August 16, 2025
Like his Front Row Motorsports teammate Noah Gragson, Zane Smith has never finished in the top ten on a short track and his overall Richmond record is even worse than Gragson's as his best finish in last year's race was 23rd and even in the Craftsman Truck Series, he never finished better than fifth. However, he qualified 29th and he tends to be most likely to be the highest FRM finisher at most tracks. Couple that with him only being in his second season while Gragson and Todd Gilliland have been around longer and it's easier to see Smith making a sudden improvement at tracks where he's struggled in the past. However, attempting to predict which race a driver will suddenly figure out a track is a bit of a fool's errand and there's no way of really figuring that out with any certainty, so Smith should probably be avoided.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
August 16, 2025
Noah Gragson has never earned a top-10 finish on a short track before, but he did earn his second-best finish on this track type in the spring Richmond race in 2024 when he finished 12th. He also won the Xfinity Series race in 2021. Gragson starts 22nd in Saturday evening's event, where he did outqualify both his Front Row Motorsports teammates Zane Smith and Todd Gilliland. While the FRM team has shown some speed here periodically (especially Gilliland), it's hard to imagine Gragson being much of a contender when he has been consistently slow in races throughout this year. When you further consider that he outqualified both his teammates who are more likely to have a decent finish, Gragson's value for DFS lineups is extremely low.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
August 16, 2025
After practice on Friday afternoon at Richmond Raceway, Kyle Busch was being pointed at as one of the drivers to beat for Saturday night's Cook Out 400. However, for that to be the case, he's going to have some work to do, as the No. 8 Chevrolet will roll off the starting grid from 28th place for this weekend's race. Busch is a six-time winner at Richmond, and his teammate Austin Dillon had the best car in this race one year ago, so that has to be encouraging for the Richard Childress Racing organization. Since joining RCR, however, Busch has had just one good finish at this track -- a third-place effort in 2023. As far as DraftKings and DFS goes, Busch ($8,500 on DraftKings) is sure to be a popular pick due to his practice speed and place-differential upside. Hopefully he won't get stuck a lap down early on, though, as there is always a possibility of that happening at such a short track.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
August 16, 2025
Tyler Reddick will roll off the starting grid from the outside pole for Saturday night's Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway, and it'll be interesting to see what kind of speed the No. 45 Toyota has in the race. Reddick's track record at "The Action Track" isn't awful, but it's not great by any means. Outside of his third-place finish in last year's race, Reddick has never finished better than 10th in a Cup Series racxe here, and he has just two top-10 finishes in nine career starts at Richmond. Obviously the solid qualifying effort is a positive for Reddick and his team this weekend, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him slip back after the race starts and settle into the back end of the top 10. The No. 45 Toyota was just 18th-fastest in practice on Friday. As far as DraftKings goes, Reddick ($8,700) should be used sparingly in tournament-style lineups.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
August
16,
2025
Last
season
at
Richmond
Raceway,
we
witnessed
one
of
the
most
memorable
races
of
the
season,
as
Austin
Dillon
had
the
field
covered
until
a
late-race
caution
caused
him
to
go
kamikaze
mode
on
Joey
Logano
and
Denny
Hamlin
en
route
read more...
August 16, 2025
Don't count out Josh Berry from getting a strong finish in Saturday night's Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway. In three career Cup Series starts at this track, Berry has finished 14th or better each time, including a runner-up finish in the 2023 race when he was filling in in the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Last season, when he was driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, he ended up 11th and 14th. This weekend, Berry qualified 17th and should be able to move up, as the No. 21 Ford looked pretty good on the long run in practice, ranking seventh-fastest in 25-lap average. At similar tracks this season, Berry has finished fourth at Phoenix and 13th at Iowa, so there is definitely upside here. In terms of DFS, though, Berry comes at a relatively high price tag, at $8,000 on DraftKings. You can still use him, maybe as a pivot in large-field tournament contests.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
August 16, 2025
Michael McDowell could be a driver that sneaks into the top 10 when it's all said and done at Richmond Raceway on Saturday night. The Spire Motorsports driver qualified 10th for this weekend's Cook Out 400 and had a pretty decent practice session, posting the 12th-fastest single lap and ranking 14th-best when it came to 20-lap average. McDowell's track history at Richmond is pretty awful, though, and over the last 13 races here, he has only cracked the top 20 twice. However, one of those times was last season (he finished 15th), and the other time was in 2023, when he ended up sixth--so they're both recent. One of McDowell's strengths is high-tire wear tracks, so that should help him in this weekend. In DFS, McDowell is a very risky play ($6,100 on DraftKings) that should be used sparingly in tournament-style lineups. For what it's worth, he ended up 12th at Martinsville earlier this season.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
August 16, 2025
