in victory lane at Richmond. Don’t forget about North Wilkesboro either and the dominance that the 5 car showed.

Supporting Cast: Chase Briscoe ($7,100) Starting 20th & Austin Cindric ($5,800) Starting 30th

Chase Briscoe is a steal for you at $7.1k…his average finish on the bundle of 4 tracks is 8.5. The #14 driver has not had a great season, but Stewart-Haas has been sneakily good on short tracks. I forgot about how he and Preece ran at Martinsville, but they both led 100+ laps. Briscoe gets us a top-15 and we are looking sweet! Austin Cindric…is a random pick. Down in the bargain basement at $5.8k Austin Cindric is still driving a Team Penske car, so the value is in the car itself. He does have a 12th place finish here in the Cup Series and has run well in Xfinity, so all we need is a top-25 and for Cindric to finish the race.

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Yacs

Today is a good day for some short track racing. It feels odd not racing at Richmond under the lights, but today’s race should be fine regardless. There is a lot of driver drama stemming from last week’s race at Pocono as Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag. It is perfect timing for a little bit of drama as the playoffs are just around the corner. There are 5 guaranteed spots left in the playoffs and some drivers outside of the cutline could play spoiler in the next month. I expect at least 1 driver currently below the cut line to win within the next 5 weeks, but who knows? There could be some left out. I guess we’ll have to keep watching to find out.

Today’s strategy on FanDuel is simple, but practice results is kind of throwing us a curveball. There are a lot of drivers that did well in practice that normally don’t perform well in races or practice. Ty Dillon, Corey LaJoie, JJ Yeley, and Ryan Newman were all in the Top 15 of practice. I can't exactly tell you which direction to go in for your strategy, but there are a few ways that you could approach this week. I personally am going to use every bit of my salary. At a track like this, you need to have the best drivers possible in your lineup. I know that sounds obvious, but making it work as a strategy every week is going to yield some losing efforts in a lot of weeks. Starting position would normally matter in a short track scenario, but I don’t think it is really all that important this week. Passing has been extremely difficult at other short tracks, but track position isn't always that difficult to obtain. At least, that is the way it has been all of this season. If your drivers can luck into a good spot at the later stages of the race, that is what you’re obviously hoping for. So, my advice is to get the best drivers that you possible can with every bit of salary that you can possibly use. I don’t anticipate those lower-tier cars that practiced so well to maintain their speed, so I wouldn't even consider them. I wouldn't take a chance on anyone priced below $4,500 this week. With all of that being said, let’s see what we have for FanDuel this week.

First Picks: William Byron ($11,500) Starting 6th; Christopher Bell ($12,000) Starting 29th

There are a good number of drivers that run well at Richmond, so picking the right drivers is a difficult task. Towards the top, I think a lot of drivers will go with Hamlin or Truex or Larson, so we’ll take a trip just a little further down and take Bell and Byron. Byron didn’t have a great finish in the books, but he ran very well here back in the spring. He and the rest of the Hendrick cars, except the 9 car, were penalized in that race. That hasn’t slowed him down though. He blistered everyone in practice and his starting position is a great thing. I think he has a good shot to win today.

Bell didn’t qualify well, but I wouldn’t let that deter you from picking him. He is very good at this track. He had solid speed in practice. His long-run speed may be a little bit of a concern, but considering how well he performs here, I wouldn't get too concerned. He has an average of 4.0 in the next-gen car at this track and He won here 3 times in the Xfinity Series. He knows how to race this track and I have no problem spending the extra money for him. The odds aren't in his favor to win today, but I think he will run exceptionally well.

The Value: Ryan Blaney ($9,000) Starting 25th; Chris Buescher ($7,500) Starting 26th

Starting side-by-side in the middle of the pack is where the value is at today. I wouldn't exactly call Blaney a normal “value” pick, but his price makes him an excellent value on FanDuel. He has 2 Top 10s in the next-gen at Richmond. Despite his poor practice session, I don’t think you are going to find a better value driver than Blaney this week.

Buescher didn’t qualify well, but he practiced extremely well. He was 3rd fastest and had the 4th best 10-lap average. Both Buescher and Keselowski have been solid all year long and I think RFK is here to stay. Buescher finished 3rd here in August last season, so hopefully the magic will still be there today.

Final Pick: Chase Elliott ($10,000) Starting 4th

I feel like I am picking him every week, but I think that is just going to be a thing for me as long as they keep pricing him reasonably and as long as he needs to win to get into the playoffs. He has 5 races to get the job done and I would be surprised if he doesn’t get a win within the time frame. If not this week, he should have a great shot within the next couple of weeks at Michigan or Indy Roval or Watkins Glen after that. So, if you see me picking the 9 car quite a bit over the next few weeks, then you will know why.

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