Daily NASCAR DFS Picks: Richmond

“Oh, don’t give us none of your aggravation
We had it with your discipline
Saturday night’s alright for fighting” – Elton John, Saturday’s Alright For Fighting

Saturday night short tracking just feels right, doesn’t it? The NASCAR Cup Series looks to get a little action at Richmond Raceway, the “Action Track,” and boy is it shaping up to be an interesting week fantasy wise.

On one hand, you have two-time defending winner of this race, Austin Dillon. Dillon finished in the top 10 for the third time this season last weekend at Iowa Speedway, and we all know how bad Richard Childress Racing wants to get back to victory lane since the passing of Kyle Busch back in May.

Dillon is a solid contender to be sure, but on the other hand, I’m seeing Ty Gibbs as the real favorite. Gibbs was able to be in the right place at the right time, picking up his second career win at Iowa. What’s more, the No. 54 Toyota Camry has been super impressive on banked short tracks all season, with a top five at North Wilkesboro Speedway and of course the big win at Bristol Motor Speedway in March.

Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell are also guys to watch. I, again, would refrain from placing any bets on a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, however. Although Kyle Larson continues to show good speed and both Chase Elliott and William Byron contend to make chicken salad out of, well, you know, it’s hard to say they’ll be much better at Richmond.

Fantasy Forecast

Christopher Bell $11,200

You can’t help but be absolutely gutted for Bell at this point.

Not only did the man break his wrist while crashing a potentially race winning car, not only has he missed out on a couple of Crown Jewels this season, but he has also finished second seven times in 2026.

That’s 2004 Kasey Kahne levels of heartbreak. I just gotta believe that he is going to snag one of these wins sooner or later.

Richmond checks all the boxes for a potential return to Victory Lane for the No. 20 team.

Chase Briscoe $9,500

I have noticed since his win back at Chicagoland Speedway a few weeks ago that I am always seeing the No. 19 car lurking in the top five.

In fact, his last three finishes have all been inside the top six, including a podium run at North Wilkesboro Speedway. I put heavy emphasis on that track because of how similar it is to Richmond.

I don’t think Briscoe will get his second win this week. I do think he’s a lock for another podium run though, especially since he’s starting second tomorrow night.

Bubba Wallace $8,500

Rounding out the trio of Toyota drivers in the forecast this week is Wallace, who has been carrying the flag a bit for 23XI this summer.

With teammate Tyler Reddick inexplicably taking a nosedive in performance, it only stands to reason that Wallace’s team will get better. In many ways, it already has been.

He’s been able to string together four finishes inside the top 12 in his last seven starts, which is impressive considering how they’ve come at tracks that you usually wouldn’t think he’d be good at. I look for a sneaky top 10 out of the No. 23 camp this week.

Austin Dillon $8,300

I didn’t want to, but I’m going to.

How can I not look to a guy who has flat out mopped the floor with the field two years in a row at a track that is known for being a bit of an enigma? Especially after all that has happened to RCR over the past months.

I would maybe feel differently about this if he hadn’t been able to be so sneaky good at Iowa last week. That tells me that this team has this race circled on their calendar, and they have a real chance at winning the third straight this week.

Josh Berry $7,200

It’s an absolute shame that Berry is fighting to stay in the Cup Series for 2027. However, if he keeps on showing speed like this, maybe he will be able to.

His remarkable top five finish at Iowa makes me think that the Wood Brothers are potentially putting their best foot forward to send their current driver on his way with the utmost respect. If so, I think more runs like last week are possible.

Not only are they possible, but after qualifying third, I’m pretty sure they will continue at Richmond, one of the famous No. 21’s home tracks.

Noah Gragson $5,200

Bringing up the rear this week is Gragson, who is coming off a pretty impressive 17th-place effort at Iowa.

That number is significant because it is one of his best finishes on any type of track this season. What I love most about him this week though has nothing to do with his recent performance. It has a little to do with price, but that’s not all.

Gragson got re-signed to Front Row Motorsports for 2027, and now he’s got motivation to go out and show it. I feel when motivated, the Las Vegas native is quite dangerous.

Top Bets of the Week

Bell +500

I just feel good about Bell this weekend. The guy has literally lost a race in every way imaginable this season, but what’s different about him and the aforementioned Kahne 2004 run is that this guy knows how to win Cup races. I think he’s your best bet to do it again at Richmond.

Dark Horse: Berry +4500

Don’t ask me why, but I think Berry is in a very similar position as Dillon was at this time back in 2024. No one expected him to win and people were starting to suspect it was the end of his career. Then he went out and absolutely spanked the field two years in a row. Berry’s late model experience will play to his advantage too. I say bet a little bit to gain a lot on the famous No. 21 Ford Mustang this week.