2 months 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.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2
months
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.
In
read more...
2 months 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.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2
months
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...
2 months 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.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2
months
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
a
read more...
2 months 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.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2
months
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...
2 months 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.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Action Network
2 months 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.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
2 months agoDeath. Taxes. Denny Hamlin contending at Richmond Raceway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has finished sixth or better in 13 of the last 16 races at this track, including a win in the first NextGen race here. Over those four races in this new car, Hamlin has the best average running position, the best average finish, and the second-most fastest laps. In short, this is a great track for Denny, and that's why he's one of the favorites to win this weekend's Toyota Owners 400 despite qualifying 11th. For DFS contests, Hamlin combines place differential upside as well as dominator and winning potential, so he makes for a good pick--even at that high $11,200 price tag on DraftKings.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
2 months agoChris Buescher may not be the first driver that comes to mind when the NASCAR Cup Series visits a short, flat track, but he should be in your top tier. Buescher is the most recent race winner at Richmond Raceway, as he won here last July despite starting relatively deep in the field (26th). This weekend, Buescher had a better qualifying effort and will roll off the starting grid from 14th for the Toyota Owners 400. Can he repeat the race-winning performance, though? Buescher was very happy with his car after practice on Saturday and had good speed to back it up (he was fourth in ten-lap average). In DraftKings contests, he looks to be a great pick at just $9,300 with such high upside. For what it's worth, Phoenix the most comparable track to Richmond, and Buescher came home with a runner-up finish there earlier this month.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
2 months agoDaniel Hemric has been the slowest full-time driver of 2024 with a speed percentile of 17.51. Don't expect that to change much after today's race at Richmond as he qualified a mere 34th only ahead of the Rick Ware cars of Kaz Grala and Justin Haley. Although Hemric finished all three of starts at Richmond, he hasn't competed there since 2019 and never finished on the lead lap or led a lap with a best finish of 19th. In the Xfinity Series, he was better with three top fives and 102 laps led, but short tracks aren't really his discipline in the Cup Series, as all three of his top-10 finishes have came on superspeedways. When you further consider that he has no experience at Richmond in the NextGen car, he'll likely finish several laps down in this weekend's race.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoAlthough Justin Haley delivered two of Rick Ware Racing's best-ever performances in his last two races, earning the team the best average running position in back-to-back events, his last race at Circuit of the Americas was overshadowed by a post-race disqualification when it was revealed that his car was too light. The last-place finish culminated in him getting a poor qualifying draw at Richmond, which resulted in him qualifying 36th and last next to his teammate Kaz Grala. Richmond isn't a particularly strong track for Haley as he has never finished better than 21st, finished on the lead lap, or led a lap in his career, and now he is driving a Rick Ware car that is probably slower than the Kaulig car he drove in 2022 and 2023. Considering all that and the poor Ford speed, Haley seems poised for a rough outing. Still, though, he is a relatively safe and cheap DFS option, as his $5,300 price tag on DraftKings and his last-place starting spot gives him upside without much risk.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoKaz Grala will be making his first NASCAR Cup Series start at Richmond this weekend, and Richmond was actually one of Grala's most productive tracks in the Xfinity Series, as he scored top-10 finishes in his last three starts there culminating in a fourth-place finish at last year's spring event, tying for his best career finish. He did outqualify teammate Justin Haley in 35th this weekend, but they are starting alongside each other in the last row so it seems like they probably won't have the speed to contend. The fact that they both have Fords in a race where the Fords look like they are going to be slow doesn't help. Even if Grala is something of a Richmond specialist, the fact that he has been significantly slower than Haley--he has a speed percentile of 19.50 to Haley's 32.68--also indicates that he won't likely contend.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
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