This weekend the Cup series heads to Richmond for the second race of the playoffs before they head to Bristol for the final race in the first round of the playoffs. Richmond is a flat short track that they have not ran this season but does compare well to Martinsville, Loudon, and Phoenix. Since they have ran races at all three of those(including 2 post Covid break) we have some data we can use to apply to this race. The strategy I am looking at here is 2-4 dominators as we have seen in both the truck and Xfinity race that we can see multiple leaders and different strategies that can give different drivers advantages to lead laps and get fastest laps.
Martin Truex Jr (DK $10,900 FD $13,000)
When the Cup series heads to Richmond, Truex is always in play for dfs. With his move to try to win last week, he will now start 14th and has massive upside. In the last five races he has two wins and has led over 100 laps in each of those five races. Of course Truex always seems to do well at races that start with the sun up and end at night, like Martinsville earlier this season where he led 132 laps and won. He will be the chalk driver on Saturday and is a must play in cash games.
Kevin Harvick (DK $11,300 FD $14,000)
The debate will be do you play Harvick or Logano or do you play both in cash. I think Harvick may get more ownership then Logano just because Harvick has done so well this season. He has finished in the top 7 in the last eight races here. He finished 5th in New Hampshire a few weeks ago and 2nd at Phoenix earlier this season. I can see playing both in cash as Logano could lead early and we see Harvick lead more mid race like the last race in Darlington.
Joey Logano (DK $9,300 FD $12,200)
Logano has the best average finish at Richmond in recent history. He starts from the 2nd position and is more aggressive earlier in a race then Harvick typically is. He has led laps in 3 of the last six races here. He has four top 5s in those races including a win and two second place finishes. He has done well at the similar tracks this season and as long as he gets out front early and locks in some early dom points he should do well for your dfs lineups on Saturday.
Jimmie Johnson (DK $8,700 FD $10,000)
In this mid range, I really like Jimmie and what upside he presents starting 18th. Well Jimmie has struggled over the past couple of years, Richmond has been one of Jimmie’s better tracks. He has finished inside the top 12 in the last eleven races here. I know Jimmie would love to win one of these last nine races left in the season and I think this track offers up one of those oppurtunities. I also think Jimmie is a decent play on SuperDraft at a 1.3x multiplier with his pd upside.
Ryan Newman (DK $7,000 FD $8,000)
Newman starts 21st on Saturday and is coming off a 15th place finish at Darlington after a rough couple weeks. Newman is a play where you are looking at previous track history. Last season, he finished 5th and 9th here in the 6 car and has an average finish in recent races of 12.67 which includes a race where he wrecked and finished 37th. I think this is a great pivot spot off some of the other drivers in this range which is really strong with the likes of Bubba, Bell and Reddick.
Tyler Reddick (DK $6,900 FD $8,200)
Reddick has been one of the most impressive rookies this season and is coming off a disappointing finish at Darlington last week. He starts 22nd on Saturday and had an average finish inside the top 10 at Richmond in the Xfinity series. If you are looking at comparable tracks, Reddick finished 10th at New Hampshire a couple weeks ago and i think he has that same upside again here at a decent price.
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