Richmond Cook Out 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Ryan Blaney
Richmond Fantasy Outlook – Ryan Blaney is an elite shorter-flat track performer, but Richmond has his number. Blaney’s never finished in the top five, has just three top tens and his overall average finish is 20th. Blaney has improved recently and in 5 of the last 7 races he’s finished between 7th to 14th, but he finished 19th this spring, and that’s not an asterisk mark result. This year at shorter-flat tracks, the #12 has been fast with Blaney having the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking. Blaney’s had quite a few problems in terms of the results column at shorter-flat tracks this year, but he hasn’t lacked when it comes to performance, except for at Richmond. This year in the other shorter-flat track races, Blaney won convincingly at Iowa, finished 5th at Phoenix, was the leader until the last lap at Gateway until he ran out of gas (24th) and at New Hampshire he was taken out late while running in 2nd (25th). One attribute you have to like about Blaney is his momentum and since Sonoma minus New Hampshire, Blaney has a 4.6 average finish.
Richmond Track History – Richmond has not been one of Ryan Blaney’s better tracks but as you read above, in 5 of the last 7 races he’s finished between 7th to 14th. This spring, Blaney didn’t run well and stunk it up. In the race, Blaney finished 19th, had a 23.1 average running position and his Total Speed Ranking ranked 15th. At no point did he look remotely competitive. Last summer in the heat, Blaney didn’t do anything special and finished 14th. Additionally, Blaney had the 12th best Total Speed Ranking. Spring 2023 wasn’t incident free for Blaney, but I’m not going to hold it against him too much since pit road took him out of contention. In that race, Blaney finished 11th in Stage #1 but then during the Stage caution he was caught speeding which dropped him to the back. Then in Stage #2 when Blaney rebounded back up to the mid-teens, he was penalized during a green flag pit cycle for equipment leaving his pit box and you could pretty much stick a fork in him after that, and he finished 26th. Over the four races prior to that, Blaney had results of 10th, 7th, 10th and 11th.

Josh Berry
Richmond Fantasy Outlook – Josh Berry is a strong mid-tier shorter-flat track driver who’ll be a great dark horse pick at Richmond. Berry was stout this spring and he’s been great at shorter-flat tracks in 2024, having the 7th best Total Speed Ranking. At New Hampshire the most recent shorter-flat track visited, Berry had his best performance on this track type this year, finishing 3rd and having the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking. This race is Josh Berry’s best opportunity to try to clinch a playoff berth, so you better believe the #4 team will be going all out.
Richmond Track History – Josh Berry has performed at a high-level at Richmond and his average finish is 6.5 between his combined starts. This spring, the #4 was fast. In the race, Berry started 30th, finished 9th in Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, earned the 6th best Driver Rating but then finished 11th overall which underrates him. During the last Stage, Berry had a slow pit stop that dropped him back a few positions and then during the final green flag pit cycle, Berry missed pit road on his first attempt which dropped him back a few more. In terms of speed stats, Berry ranked 6th for Speed Late In A Run and had the 7th best Total Speed Ranking. In spring 2023 in his first Richmond Cup start in the #9, Berry finished 2nd but you can get out an asterisk mark for that result. “Performance Wise”, Berry was a mid to high-teens driver, but he caught a “Lucky Break Caution” during the pit cycle which got him to the front late. On lap 340 before the final green flag pit cycle ensued in which he caught his lucky break, Berry was running in 14th. Additionally, Berry had a 19.6 average running position and his Total Speed Ranking ranked 20th.

Ross Chastain
Richmond Fantasy Outlook – At Richmond, look for Ross Chastain to have a solid showing and be a low double-digit to mid-teens driver who’ll flirt with a top ten. Chastain’s had some solid showings here recently and in 4 of the last 6 he’s been a top five contender, “Performance Wise.” This year at shorter-flat tracks, Chastain has a 10.8 average finish, and over the last three races he’s had results of 10th, 11th and 12th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings at these venues in 2024, Chastain ranks 12th.
Richmond Track History – At Richmond, Ross Chastain hasn’t been bad and in quite a few of the recent races he’s been better than what you’ll see in the results column. This spring, Chastain was OK. In the race, Chastain finished 15th, had the 14th best Total Speed Ranking and had a 12.9 average running position. Last summer in the midst of his slump, Chastain finished 24th and unfortunately that represents his performance. Over the four races prior to that “Performance Wise”, Chastain was a top 7 performer. In spring 2023, Chastain finished 3rd in Stage #1, finished 5th in Stage #2, led 16 laps, had a 5.2 average running position and then finished 3rd overall. In terms of speed stats, Chastain had the 3rd best Green Flag Speed and ranked 5th for Total Speed Rankings. In 2022, Chastain ran well and looked like a top five contender in both races until his afternoon’s went south. In summer 2022, Chastain started 2nd, led the first 80 laps, won Stage #1 but then early in Stage #2 he started to fall back and then on lap 91 while running in 4th, Chastain radioed his team and said something was going on with his right rear. From that point on, his afternoon slowly went south, and he went on to finish 18th. In spring 2022, Chastain finished 3rd in the opening two Stages, but then in the final Stage, things went south after contact with Blaney while battling for 4th which led to an asterisk mark 19th. In fall 2021, Chastain finished 7th.

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