On Saturday night, NASCAR will be returning to Richmond for the Cook Out 400. Richmond is a high tire-wear .75-mile oval that I classify as a “Shorter-Flat Track.” Other shorter-flat tracks visited this year which have correlation are Phoenix and Iowa (Shorter-Flat Track Total Speed Rankings Since 2024).

On Friday, NASCAR practice was held. Teams only had 25 minutes and keep in mind teams have different agendas. Make sure you check out our Richmond Practice Notes, Richmond 10,15,20,25 and 30 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet, Richmond Practice Speeds and 10 Lap Averages and Richmond Group Speed Rankings.

Here’s the Richmond Qualifying Results/ Starting Lineup.

Richmond Full Field Fantasy Rankings

1) Denny Hamlin
Start 4th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – High
Richmond Outlook – Denny Hamlin’s a super-elite shorter flat track performer who’s always tough to beat. At Richmond, Hamlin’s a 5-time winner and in 15 of the last 18 races, he’s finished in the top 6. Over the last eight minus spring 2023, Hamlin has a 2.0 average finish. In the Next Gen, Hamlin has the best Total Speed Ranking, the best Average Finish (5.0) and the best Driver Rating. Last summer, Hamlin won the pole, finished 2nd in Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, led 124 laps and then finished 2nd overall. Hamlin was even leading for a microsecond in overtime but then Dillon wrecked him too! In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Hamlin ranked 2nd. Last 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, had the 6th best Total Speed Ranking, led 17 laps 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 summer 2023, Hamlin had the best average running position (3.8), earned the 2nd best Driver Rating, led 20 laps 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 (led 71 laps) but multiple problems derailed his afternoon and led to an asterisk mark 20th. Over the four races prior to that, Hamlin had results of 4th, 1st, 2nd and 2nd. In practice, Hamlin said he was close and had the best 25 and 30-lap averages in Group 2.
DraftKings $11,000/ FanDuel $14,000

Further Recommended Reading – Richmond Finish Projections, DraftKings Richmond Scoring Projections, FanDuel Richmond Scoring Projections, Richmond Quick Rankings  

2) Christopher Bell
Start 8th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – High
Richmond Outlook – Christopher Bell is arguably the premiere shorter-flat track performer and at Richmond, the #20 will be tough to beat. Since last year at shorter-flat tracks, Bell has the best Track Type Total Speed Ranking, 3-wins, the best average finish (5.3), the best average running position and the best Driver Rating. At Richmond, Bell has never won on the Cup level but in the Next Gen he has the 2nd best average finish (7.3), the 3rd best Next Gen Speed Ranking and the 4th best Driver Rating. In terms of the results column, Bell is 5 for 6 at finishing between 2nd to 6th. Last summer, Bell might’ve just been the best but he finished an asterisk mark 6th. In the race, Bell won Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, led 122 laps, had the best Total Speed Ranking but then in the final Stage on lap 283 while leading (before the pit cycle), Bell was caught speeding on pit road. Last 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, Bell was caught speeding on pit road. On lap 283 before that green flag pit cycle started, Bell was running in 4th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings for that afternoon, Bell ranked 5th. In summer 2023, Bell finished 20th and had a 22.1 average running position. Bell did get a speeding penalty in that race, but he also never ran well. Over the three races prior to that, Bell had results of 4th, 2nd and 6th. In practice, Bell didn’t show a lot of speed but for him here, I’m not too concerned.
DraftKings $10,800/ FanDuel $13,500

3) William Byron
Start 14th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – High
Richmond Outlook – William Byron is an elite shorter-flat track performer who’ll be tough to beat at Richmond. This year at shorter-flat tracks, nobody has been better than Byron. He’s fresh off a trip to victory lane at Iowa and over the combined races, Byron has a 1.5 average speed ranking, the best average finish (3.5), the best Driver Rating, the best average running position (4.8) and he’s averaged leading 112 laps per race. Since 2024 on this sub-track type, Byron ranks 3rd for speed. At Richmond in the Next Gen, Byron’s flirted with victory lane twice, has the 5th best Next Gen Speed Ranking, the 6th best Driver Rating and a 13.2 average finish which underrates him. Last summer, Byron was OK and finished 13th, which represents his performance. Last spring, Byron had a solid showing. In the race, Byron had the 9th best Total Speed Ranking, a 10.5 average running position and then finished 7th overall. In summer 2023, Byron finished 21st and sadly, that’s pretty legit since he wasn’t good. In spring 2023, Byron was a contender to win but finished a misleading 24th. In the race, Byron won Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, had a 3.4 average running position and led a race high 117 laps. On lap 370, Byron was the leader but then during a caution shortly after that he left pit road in 4th and was then caught up in a restart wreck. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Byron ranked #1. In Group 2, Byron had the 4th best 20-lap average.
DraftKings $10,400/ FanDuel $12,500