This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
ToyotaCare 250
Location: Richmond, Va.
Course: Richmond International Raceway
Format: 0.75-mile oval
Laps: 250
Race Preview
The NASCAR Xfinity Series went road racing last week at Circuit of the Americas, and AJ Allmendinger scored his first win of the season. He became the fifth different winner in the series from the first six races and extended his streak of finishing inside the top 10 in every race so far this season. A very different track is on tap this week, and teams will have to adjust as the series goes short-track racing at Richmond Raceway. The 0.75-mile oval will be the first of a two-race stretch on short tracks before the schedule takes a brief pause with an off week before hitting the high banks of Talladega at the end of April. Justin Allgaier swept the back-to-back races at the track in 2020 while Noah Gragson captured the win there last fall. Those two are the only two prior Richmond winners entered this week. Saturday will be the only series stop at the tack in 2022 after the traditional fall date was moved to the spring. This weekend's race will be the 76th series appearance at the circuit, which has produced 37 different winners.
Key Stats at Richmond International Raceway
- Number of races: 75
- Winners from pole: 14
- Winners from top-5 starters: 46
- Winners from top-10 starters: 58
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 7
- Fastest race: 108.415 mph
Previous 10 Richmond Winners
2021 - Noah Gragson
2020 II - Justin Allgaier
2020 I - Justin Allgaier
2019 fall - Christopher Bell
2019 spring - Cole Custer
2018 fall - Christopher Bell
2018 spring - Christopher Bell
2017 fall - Brad Keselowski
2017 spring - Kyle Larson
2016 fall - Kyle Busch
Short-track racing places particular emphasis on track position and traffic. As with most short-tracks on the schedule, navigating slower traffic is the name of the game at Richmond. Fresh tires to make passes will be what every driver wants, and teams will work hard to get their car off pit road first to give their driver the best advantage they can on restarts. Richmond offers enough room to try different lines through its long corners, and drivers will move up and down the grooves as their tires degrade and as traffic threatens to disrupt their rhythm. Since drivers spend the majority of the lap turning, the track exposes weak handling machines, and its short lap distance makes pitting off strategy less attractive. Heading to pit road under green guarantees drivers will lose laps to the leaders, and any ill-timed cautions can trap cars down laps to the leaders. Fantasy owners should focus on drivers starting inside the top 15. Only one driver has started outside the first eight rows and won here since 2009.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Ty Gibbs - $11,500
Noah Gragson - $10,900
Justin Allgaier - $10,600
John Hunter Nemechek - $10,400
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Ryan Preece - $9,800
Daniel Hemric - $9,600
Brandon Jones - $9,300
Josh Berry - $9,100
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Landon Cassill - $8,800
Sam Mayer - $8,700
Austin Hill - $8,400
Riley Herbst - $8,100
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Myatt Snider - $7,900
Jeb Burton - $7,500
Jeremy Clements - $7,200
Kyle Sieg - $6,300
MY PICKS THIS WEEK
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Noah Gragson - $10,900
Daniel Hemric - $9,600
Landon Cassill - $8,800
Jeb Burton - $7,500
Ryan Sieg - $6,700
Kyle Sieg - $6,700
Points leader Noah Gragson won the last Xfinity Series stop at Richmond. He finished fourth or better at every race so far this season except Atlanta and also has five top-10s from six Richmond starts. Daniel Hemric enters this weekend looking to stop a two race skid of results outside of the top 20. He finished fourth or better in three Richmond series starts and has top-10s in four of five tries there, too. Last week's road course visit was not a good one for Landon Cassill. Prior to last week's race he was on a run of three consecutive top-10s. He has just one top-10 from 12 series starts at this track but has been racing much better than expectations so far this season and should be poised to outperform his past statistics there. Fantasy players need to be selective about where they choose Jeb Burton this season. He doesn't have the same equipment he had in the past and needs circumstances to help him rise back to those levels. Short tracks are a place he can do that, though. Burton has two top-10s from his last two Richmond races and should be capable of a top-15 finish again this week. Ryan Sieg has finished 11th or better in all but one race so far this season. He is also on his best run of Richmond finishes with five consecutive top-15s, including a top-five, heading into this week's race. His brother, Kyle Sieg, returns to the driver's seat this week for his first series visit to Richmond. He already has two top-20s from five appearances this season and could be in store for another Saturday.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Ty Gibbs - $11,500
Sheldon Creed - $9,000
Austin Hill - $8,400
Jeremy Clements - $7,200
Alex Labbe - $7,000
Brandon Brown - $6,900
Since joining the Xfinity Series TY Gibbs has been nothing short of sensational with two wins already this season. Richmond is one of the few tracks he raced at in his part-time schedule last season and he led 67 laps on his way to a seventh-place finish. Sheldon Creed has been climbing the standings with frequent top-10s in his first full-time Xfinity campaign. This will be his first Richmond race in the series but finished 11th and 13th in his two visits there in the NASCAR Trucks. Fellow former Truck Series racer Austin Hill will also make his Richmond series debut this week. He started on the front row in both of his Truck Series starts earning finishes of eighth and 10th. Jeremy Clements is looking to end a two-race slump this week. He has a best finish of 11th this season at Las Vegas and has been a consistent top-20 finisher at the track the past several years. His best Richmond finish was eighth in 2018. Alex Labbe was on a run of three consecutive top-20 finishes until last week's road course race. He has three top-20s from five Richmond starts, though, which should be a good sign that he can quickly overcome last week's 36th-place finish this weekend. Brandon Brown rounds off the selections after finishing 11th and eighth in the last two series trips to Richmond's short oval.
