Daily Fantasy NASCAR Picks for DraftKings - Toyota Owners 400

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Toyota Owners 400

Richmond International Raceway - Richmond, VA
Track - .75 Mile Short Track
14° of Banking in the Corners

For a preview of the race please go check out my mid-week DFS NASCAR Preview & Early Picks article. Let's jump right into the top picks for the race on Sunday.

Drivers to Build Around

Martin Truex Jr. 
DraftKings - $9,100
Practice 1 - 1st
Qualified - 3rd
Practice 2 - 5th
Final Practice - 2nd
Final Pract 10 Lap Avg Rank - 1st

All things considered, Truex Jr. is my top play of the week. He doesn't come back to Richmond with a shining resume like some drivers which should is fine by me as it very well could keep him out of the Top 3 in ownership.  The good news is that Truex has been a lot better here lately with back to back Top 10 finishes here and is extremely fast again this weekend. He qualified third on Friday afternoon then posted the 5th and 2nd fastest speeds in the final two practices and the fastest 10 lap average in final practice. The #78 car was the only car leading up to the race to place Top 5 in all practices, 10 lap average, and qualifying. He has a great shot to get up front and lead some laps and get those dominator points and a Top 5 finish with winning upside.

Denny Hamlin
DraftKings - $9,300
Practice 1 - 5th
Qualified - 16th
Practice 2 - 7th
Final Practice - 7th
Final Pract 10 Lap Avg Rank - 3rd

If you are looking at the rankings on the cheatsheet, you notice that Hamlin and Truex are one, two and that is without weighting the salary value. Great news! Both come in under $9,500 this week and make a great one, two punch in your lineups. Hamlin ranks #1 in my model as he comes with a bit more place differential upside(starting 16th) and a much better track record here at Richmond including winning the fall race in 2016. He was 7th in both final practices and posted the 3rd best 10 lap average in final practice. Joe Gibbs Racing has won each of the last three Richmond races and Denny has a great shot to be the first of the JGR cars to get to Victory Lane this season.

Also Consider: Kyle Busch(#1 in two-year and career track history)

Top Place Differential Value Plays

Austin Dillon
DraftKings - $7,400
Practice 1 - 36th
Qualified - 38th
Practice 2 - 6th
Final Practice - 24th
Final Pract 10 Lap Avg Rank - 18th

efIf you think the new stage racing is taking away from a crew chief's strategy, you are not watching Qualifying on Friday's. It was another interesting afternoon as you can see above as Austin Dillon and the #3 team qualified at close to record speeds....at the wrong end of the speedometer. Why? Well, they were already starting at the back of the field due to failing inspection five times last week at Bristol so they decided to conserve their tires. Great news for daily fantasy as he not only comes with elite place differential upside, but will also have much fresher tires than everyone else and should be able to make up a ton of places fast. He will most definitely be high owned so if you are of the contrarian mindset take a look at Kasey Kahne in the same price range at probably half the ownership.
 

Erik Jones
DraftKings - $8,100
Practice 1 - 2nd
Qualified - 20th
Practice 2 - 1st
Final Practice - 4th
Final Pract 10 Lap Avg Rank - 14th

With an amazing group of young talent in the Monster Energy Cup Series, Erik Jones can sometimes be overlooked. Since his 39th place finish at theDaytona 500(not his fault), he has picked up a Top 10 and four Top 15 finishes. The new #77 Furniture Row Racing car has shown speed all season and nothing has changed this week. He qualified 20th but was 2nd in opening practice, fastest in practice #2 and 4th fastest in final practice.

Bottom Tier Value Play

Trevor Bayne
DraftKings - $6,800
Practice 1 - 4th
Qualified - 29th
Practice 2 - 19th
Final Practice - 13th
Final Pract 10 Lap Avg Rank - 15th

If you have been riding Trevor Bayne like I have this season, you are most likely enjoying your results. He continues to provide a value price under $7K despite ranking Top 10 in average DraftKings points on the season. Seriously. Check out my DFS NASCAR Trends Sheet and see for yourself. He has been extremely consistent with 30+ DK points in every single race. HE should have no problem hitting that mark again this week as he starts back in 29th but ranked inside the Top 20 in both final practices and was 15th in 10 lap averages. He will also be chalky this week, so for you contrarian lineup builders, consider Paul Menard.

For a limited time, I am offering a copy of my DFS NASCAR cheathsheet which includes Track History, Current Form, Odds, Track Type History, Practice/Qualifying Ranks and much more. Get it HERE.

If you have any questions on lineups or drivers prior to lineup lock scroll down to the comment section and join the conversation. Good Luck everyone!
Chris Durell has been playing Daily Fantasy Sports for three years and fantasy in general for more than a decade. He is active player in college football, NFL, NBA, PGA, and of course NASCAR. He lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with his wife and two daughters. You can follow him on Twitter at @jager_bombs9 for advice, strategy, answers to any NASCAR questions or how he copes with the winters up north.