Richmond Cook Out Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Christopher Bell
Richmond Fantasy Outlook – Christopher Bell is one of the premiere shorter-flat track performers and at Richmond in the Cook Out 400, look for Bell to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win. This year at shorter-flat tracks, Bell’s been the best. In 2024 on this track type, Bell has the best average finish (3.8), 2-wins, the best Total Speed Ranking, the best Average Running Position (7.9) and the best Driver Rating. Bell has never won at Richmond, but he’s consistently performed at an elite level and I think he has a great chance to change that.
Richmond Track History – Christopher Bell has been a fantasy ace at Richmond. Bell was a contender to win this spring and since 2021 minus last summer where he just seemed to miss the setup, Bell is 6 for 6 at finishing between 2nd to 6th and has a 4.2 average finish. This spring, Bell might’ve just been able to pull off the win, but he finished 6th. In the race, Bell started 29th, finished 6th in Stage #2, led 9 laps but then in the final Stage when he was running long during a green flag pit cycle which would’ve given him a tire advantage at the end, Bell was caught speeding on pit road. On lap 283 before that green flag pit cycle started, Bell was running in 4th. When the checkered flag waved, Bell finished 6th. In terms of speed stats, Bell ranked 4th for Speed Late In A Run and 5th for Total Speed Rankings. Last summer, Bell started 29th, finished 20th and had a 22.1 average running position. I’ll note, on lap 133 while running in 18th, Bell got a speeding penalty, so his race wasn’t exactly incident free. In spring 2023, Bell was one of the best. In the race, Bell finished 8th in Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, had a 6.2 average running position, led 26 laps and then finished 4th overall. In terms of speed stats, Bell had the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 3rd for Speed Late In A Run. In the four races prior to that, Bell had results of 2nd, 6th, 3rd and 4th.

Denny Hamlin
Richmond Fantasy Outlook – Denny Hamlin is a super-elite shorter-flat track performer who’ll be tough to beat at Richmond as he vies for the season sweep. At his “Home Track”, Hamlin’s a 5-time winner and in 14 of the last 17 races he’s finished in the top 6. Over the last seven races minus spring 2023 where he had one of the best cars but didn’t have an incident free race, Hamlin has a 2.0 average finish. This year at shorter-flat tracks, Hamlin has been stout and minus Iowa where he was just off in the tracks debut/crashed and New Hampshire where he was the race leader before “Rain Goofiness ensued”, Hamlin has a 4.7 average finish. In terms of 2024 shorter-flat track speed, Hamlin has a 5.0 average speed ranking minus Iowa.
Richmond Track History – Denny Hamlin has thrived at Richmond, and he’s consistently performed at a super-elite level. In the Next Gen, Hamlin has the 2nd best Speed Ranking and minus spring 2023 where his race was anything but incident free, Hamlin has 2-wins and a 2.0 average finish. This spring, Hamlin didn’t have the best car but that didn’t stop him from reaching victory lane. In the race, Hamlin finished 5th in Stage #2, led 17 laps, had an 8.2 average running position but take note he was on pace to finish in 3rd until the late caution came out, in which the #11 pit crew vaulted him from 3rd to the lead. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin had the 6th best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 9th for Speed Late In A Run. Last summer, Hamlin had a hot rod and ranked among the best. In the race, Hamlin finished 3rd in Stage #1, finished 5th in Stage #2, had a 3.8 average running position, led 20 laps, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating and then finished 2nd overall. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin had the best Total Speed Ranking. In spring 2023, Hamlin might’ve just been the best, but he had all sorts of problems and finished an asterisk mark 20th. In the race, Hamlin was first caught speeding in Stage #1 during the competition caution while running in 10th. That didn’t really hold Hamlin back and he sliced and diced his way up thru the field and won Stage #2. Then in the final Stage, Hamlin had a slow pit stop while leading during a green flag pit cycle which dropped him from 1st to 12th on lap 296, and then during a late caution, Hamlin got his 2nd speeding penalty of the day. Despite that laundry list of problems, Hamlin led 71 laps, was the 2nd fastest driver late in a run and had the 7th best Total Speed Ranking. Over the four races prior to that, Hamlin had results of 4th, 1st, 2nd and 2nd.

Joey Logano
Richmond Fantasy Outlook – Joey Logano is an elite shorter-flat track performer who should be high on your radar at Richmond. Logano had a stellar showing this spring en route to a runner-up, and over the last four races at “The Action Track”, Logano has a series best 4.8 average finish and he’s the only driver who’s finished in the top ten every race. Another variable you have to like about Logano is that he certainly has the new option tire figured out where he put on a display of domination in the All-Star Race, leading 199 of the 200 laps. This year at shorter-flat tracks, Logano has been stout and minus New Hampshire and Phoenix his average finish is 4.3.
Richmond Track History – Joey Logano is one of the premiere performers at Richmond. He’s a 2-time winner and in 7 of the last 8 races, he’s finished between 2nd to 7th. In the Next Gen, Logano has the best Total Speed Ranking, the 3rd best Driver Rating, the 3rd best Average Running Position and his incident free average finish is 4.8. This spring, the #22 was a rocket and Logano finished runner-up. In the race, Logano finished 5th in Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage # 2, had a 4.6 average running position and then finished 2nd overall. In terms of speed stats, Logano ranked as the Fastest Driver Late In A Run and ranked 2nd for both Total Speed Rankings and Green Flag Speed. Last summer, Logano started 23rd but that wasn’t a problem. Logano raced his way up thru the field, finishing 10th in Stage #2 and then 4th when the checkered flag waved. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Logano ranked 7th. In spring 2023, Logano was solid, finishing 7th and having the 10th best Speed Ranking. In summer 2022, Logano was stout. In the race he finished 7th in Stage #1, won Stage #2, earned the best driver rating, led 222 laps, had a 3.2 average running position and then finished 6th overall. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Logano ranked 2nd but take note his speed over the segments were 4th, 2nd, 3rd and then 14th. In spring 2022, Logano was a top five contender, but finished an asterisk mark 17th after having a slow pit stop in the final Stage while running in 2nd, and then simply not bouncing back.  Over the three races prior to that, Logano had finishes of 5th, 3rd and 3rd.

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