NASCAR Cup Series Richmond DFS Picks

The NASCAR Cup Series is in Richmond this week for a Saturday night race with just a few races before the playoffs begin. We saw things get crazy here last season with Austin Dillon taking out everyone in his way to get the win and into the playoffs. It has been a few weeks since we have had a smaller track like Richmond so dominators will be important this week with a lot of laps led and fast laps up for grabs in the race. We should expect at least 1-2 main dominators this week and it will be important to have those drivers that get the majority of the dominator points.

Potential Dominators

Denny Hamlin

Ryan Preece

Hamlin had the best car in practice and is at a track that he and his team are great at. He starts in 4th so it won’t be very long before he can battle for the lead and he will have the chance to rack up a ton of laps led in this race. Tire wear is going to be huge this week and Hamlin is one of the best in these type of races. Preece went out and got the pole in a week that he really needed it to try to get some stage points to get in the playoffs. He had speed in practice on the long run as well so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him lead a good chunk of the race at the beginning. At his cheaper salary he could be a great value play this week.

Place Differential Plays

Kyle Larson

Ryan Blaney

Joey Logano

Kyle Busch

Ross Chastain

There are a lot of place differential plays this week with a lot of top drivers starting outside the top 20. Larson starts it off starting back in 30th giving him huge place differential potential this weekend. He had speed in his practice session so I would expect him to at least run in the top 10, it’s just a matter of if he is going to be worth the high salary. Blaney was one of the few cars that had lap averages in the same ballpark of Hamlin in their practice session. Historically Richmond is not a great track for him but he starts in 20th and could be a top 5 car if practice is any indication. Logano is the obvious play of the weekend starting dead last with issues in practice. He has a ton of place differential potential and will be a popular play this week. Busch was the fastest car in his practice session and looks like he could be really good in the race. RCR seems to have figured out speed at Richmond and with him starting 28th he should be a great play this week. Chastain was a driver that had good speed on the long run and starting 33rd he is a great place differential option.

Cheap Options

Corey Heim

Todd Gilliland

Jesse Love

Ty Dillon

Heim is running the Cup race this week and starts way in the back in 32nd. He actually had solid lap averages in practice so I think he is a good play this week with top 25 potential with upside for more. Gilliland was one of the few cheap regulars that had pretty good lap times on the long run. I think he moves forward from his 31st starting spot and should be a good option. Love is another driver like Heim coming up to the Cup series for this race and had speed in practice. He’s in another RCR car and they all looked fast so he is a great option starting way back in 35th. Ty Dillon could be the wildcard this weekend as he had top 3 speed in his practice session throughout the run. Usually you wouldn’t consider using him starting 16th but drivers starting in the back are going to struggle to stay on the lead lap early and if he has the speed he had in practice he could end up a great option if he can run around the top 15 at the end of the day.

Tournament Plays

Josh Berry

Austin Dillon

Alex Bowman

This is a race that staying on the lead lap is going to be very important for the place differential plays. These drivers have a good history at Richmond and had speed in practice. They start higher than you normally want, but I could see them having a good race and ending up with a top 10 which will be a solid play at their salaries for DFS. They should all be lower owned with so many place differential options.