Cook Out 400 DFS Picks: Richmond DraftKings and FanDuel
A 400-lap short track where the pole can dominate and the best cars start deep. Here is how to attack Richmond on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Richmond is the only three-quarter-mile track the Cup Series visits, and it races unlike anywhere else on the schedule. The surface has not been repaved in over twenty years, so tires wear hard and long-run speed separates the field. For DFS, this is a short-track slate: track position matters, and over 400 laps, leading laps is one of the biggest scoring levers available.
The dominator question
On a 400-lap short track, laps led and fastest laps are worth a fortune. The pole-sitter is the obvious source, but he is not the only one, and he will be the most popular play on the slate.
Blaney starts on the pole with a field-high 58 projected laps led and the top projection on the board. On a short track that rewards track position, that is a massive dominator ceiling. The catch is ownership: at 64 percent he is the most popular play on the slate, a near-lock for cash but offering no leverage in tournaments.
The contrarian laps-led play. Logano starts tenth with 18.5 projected laps led at a third of Blaney’s ownership. He has run well at Richmond, and if the race gives the front-runners clean track, he delivers dominator points without the chalk.
The boldest leverage play on the board. Gibbs starts fourth with a field-second 19 projected laps led, yet sits at just 7 percent owned. He needs to convert track position into laps led, but at that ownership the payoff for being right is enormous.
The deep place-differential core
Qualifying pushed two of the fastest cars in the field toward the back, and at a short track that rewards passing, that is exactly where you want your elite talent.
Larson starts 30th with a +15 place-differential projection and a 48.5-point ceiling. He has the pace to slice through the field over 400 laps. Half the slate is on him, but the combination of elite speed and a deep start is the most reliable way to score at Richmond.
The top place-differential play on the board. Reddick starts 32nd, finished third here in 2024, and carries a +15 projection. Like Larson he is chalk, but the deep-starting speed profile is the backbone of a Richmond lineup.
The cheaper way onto the deep-start climb. SVG starts 31st with a +10 place-differential and a board-best value. The road-course ace has quietly improved on ovals, and at this salary the finish math is excellent.
Pedigree and leverage
Nobody in the field owns Richmond like Hamlin: five wins, six runner-ups. He starts 14th with 19 projected laps led and a positive place-differential, so he scores from both angles. At 27 percent he is far less owned than the deep-starting stars. The most complete play on the board.
Elite speed from eighth with 18.7 projected laps led, yet only 10 percent owned. The spot is awkward, not deep enough for big place-differential and not up front enough to lock laps led, but at that ownership Bell is a genuine tournament differentiator if he finds the lead.
Dillon has won this exact race the last two years. He starts 16th with a positive place-differential and a proven ability to close at Richmond when a playoff spot is on the line. A sneaky play with real winning equity.
How to build it
Cash game core
Tournament build
Contrarian angle
The bottom line
Richmond gives you two ways to score, and the best lineups use both: a source of laps led up front and elite cars climbing from deep. The chalk is obvious this week, so the edge is in the pivots. Logano and Gibbs are the leverage dominators, Hamlin is the underowned pedigree play, and Dillon is the two-time defending winner nobody is talking about. Then remember how short tracks end, with a late caution and a restart scramble, and leave room for the chaos.