After an eight month grind through the regular season the NASCAR Sprint Cup series has reached the final race before the Chase. There will be most definitely be a few races within the race this week as there are a few drivers sitting on the edge of the bubble to get into the playoffs. Chris Buescher sits just 11 points ahead of David Ragan for 30th in points. He needs to remain inside the Top 30 to be able to qualify for the Chase with his win. After being penalized 15 points last week Ryan Newman sits 22 points behind Jamie McMurray for the final spot and he would also get in if Buescher was to fall out of the Top 30. All the scenarios that are present at Richmond make this a very exciting race to follow from start to finish.

Track position is going to be extremely important this week as the trend of the last few races here has proven. Each of the last four winners have started the race in the front two rows and 27 out of 40 Top 10 finishers from those races have started inside the Top 10. Be sure to check back on late Friday afternoon/evening for practice and qualifying updates via the chat below.

If you have any questions leading up to the race be sure to join the conversation in the chat below. I will also be sharing a link to a cheatsheet I developed and use weekly to help reduce research time. The cheatsheet includes driver salaries, track history(last 5 years), current form(last 5 races), Season Loop Data, and I also provide updated practice and qualifying rankings with a weighted system to rank all drivers. The cheatsheet and lineups will be updated throughout the weekend so be sure to follow me on Twitter and check your emails for lineup updates.  Check out the link in the chat room below and feel free to ask me any questions leading up to the race.

Daily Fantasy NASCAR: DraftKings DFS  Lineup Picks

Favorite to win - Kyle Busch ($10,600)

You can't talk Richmond without mentioning Kyle Busch's name. He has four career wins here which is most of all active drivers and has an elite 6.86 average finish with 15 Top 5's in 22 starts. He can win anywhere and despite not recording a Top 10 in three straight races, Kyle has scored the second most DraftKings points per race(53.5) over the last 10 races. Kyle is safe in all formats this week.

Upper Tier Value - Denny Hamlin ($9,500)

This is a home race for Hamlin who is from the Chesterfield area just south of Richmond. He has enjoyed success here over the years with wins in 2009 and 2010 and holds the second best average finish(10.55) of all active drivers. He sits 7th in salary and ranks #1 when looking at the last five race form with a 4.8 average finish. A Top 10 would be a safe projected floor for Hamlin with winning upside this week.

Mid Tier Value - Kurt Busch ($8,600)

Busch has seen his salary reach its lowest point since back in Texas early in the season opening a ton of GPP value this week. He has been very hit and miss lately with three finishes inside the Top 12 and two outside of 34th in the last five races. He has a win and six Top 10 finishes in the last 10 races here at Richmond and could be one of the lower owned plays in this range.

Bottom Tier Value - Chris Buescher ($6,700)

This pick will depend on qualifying but Buescher is fighting to stay inside the Top 30 in points so he can use his win and get into the Chase for the Spring Cup. He sits 11 points ahead of David Ragan and the #34 team will be giving it everything they got to try and come out with a chance to be the Cinderella story in the Chase. Definitely worth a GPP play and could possibly be considered in cash as he has scored the second most DK points(32.8) of any driver in the sub $7K range.

Also Consider - Chase Elliot ($8,400)

DFS & Fantasy NASCAR Chat Room

If you have any questions leading up to the race hit me up in the chat below!

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