RADIO
Let's get ready for some more NASCAR action! These daily fantasy NASCAR rankings for Saturday's Federated Auto Parts 400 were determined by a combination of DraftKings and FanDuel prices, and the projected DFS points each driver is expected to earn in this week’s race.
Each week, we'll present you the weekly rankings, followed by some key analysis of those rankings.
Be sure to also check out all of our other weekly NASCAR DFS articles and analysis to help you set your optimal DFS lineups.
Fantasy NASCAR Driver Rankings
| Driver Name | DraftKings Rank | FanDuel Rank |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 1 | 1 |
| Denny Hamlin | 2 | 3 |
| Kyle Larson | 3 | 4 |
| Kyle Busch | 4 | 2 |
| Joey Logano | 5 | 5 |
| Brad Keselowski | 6 | 7 |
| Chase Elliott | 7 | 6 |
| Christopher Bell | 8 | 9 |
| William Byron | 9 | 8 |
| Kevin Harvick | 10 | 10 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | 11 | 12 |
| Alex Bowman | 12 | 11 |
| Austin Dillon | 13 | 13 |
| Ryan Blaney | 14 | 16 |
| Ross Chastain | 15 | 14 |
| Kurt Busch | 16 | 18 |
| Cole Custer | 17 | 19 |
| Aric Almirola | 18 | 15 |
| Tyler Reddick | 19 | 17 |
| Bubba Wallace | 20 | 21 |
| Daniel Suarez | 21 | 20 |
| Erik Jones | 22 | 23 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 23 | 22 |
| Chase Briscoe | 24 | 25 |
| Chris Buescher | 25 | 24 |
| Ryan Newman | 26 | 26 |
| Michael McDowell | 27 | 28 |
| Corey LaJoie | 28 | 27 |
| Ryan Preece | 29 | 29 |
| Anthony Alfredo | 30 | 30 |
| Justin Haley | 31 | 31 |
| JJ Yeley | 32 | 32 |
| Joey Gase | 33 | 33 |
| Quin Houff | 34 | 34 |
| Garrett Smithley | 35 | 35 |
| B.J. McLeod | 36 | 36 |
| Josh Bilicki | 37 | 37 |
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NASCAR Rankings Analysis
The second race of the Round of 16 is here. Last week, Denny Hamlin won his first race of the season, locking himself into the Round of 12 in the process.
Hamlin is one of the top DFS plays this week because he's a three-time winner at Richmond. He finished second here in the spring race, leading 207 of 400 laps but ultimately not getting the job done.
This week, I want to talk a little more about strategy than about individual drivers, though.
Because we're in the playoffs, the playoff drivers start first through 16th. That means that we don't randomly have any good drivers starting way back in the back, so you're going to have to recalculate some things.
Looking for place differential? There won't be someone like Kevin Harvick or Aric Almirola randomly starting 28th, so you're going to have to make riskier moves if you want to get those PD points. Chase Briscoe and Matt DiBenedetto start 26th and 28th respectively, making those two drivers you could target for those points. But there's a lot less certainty this week in terms of where the PD points might come from.
That makes picking someone/someones who can lead laps and contend for the win is more important than ever, especially in a 400-lap race, where there are a lot of laps led and fastest lap points up for grabs. That's why I like Hamlin so much. It's why I like Martin Truex Jr., who has been really successful here. It's why Kyle Larson is a strong play.
So, keep that in mind. Some other notes:
- this starting structure makes me low on Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick, and Michael McDowell. Too many chances for negative PD points there.
- Erik Jones starts 31st, but at this point I'm not sure I trust that car enough to go too heavy on him.
- Corey LaJoie has had some speed lately, but starting 25th scares me off of him. There's some upside there, but there's also some downside, so...how risky are y'all feeling?
- Kyle Busch is your best PD driver out of the playoff drivers, as he starts 15th. I'll play a good bit of him.
