Stock car racing’s premiere series makes its way to Richmond, Va. Make the most of the Cookout 400 with our NASCAR DFS picks and tiers.
We reveal our “Tire Tiers” and betting cards live every Thursday at 8:30 p.m. EST on our YouTube series, “The Backroad.” Be sure to tune in, enjoy the race, and reach out if you have any questions.
(DFS prices are courtesy of DraftKings)
NASCAR DFS Picks, Tiers & Rankings: 2024 Cookout 400
Driver As | The Elites
There are no Hendrick Motorsports Chevys in Tier-A, but two Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) Toyotas and two Blue Ovals. Denny Hamlin ($10,700) is the man to beat, as his average finish is the best among all active drivers in the Next-Gen era over the five races. He also ranks second to Joey Logano in the Next-Gen total speed rankings, courtesy of ifantasyrace.com. In the spring night race, Hamlin had an average running position of 8.2 with the sixth-best total speed ranking and the ninth-fastest long-run car. The key metric is that Hamlin had the third-fastest car in the last 100 laps. The Virginia native should be able to run in the top five for most of the day.
Joey Logano ($9,100) and Martin Truex Jr. ($10,100) are Hamlin’s most significant rivals this weekend. Both have top-seven green flag speed, top-three fantasy scores in the past few races, and the second and third-best average finishing position at Richmond, respectively. I like both as affordable options that can easily fit into your lineups.
While Brad Keselowski ($9,600) may only have a top-10 car, his last few scores have been well over 40 NASCAR DFS points. While his price tag may be steep, he could pay it off if he qualifies poorly and races up the field, netting differential points.
Driver Bs | Point-Getters
Tier-B has the HMS cars of Chase Elliott ($9,200) and Kyle Larson ($10,500), who have done excellent at Richmond. Regarding the Next-Gen total speed rankings, both have been top-six cars at Richmond and had top-eight long-run speed in the last race at “The Action Track.” Their NASCAR DFS scores average around 45-60 points here, but what makes them not elite is how bad their summer performances are at Richmond. Only once out of the four opportunities in the two summer races have they scored over 30 points. Maybe we could see a bit of a downfall in performance in the second race, but both are still excellent at short tracks and should run in the top 10 throughout the day.
Christopher Bell ($10,300) and Bubba Wallace ($7,600) are the other two Toyotas I like for this category. Both have top 12 speed in general and top seven long run speed in the last Richmond race. What keeps Bell from the Elite category is some of his summer performances at Richmond, and his regular crew chief is injured. Bubba is the best play of the week based on how cheap he is at $7600. He is priced behind other “competitive” guys like Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, and Ty Gibbs. He could outscore his price tag and make him the best player if he can have the speed to drive up the field, lead, or have fast laps.
Driver Cs | In the Mix
A lot of sneaky drivers are in the $8-9K range. You have last year’s winner in Chris Buescher ($8,900) at a decent price tag. Buescher hasn’t been the most spectacular at Richmond, but in the summer races, he averages around 86 NASCAR DFS points and has had a top-five fastest car in both races. Buescher might be a sneaky dominator for such a cheap price tag if Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) can provide him with a long-run car.
Josh Berry ($7,800) is another great play under $8K. In his only start in the Stewart-Hass Racing (SHR) No. 4 car this spring, he finished 11th but had an 8.3 average running position. He was also the seventh-fastest car, with the third-best green flag speed and the sixth-fastest long-run speed. Crew chief Rodney Childers has set up Berry well on the short tracks, with four of the last five short tracks having a top-10 fastest car. I think he could do it again on Sunday.
Driver Ds | Could Do Worse
The two overpriced drivers in the slate are Alex Bowman ($8,600) and Ryan Blaney ($9,800). Both are probably priced this way because of how good their fantasy points have been in the past five races. However, of the last four races at Richmond, only once has either of these two drivers scored over 40 NASCAR DFS points. They could be a top-10 car this week, but others around them are cheaper and offer more upside.
SHR is my favorite mid-tier team, as both Noah Gragson ($6,600) and Chase Briscoe ($6,900) are priced under $7k and have been good at short tracks. Their speed should keep them in the top 20, so they will need to qualify poorly and gain positions to return value. In the spring, Gragson’s speed was unexpected as he had the 12-fastest total speed ranking and came from 17th to finish 12th.
Driver Fs | The Junk Drawer
As bad as Richard Childress Racing (RCR) has been recently, Richmond has provided some OK results for them – mostly Austin Dillon ($5,800). While the 34-year-old has averaged a measly 26 NASCAR DFS points in the last four Richmond races, the best result is over 25 points in the summer race. Even his teammate Kyle Busch ($8,200) finished with 42 points in last year’s summer race. Both cars had competitive speeds, pacing in the top 12 of the total speed rankings. RCR has taken a step back in general this year, but they could potentially have a surprisingly good performance this week and find their way into your lineup, especially with how cheap Dillon is.
For the cheap options, I would go with Ryan Preece ($5,600) and Daniel Hemric ($4,800), as they are both under $6K and run decently at short tracks. Preece is in an SHR Ford and finished fifth last year in the summer race. He has been scoring around 30 points this year on short tracks. So, with a cheap price tag and a fast car, he can run well and even make it into the optimal. The cheapest I would go is Hemric, as he has the potential to score at least 20ish points and can help save your salary for other dominators or place-differential plays. All he has to do to pay off is either qualify poorly and makeup 10-12 positions by surviving the entire race and gaining positions through other people’s incidents.
Check out all of our content for the 2024 Cook Out 400:
- NASCAR DFS Picks, Tiers & Rankings: 2024 Cookout 400
- Between Bets: 2024 Cook Out 400 Outrights
- PropKings: 2024 Cook Out 400
Thanks for reading our NASCAR DFS picks and tiers for the Cook Out 400. Check out more of our racing content and other written work here at In-Between Media, or head over to our YouTube channel to get your fix via video.
For more fantasy NASCAR content, find me on Twitter @NASINF1Fantasy.
*Photo Credit: Eric Canha – USA TODAY Sports*
