4 weeks agoKyle Larson survived the late race carnage and finished third in this week's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. In the early portion of the race, Larson was the dominant driver, as he would go on to win the first stage. Larson would continue to remain one of the best cars of the day, finishing fourth by the end of stage two despite nearly falling behind due to foiled pit strategy. In the final stage, Larson would run in the Top 5, being the second-fastest car for most of the race behind Martin Truex Jr., but eventually spun off of Bubba Wallace's bumper with two laps to go. With Larson saving the car from further damage and his pit crew keeping him in contention, he would capture his fifth top-5 finish at Richmond. After leading the second-most laps of all drivers (144) and gaining his third top-5 finish of 2024, Larson looks ahead to Martinsville, where he has one win and six top-10 finishes in 18 starts there. Source: NASCAR.com
4 weeks agoRFK Racing driver Brad Keselowski ended Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway by placing eighth. With Richmond being one of his best tracks, a strong run was anticipated from Keselowski, but at first, it did not seem that way through the first stage. During the beginning ofread more...
4 weeks agoIn Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway, Chris Buescher captured a finish of ninth. At one of his best tracks in recent years, Buescher was expected to run well while competing for a top finish, and he followed through on another solid run. After starting 14th, Buescher would methodically make his way through the field, and by the second stage, he would crack the Top 10, where he would remain running through most of the rest of the race. Although his car was faster than most, he would never show the speed and handling needed to make his way into the Top 5 and wind up with his third career Richmond Top 10 finish. With his fifth top-10 finish of the year now recorded, Buescher will look to gather another one at Martinsville next weekend, where he has two top-10 finishes in 17 total starts.Source: NASCAR.com
4 weeks agoFor this week's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway, Bubba Wallace qualified fifth. Wallace is the highest-starting Toyota driver this week and matched his personal-highest starting position at Richmond and for the year. In 11 starts at the Virginia track, Wallace has three top-15 finishes but also never placed in the Top 10. Through six races so far this year, Wallace has three top-15 finishes and three finishes with positive place differential. In practice, Wallace was a part of Group B, which dealt with slower track conditions. The driver of the No. 23 Toyota ranked 21st of all drivers in overall lap averages and sixth of all Group B drivers. With his high starting position, Wallace offers little PD upside and with his track history suggesting he will drop back by the end, Wallace is not recommended as a fantasy play this week.Source: Driveraverages.com
4 weeks agoZane Smith will make his Richmond Raceway Cup debut from the 28th position in this week's Toyota Owners 400. This will be Smith's fourth race where he will start 25th or worse in his rookie season so far. In four starts at Richmond in the Truck Series, Smith has two top-10 finishes, with a best finish of third in his last appearance there in July 2023. Through six races so far in 2024, Smith has two top-20 finishes with positive place differential. In practice, Smith was a part of Group A, which dealt with faster track conditions but ranked 34th in overall lap averages of all drivers while ranking as the slowest driver in Group A. Considering his results so far this season, as well as his practice results and Truck Series history, Smith is not one of the prime picks that fantasy players should include in lineups this week. Especially when there are better alternatives available in the same price range.Source: Driveraverages.com
4 weeks ago23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick will start this week's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway from the 19th position after qualifying. Reddick's starting position in Sunday's race is tied for the second-worst of the year and his third-worst qualifying position in his Cup career at Richmond. In seven starts at RR, Reddick never scored a single top-10 finish despite leading 81 laps and winning the first stage in his last appearance at the site. In six races so far in 2024, Reddick has three top-10 finishes and led in the last four Cup events. In practice, Reddick was a part of Group B, which dealt with slower track conditions, with his overall lap average being 29th of all drivers and seventh-slowest of all Group B drivers. Despite having a decent potential upside and leading laps in his last Richmond appearance, the Virginia track is one of Reddick's worst Cup tracks historically. DFS players should consider more favorable alternative drivers compared to Reddick at Richmond this week. Source: Driveraverages.com
4 weeks agoIn Toyota Owners 400 qualifying at Richmond Raceway, Kyle Larson captured the pole position with the fastest time in the second round. Larson's pole will be the fourth time that he will start at the front at Richmond, as well as his first pole of the year. Inread more...