Alex Bowman was a part of one of the most memorable recent races at Richmond Raceway when he went to victory lane here in 2021, but since then, Bowman "The Showman" hasn't been great at "The Action Track." Although he did finish eighth here both in 2022 and 2023, Bowman has ended up 17th or worse in four of his last five starts at this race track, so it makes for an interesting decision for fantasy players to make on whether or not to pick him for this weekend's Cook Out 400. One positive thing when it comes to Bowman is that he has been solid on the shorter, flat tracks this season, with seventh-place finishes at both Phoenix and Iowa. He also finished fourth in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. As far as DFS goes, Bowman is $7,800 on DraftKings and has minimal Place Differential upside, as he starts ninth. He could be a pivot option in this price range, but you should only consider that in tournament-style lineups.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
August 16, 2025
One surprising name near the top of the speed chart during qualifying at Richmond Raceway this weekend was AJ Allmendinger, who has struggled mightily at "The Action Track" for years. Over the last 10 races at Richmond Raceway, Allmendinger hasn't been able to finish better than 20th, and you have to go back to 2014 to find a race here where he finished inside the top 10. In other words, be leery about the speed that Allmendinger has shown this weekend. The qualifying effort was obviously great for this No. 16 Kaulig Racing team, but it's hard to imagine Allmendinger maintaining that track position during the race on Saturday night. In DFS, he is a full fade considering the very high potential for negative Place Differential.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
August 16, 2025
If you're looking for a low-tier sleeper to take a shot on in this weekend's Cook Out 400, John Hunter Nemechek may be your guy. Richmond is a 0.75-mile short, flat track, and when you look at the comparable tracks from this season, JHN hasn't been half bad. He finished 14th at Phoenix (after starting 36th), finished second in his All Star Open race at North Wilkesboro, and then came home fourth in the Last Chance Race at Bowman Gray. Additionally, Nemechek ended up 15th at Iowa earlier this month. Now, as far as his track record here at Richmond specifically, it isn't very good (with no finish better than 25th), but it appears as though this No. 42 team is consistently finding speed at flat track this year. Nemechek qualified 34th for Saturday night's race at Richmond, making him an attractive Place Differential option in DFS that could go under the radar. Considering using John Hunter Nemechek ($6,200 on DraftKings) in tournament-style lineups.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
August 11, 2025
Although Christopher Bell has faded since his three straight wins earlier this season, he remains competitive as he finished second yesterday at Watkins Glen, giving him his third top two finish on a road course this season and his fourth second-place finish since his three-in-a-row streak. Like William Byron, Bell wasn't a major factor early but his team's decision to not flip Stage 2 gave him an advantage because while Shane van Gisbergen was able to drive through the field and pass everyone, the other drivers who flipped the stage could not and the rest of the drivers on the alternate pit strategy largely retained their positions. Bell conserved his tires a little better than everyone else and drove from 7th to 2nd in the last 17 laps, taking second on the last lap. The race moved him into a tie with Kyle Larson for fourth in the championship, but he's not really a contender for the regular season title.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
August 11, 2025
William Byron never led at Watkins Glen, but he earned a respectable fourth-place finish in a race where three of his championship rivals Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson ran terribly. As a result, Byron boosted his championship lead to 42 points, which means he will very likely win the regular season championship unless he crashes at Richmond or Daytona. Byron initially faded but came to the fore in Stage 2 when he stayed out of the pits to collect stage points. Byron's decision not to flip Stage 2 turned out to be the right one as almost all the drivers who did except for Shane van Gisbergen were not able to drive up through the field. He briefly returned to second on Lap 74 before being passed by both Christophers Bell and Buescher, but he did what he needed to do to make the regular season championship nearly a done deal.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
August
11,
2025
Ryan
Blaney
had
possibly
the
best
Cup
Series
road
course
race
of
his
entire
career
at
Watkins
Glen
yesterday,
where
he
earned
his
first
ever
pole
on
a
road
course,
led
35
laps
(the
most
he
has
ever
led
on
a
read more...
August 11, 2025
Although Alex Bowman earned points in both stages, his 20th-place finish caused him to lose points to both Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece in the battle for the last two spots in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Bowman started ahead of both drivers in ninth but Buescher overtook him for the eventual Stage 1 win shortly before he inherited the lead when all three drivers stayed out of the pits to collect stage points. Bowman elected to stay out for stage points gain in Stage 2 while Buescher and Preece pitted during that stage, which turned out to be the better strategy. When Bowman finally pitted on lap 58, he had fallen far behind the other two before falling even further from 13th to 20th in the last 15 laps of the race. He remains ahead of both drivers with a 26-point lead over Buescher and a 60-point lead over Preece, but he still has to be sweating bullets.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
August 11, 2025
Kyle Larson's summer slump continued at Watkins Glen yesterday. After qualifying 26th, Larson had only made up two positions when he spun out on Lap 6. The spin was the result of an unforced error but Larson attributed it to losing his brakes, an unusual circumstance for so early in the race. Although his car did not seem to suffer much cosmetic damage, Larson fell 15 laps down and finished last in a race that had no DNFs. He did manage to double his point total late in the race by setting the fastest lap long after he was out of contention, but he fell 85 points behind his points-leading teammate William Byron, which pretty much takes him out of having any realistic hope for winning the regular season championship.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
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