This Saturday night at Richmond, the NASCAR Cup Series kicks off a two-week run on the Virginia short tracks. Looking at the track specs for Richmond Raceway, it is a 0.75-mile D-shaped asphalt track. As this track is one of the tiniest on the circuit, there will be a lot of driver contact. Aside from that, they also run the 750hp low downforce rules, making the event quite volatile. We have seen fewer cautions over the past three seasons; however, in 2016 there were 16 total cautions at Richmond, the most ever seen at this track.
In a similar vein as Darlington, Richmond is another pure dominator event. Because of the track’s small size, laps pile up in a hurry during the race. Considering this race requires 400 laps to complete, that works out to 280 dominator points on DraftKings. Build your roster so you have a couple of potential dominators and a dark horse who can mop up any remaining laps that go begging. In a race with 400 laps, expect there to be more than two drivers that control the laps led.
This week, the Money Train delves into the DFS options for Saturday’s Cup Series event in Richmond, VA. I’ve broken down the selections between high salary, mid-range, and value play. Included are player salaries from both FanDuel (FD) and DraftKings (DK). Best of luck to everyone with their lineups this weekend.
High Salary
Joey Logano (12,500 FD |10,700 DK)
While both of the Penske drivers have shown to be successful at the Richmond short track when on their game, it has been Logano’s ability to lead laps in 2021 that has made him the clear winner for me. In total, he has led 409 laps, placing him fourth among drivers. In spite of never leading a huge number of laps here, he is almost certain to lead 40 or more laps, as he has done it four of the last six times. Moreover, with the speeds the Penske Fords will be running, it wouldn’t be surprising if Logano ended the night with the highest number of fastest laps. Logano fits well both as a pivot or a dominator stack.
Martin Truex Jr. (14,000 FD | 10,200 DK)
A winner of two of the last five Richmond races, there’s been no one more dominant on this short track than Truex. In April, he was also in contention to win the Richmond event, but a late pit-road penalty ended that dream. With that said, Truex would lead 106 of the race laps to finish fifth, salvaging a solid points day.
As a result of Truex’s strong performance last weekend, he was gifted a third-place starting position for Saturday. He may find pole-sitter Kyle Larson challenging out of the gate, but this is a marathon, not a sprint. When Truex finds the advantage eventually, it will be difficult for anyone to overtake him. It’s important to remember that he has led at least 100 laps in seven of the last nine Richmond races. He is likely to be the most highly owned driver for the reasons mentioned above. You will want at least a few shares of him in case he hits pay dirt.
Mid-Range
Matt DiBenedetto (7,800 FD | 8,100 DK)
With a setback last weekend at Darlington, DiBenedetto looks to regain the momentum he built up over the past few months. His last visit to Richmond in April saw him break personal track records both in finishing position (ninth) and driver rating (86.4). This weekend he starts 28th, which should give him a reasonable margin of safety if he fails to convert. In essence, he will be racing in Penske equipment this weekend, and as previously stated, Penske has proven very formidable here. DiBenedetto has been eager to get Wood Brothers its 200th victory. Richmond’s diverse pit strategies could offer him his last shot at accomplishing that goal.
Value Play
Ryan Newman (5,500 FD | 6,000 DK)
When you’re running short tracks, it’s always good to have an experienced steady eddy in your corner. Despite the volatile nature of this track, Newman has only been in one accident out of 38 cup visits so far. Though his results are not always pretty at Richmond, he is more than capable of rewarding his owners with a gritty top-five finish here, which he has done numerous times before. Newman rolls off the line in 24th, leaving plenty of meat on the bone if he can take advantage. Furthermore, the price tag on Newman is an absolute bargain at just $6,000 on DraftKings. Think about stacking him with Anthony Alfredo or Bubba Wallace. Both are within the same price range and offer decent place differential value.
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