4 weeks agoErik Jones will start Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway from the 27th position. This will be Jones' fourth start at Richmond worse than 25th and his third-worst starting position of the year. In 13 races at Richmond in his Cup career, Jones has five top-20 finishes and five finishes with positive place differential. The driver of the No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota has three top-20 finishes and four finishes with positive PD so far this year. In practice, Jones was a part of Group B, which dealt with slower track conditions, and ranked 33rd in overall lap averages as well as the third slowest Group B driver. Although Jones' starting position offers plenty of potential PD upside, Richmond is not one of his best tracks, as he also failed to score a top-20 in the last five races there. Jones is a usable driver in DFS this week, but there are more favorable options available for the price.
Source: Driveraverages.com
4 weeks agoSophomore Cup driver Ty Gibbs will start the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond from the eighth position. This starting position is the second time Gibbs will start from the Top 10 at Richmond and will be the fourth time this season Gibbs will start from the Top 10.read more...
4 weeks agoIn qualifying, Chase Elliott racked up a starting position of second for this week's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. This is Elliott's first front-row start of the year and just the second of his Cup career at Richmond. In 15 starts at the Virginia track, Elliott has six top-10 finishes, including three top-5 finishes in his last six appearances there. Elliott has one top-10 finish so far this season but also placed in the Top 20 in every race to date. In practice, Elliott's overall lap averages ranked 24th of all drivers but ninth of all drivers in Group B, which dealt with slower track conditions. Although Elliott's history has been mixed at Richmond, he is a driver worth consideration for tournament-based DFS lineups, considering the No. 9 Chevrolet was the runner-up in this race last year with substitute driver Josh Berry. Elliott's best result of the season so far also was at Bristol, a short track dealing with tire wear like Richmond. With these factors, fantasy players should roster Elliott with caution.Source: Driveraverages.com
4 weeks agoRoss Chastain will start third in this week's race at Richmond Raceway. Sunday's race will be the third time Chastain will start from the Top 5, and is his highest starting position of the season so far. Richmond is a track where Chastain has struggled to score aread more...
4 weeks agoAfter qualifying for this week's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway, Chase Briscoe will start 32nd. This will be Briscoe's lowest starting position through his Cup Series career at Richmond to date. In six previous races at the Virginia track, Briscoe has four top-20 finishes and scored positive place differential four times. After six races so far this year, Briscoe has four top-15 finishes, including each of the past three Cup Series events. Briscoe was a part of Group A in practice, which dealt with faster track conditions, and ended 16th in overall lap averages of all drivers. Considering his overall track history at Richmond and his 2024 season-wide performance, DFS players should feel great about rostering Briscoe as a driver capable of placing in the Top 20.Source: Driveraverages.com
4 weeks agoHendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman obtained a starting position of fourth after qualifying for this week's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. Sunday's race will mark his highest starting position of the season and his first time in the Top 5 in 2024. In 15 starts at Richmond,read more...
4 weeks agoMartin Truex, Jr. is the favorite to win the Toyota Owners 400 this weekend. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver looked strong in practice on Saturday, especially on the long runs, which are going to be a key factor in this weekend's race. Truex is a three-time winner at Richmond Raceway and has led 50 or more laps in 10 of the last 14 races at this track. In the four NextGen races at Richmond, Truex has had the second-best average running position and ranks second-best in average finish as well. In DFS contests, Truex is a great pick, as he has a little bit of place differential upside since he starts seventh, as well as dominator potential. His $10,800 price tag on DraftKings is well worth it this weekend.Source: Action Network
4 weeks agoChristopher Bell came into the Toyota Owners 400 race weekend as one of the favorites to win the race, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is going to have some work to do on Sunday night. Bell's No. 20 Toyota bobbled a bit during his qualifying run on Saturday morning and Bell wasn't able to recover, as he will start from back in 29th when the race goes green. Bell is used to not qualifying well at Richmond Raceway, though, as he has started outside of the top 20 in each of the last four races now. Over the previous three, though, he has posted finishes of 20th, 4th, and 2nd, so there isn't much to be concerned about this weekend. From a DFS perspective, Bell is one of the highest-priced drivers on DraftKings for Richmond ($11,000) and fantasy players could have to make a tough decision on whether to chase place differential points with Bell or dominator points with someone else. Bell is definitely a safe DFS option this weekend because of his deep starting position.Source: Jayski