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Justin's NASCAR DFS picks for DraftKings, FanDuel for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway (2025). His top NASCAR daily fantasy lineup plays and DFS sleepers.
Just two races remain before the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin. Last year, Austin Dillon scored a shocking win in this race to steal a playoff spot. While his playoff spot was later overturned for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin while racing for the win, his performance proved that you never know when a driver who is low in the standings will put together an impressive race. If not for a late caution, Dillon would have still won the race and wouldn't have lost his playoff spot.
A number of drivers in must-win situations have shown speed this weekend, including polesitter Ryan Preece, as well as his RFK Racing teammate Brad Keselowski, who starts sixth. Overall, six of the top 10 drivers on the grid are winless so far in 2025.
Below are my NASCAR DFS lineup picks for the Cook Out 400 on DraftKings and FanDuel this week. This slate locks on 8/16/2025 at 7:30 p.m. EST.
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DFS Lineup Picks - DraftKings, FanDuel
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Disclaimer: All the drivers presented as picks for this week's race are meant to be some of my top DFS recommendations of the week. They are not originally intended to fit all into one lineup.
Denny Hamlin
Starts 4th - DK: $11.0K, FD: $14.0K
Denny Hamlin has been very, very good at Richmond. He's posted an average finish of 8.1 across his 36 career Cup Series starts here, making it his second-best track by average finish behind only Darlington.
Hamlin has been especially good in this new generation car, finishing first or second in three consecutive races at this track. Last year, he led 124 laps here before finishing second to Dillon. Overall, Hamlin has led at least five laps in nine consecutive Richmond starts, with triple-digit laps led three times in that span.
Cup qualifying results from @RichmondRaceway
P4 - @dennyhamlin
P8 - @CBellRacing
P19 - @chasebriscoe
P23 - @TyGibbs #TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/CP0Uc4tDUT— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) August 15, 2025
This season, Hamlin has been a machine at these non-intermediate tracks, winning Martinsville, Darlington, and Dover, plus finishing second at Phoenix and Bristol. He'll be a major threat to win this one.
Kyle Larson
Starts 30th - DK: $10.5K, FD: $13.0K
There are a number of big place differential swings you can make on Saturday, but the most obvious one has to be Kyle Larson.
It's not clear what happened in qualifying, but Larson's speed just vanished. He had the second-best 10-lap average behind Kyle Busch during practice, but his speed evaporated in the qualifying run, with Larson going just 30th.
Tomorrow's starting lineup for @RichmondRaceway. pic.twitter.com/bz4HVOB7Bf
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) August 15, 2025
Larson's in a bit of a slump right now. He's finished 28th or worse in three of the last five races, and after winning three times in the season's first 12 races, Larson hasn't won since.
Maybe Richmond will change his fortunes. He'll have to come through a ton of traffic, but he's won here twice, and the only time he's started outside the top 20 at this track, he finished fifth. That gives me a strong level of confidence in Larson this weekend.
Ross Chastain
Starts 33rd - DK: $8.3K, FD: $9.0K
There's a good number of place differential candidates this weekend. Not counting the drivers I've written about in this article, Kyle Busch, Corey Heim, John Hunter Nemechek, Jesse Love, and Joey Logano start 28th or worse and have varying levels of appeal.
Chastain feels like someone who might go a little overlooked this weekend. See, Busch was really fast in practice and is priced at just $200 higher on DraftKings, so he'll be a popular pick in that price range, which may drive down rostership on Chastain.
Richmond has been an uneven track for Chastain. He usually has speed, but he's finished in the top 10 just three times, though one of those was a fifth-place finish in this race last year. Not counting his four starts here in backmarker equipment, he's finished with positive place differential three of the four times he started outside the top 10.
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Austin Dillon
Starts 11th - DK: $7.3K, FD: $6.8K
No one thought Austin Dillon would win this race last year. What's to stop him from doing it all over again in 2025, sans the intentional wrecking at the end?
Average Start & Finish: Richmond (Next Gen)
2 races left until the Playoffs!
Should I have put that checkered flag next to Austin Dillon.....? 🤔😁
NASCAR at @RichmondRaceway pic.twitter.com/W9vgeqwnWd
— Steub (@Steub_) August 14, 2025
You might laugh, but RCR seems to have speed this weekend. Dillon's teammate, Kyle Busch, had the best 10-lap average in practice, while Dillon and Jesse Love were both top 10 as well.
Qualifying didn't go quite as well, but I trust the extended laps of practice more when it comes to predicting who will have speed this weekend. RCR cars should be able to move forward through the field, and Dillon has far less room to move than his teammates.
Ty Gibbs
Starts 23rd - DK: $7.0K, FD: $7.2K
It's been an up-and-down season for Ty Gibbs, who is still in search of his first Cup Series victory. Don't expect that to come on Saturday night at Richmond, but some of Gibbs' ups this season suggest he can battle for a top 10.
Of Gibbs' six top 10s, half have come at tracks that I'd say have some characteristics in common with Richmond: Darlington, Bristol, and Dover. They aren't the same track at all, but good performances at those tracks give me added faith in Gibbs this weekend.
Other than that, there's not a ton to say about this pick. Sometimes you just need a fairly boring pick that costs around $7.0K and starts outside the top 20. The ratio of cost to place differential upside is simply too great to ignore.
Todd Gilliland
Starts 31st - DK: $5.6K, FD: $4.5K
Todd Gilliland suffered a fall off in qualifying that was very similar to Larson's. Gilliland was one spot behind Larson in 10-lap average, surprisingly running the third-best time in the session. In qualifying, he was also one spot behind Larson; it's just that Larson was 30th-fastest and Gilliland was 31st.
Obviously, it makes more sense to think Larson can rebound from the poor qualifying run than Gilliland. We're talking about a former Cup Series champion compared to a driver who is 31st in the point standings.
Still, the Front Row Motorsports team seems to have some speed this weekend, even if it didn't manifest in qualifying for this No. 34 car. Teammate Noah Gragson was fourth in 10-lap average in practice, so it wasn't just Gilliland with speed.
Gilliland has struggled much of the season, but he did finish sixth in the Brickyard 400 last month, his first top 10 since Martinsville back in the spring. If I'm going to take a shot on one of these value drivers, Gilliland just has enough going in his favor to make him the preferred play.
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