Richmond Cook Out 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Chase Elliott
Richmond Fantasy Outlook – The #9 team is in a major slump with only 1 top ten since his Texas win, and I think it’s best to just have teen expectations, but this might just be the week he snaps out of it. Richmond has been a great track for Elliott and in 4 of the last 9 races, he’s finished in the top 5. In the Next Gen era, Elliott ranks 8th for Speed, 10th for Driver Rating and has a 9.2 average finish minus last summer (crashed).
Richmond History – Chase Elliott has consistently been strong at Richmond and since 2020 minus last year, Elliott has an 8.4 average finish. Last year, Elliott had a tough race and finished an asterisk mark 38th. In the race, Elliott finished about 12th in Stage #1 (didn’t pit), got a pit penalty during the Stage #1 caution that dropped him to the back, was in 26th on lap 196 but then on lap 198 he was caught up in the “Big One” which marked the end of his race, leading to his 38th. It’s hard to say how good he was due to how his race played out but he did rank 17th in terms of 2nd segment speed. In 2024, Elliott swept the top ten and his 7.0 average finish ranked as the 5th best. In summer 2024, Elliott was a top ten mainstay. In the race, Elliott started 4th, finished 6th in Stage #1, finished 10th in Stage #2 and then finished 9th when the checkered flag waved. In terms of speed stats, Elliott ranked 8th for Speed Late In A Run and had the 9th best Total Speed Ranking. In spring 2024, Elliott finished 5th, earned the 7th best Driver Rating and had a 9.1 average running position. In terms of speed analytics, Elliott ranked as the 3rd Fastest Driver Late In A Run and had the 8th best Total Speed Ranking. In summer 2023, Elliott finished 13th.

Chris Buescher
Richmond Fantasy Outlook – Chris Buescher is a former Richmond winner who should be on your radar. Buescher raced his way to victory lane in summer 2023 and in 3 of the last 6 Richmond races, he’s finished in the top 9. Overall in the Next Gen at Richmond, Buescher ranks 11th for Speed, 11th for Driver Rating and his 15.1 average finish ranks as the 14th best. Heading into the weekend, look for Buescher to be a top ten contender.
Richmond History – Chris Buescher has been strong at Richmond. He’s a semi-recent winner (2023 #2) and in 3 of the last 6 races he’s finished in the top 9. Last year, Buescher struggled and finished 30th, and that result is just the product of him being bad. In the race, Buescher had a 21.5 average running position and in terms of Total Speed Rankings, he ranked 35th, with his speed over the segments being 23rd, 28th, 29th and then 35th. In summer 2024, Buescher finished 18th but you can get out an asterisk mark for that result. In the race, Buescher started 7th, finished 8th in Stage #1 but then around lap 124 during green flag pit stops while running around 11th, the #17 team had a disaster pit stop that dropped him off the lead lap and he just didn’t bounce back. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, he ranked 18th but take note his speed over the segments were 9th, 11th, 22nd and then 29th. In spring 2024, Buescher started 14th, finished 7th in Stage #2, had a 9.7 average running position and then finished 9th overall. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Buescher ranked 10th. In summer 2023, Buescher took the competition to the woodshed and raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Buescher started 26th, finished 2nd in Stage #2, led 88 laps and had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking.

Carson Hocevar
Richmond Fantasy Outlook – Carson Hocevar should be solid at Richmond and potentially flirt with a top ten. Hocevar’s been respectable here and over the last two races his average finish is 11.5 and his average Speed Ranking is 13.0. When you add in Hocevar’s increased level of performance in 2026, good things can certainly happen, so don’t overlook him.
Richmond History – Carson Hocevar has three starts on his resume at Richmond and as you read above, he’s been pretty good over the last two. Last year, Hocevar used a lot of out of sync pit strategy which also burned him at times (missed pit road and had a slow final pit stop) and when the checkered flag waved, he finished 15th, had a 14.7 average running position and ranked 15th for Total Speed Rankings. In summer 2024, Hocevar had a great performance. In the race, Hocevar finished 8th, had the 11th best Total Speed Ranking, had the 13th best Average Running Position (13.3) and earned the 13th best Driver Rating. I’ll note, before the final caution came out on lap 395, Hocevar was running in 11th, so he did finish marginally better than he performed. In spring 2024, Hocevar finished 27th, had a 28.1 average running position and had the 32nd best Speed Ranking.

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