Clean Harbors 250 DFS Picks & NASCAR Playbook: Richmond Raceway
The Craftsman Truck Series makes its return Saturday night after a few weeks off. We head to the action track of Richmond Raceway for the final Truck Series race of the regular season. This is also around the time of year where we see the NASCAR DFS contests seemingly shrink in size. With the NFL returning (get your copy of the Ultimate Cheat Sheet right here), we should expect the contests to get a little less love, and the top prizes will dwindle.
We saw Ty Majeski score his first win of the season at IRP so he can breathe a little easier heading into the playoffs. Corey Heim, Christian Eckes, Rajah Caruth, and Nicholas Sanchez are also locked into the playoffs as well. Tyler Ankrum, Grant Enfinger, and Taylor Gray are in comfortable spots as well in terms of points.
The drama will be around two-time series champion, Ben Rhodes, and Tanner Gray. Rhodes sits 22 points to the good, while Gray has just a five-point lead over Daniel Dye for the final playoff spot. Stewart Frie sen sits 16 points behind Gray while three-time champion, Matt Crafton, is 43 points out. It’ll be an exciting race come Saturday night so let’s dive into this week’s Clean Harbors 250 NASCAR DFS picks and strategies.
Clean Harbors 250 NASCAR DFS Lineup Picks
Richmond Raceway is a short, 0.75-mile flat track. It features moderate-to-high tire wear and while we may say this every week, track position truly matters here. Just ask Martin Truex Jr. following the Cup Series race here in the spring. This isn’t the most technical track by any means. But we need to be mindful that you need to run a flawless race here. A theme this weekend could be to give a slight bump to drivers who have the best pit crews and can help their driver gain track position on pit road.
Some comparable tracks to consider for this race would be Martinsville, North Wilkesboro, and IRP. You can possibly throw in Gateway because it’s flat, but it’s nearly a half-mile larger than Richmond. But we’ve seen the drivers that have been great on the comparable tracks and with this being the last race of the regular season there are a few drivers outside the top price range that have more to drive for than others.
This is a short, flat track so we do have an abundance of dominator points at our disposal. There will be 250 laps for this race broken into stages of 70-70-110. We have, at most, 175 dominator points to go around, but a more realistic number is probably between 155-165.
The last two Truck Series races have had a clear primary dominator lead over 100 laps with a secondary dominator that led 60-75 laps. In three of the last four races, the polesitter has led at least 65 laps. Big movers throughout the field can be tough to find. Last year’s race saw just three drivers gain double-digit spots, and no drivers that started outside the top 20 could crack the top 10, but two finished in the top 15. That race also had just seven drivers finish on the lead lap.
2022 was somewhat more of the same. The two big movers were Taylor Gray (started P24, finished sixth) and Bret Holmes (started P31, finished 15th). After that, the rest of the top 20 finishers were comprised of drivers that started in the top 20 with 14 drivers finishing on the lead lap.
If things play out the same, we should be taking a two-dominator approach with our Tournament roster construction. You’ll want that one driver that leads 100+ laps and the other that leads 65+ and of course, both need to finish well. Targeting a tertiary dominator is within reason as well but it may be hard to fit three top-tier drivers in your build.
And once you have your contenders, don’t shy away from cheaper or more valuable drivers that start in the top 20. If they hold their position and can maintain the lead lap they’ll could do very well. We cannot lean too heavily into position differential at this track as we see that there are maybe only two or three drivers that can move up and score well.
As always I will post practice notes and updates in RED following Saturday’s practice and qualifying session.
Clean Harbors 250 Practice Notes
Top Price Core Plays
Christian Eckes ($10,900)
Few have been better on short tracks this year than Eckes. He has three wins on the year (Bristol, Martinsville, and Nashville) and he’s been working his way to the front regularly and he’s now made himself the most expensive driver for this race.
In all three of his wins he’s led over 100 laps. Even in the Truck Series’ last race prior to the break, he was the runner-up at IRP with 73 laps led. He’s also finished top 10 in 13 straight races so there’s a good floor and with plenty of laps on the docket for this race, the price tag is certainly reasonable and he can easily put up a big score.
Ty Majeski ($10,400)
I’m skipping over Heim this week just in terms of writing him up. I’ll still get exposure across my 20 tournament lineups on DraftKings. Instead, we’ll lean into Majeski. We finally saw Majeski break through and get his first win of the season at IRP three weeks ago. He led 56 laps and once again looked strong on a short, flat track.
We’ve said it before with Majeski, but when he leads laps it’s usually in bunches. He’s led 35+ laps in six of the last 13 races this year and that includes Martinsville (runner-up), North Wilkesboro (finished 11th), Gateway (finished fourth), and IRP (winner). He’s won the pole at the last two Richmond races while finishing second and third. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s led 241 laps between both races.
Grant Enfinger ($10,100)
I often find myself struggling with how to assess Grant Enfinger. And sure, we may have missed the boat prior to the break for the Olympics. However, he’s historically performed better on short, flat tracks. Just last year he won at Milwaukee and the year before he won at IRP. It does feel like the team is figuring things out and he’s come on strong of late.
In four of the last six races, he’s finished second or third. And at IRP three weeks ago, he led 71 laps and finished third. So yes, I still have concerns about the equipment, and I don’t think Enfinger warrants the $10,100 price tag. But yet, he’s proven me wrong and he’s contended of late. He doesn’t really need to race for points as he can comfortably make the playoffs, but you know he wants a win.
Update: So the three drivers we wrote up prior to practice and qualifying all qualified in the top three. So they are each in play for dominator potential. Eckes didn't seem to love him truck following practice but they made some adjustments and bested Majeski, who looked great in practice. Enfiinger starts third and is good for Tournaments in maybe 20-30% of your builds. He was the best in 10-lap average in practice, but the other two have the preferred track position.
Connor Zilisch ($9,700)
Zilisch is in the 7-truck for Spire Motorsports. It's a good enough ride, but he's still young and a bit raw. But he carries immense upside. He'll start P27 simply because he missed his mark heading into turn one on both of his qualifying laps. But he should move up and is a fine cash game play. But he'll be hard to squeeze in with two potential dominators priced above him.
Mid-Price Core Plays
Tyler Ankrum ($9,000)
Ankrum’s price tag is a little juiced this week, and likely for good reason. He was the runner-up at Vegas, which isn’t a comparable track by any means. However, it did signal that he can compete and he does deserve to run in good equipment. Moreover, he finished fifth at Martinsville, eighth at North Wilkesboro with 26 laps led, and he was fourth at IRP prior to the break.
We do need to get at least a 40-point return from Ankrum to justify playing him on DraftKings. We may have to adjust exposure depending on where he qualifies, but we’re very high on his teammate, Christian Eckes, so I think it’s within reason to go with Ankrum as well.
Update: Starts P10 and had top five speed in practice.
Layne Riggs ($8,700)
Here we go again. This is exactly the kind of track where we want to target Riggs. In three of his last six races, he’s finished in the top five. And those three races just so happen to be North Wilkesboro, Gateway, and IRP. That’s all we can really lean into with Riggs for this race. He’s mostly priced up because he’s posted 50+ fantasy points in those three comparable races.
We do need to be mindful that Richmond is a different beast. You cannot afford to lose track position here and the tire wear also needs to be accounted for. So, while Riggs is a nice fit in theory, in his debut at this track two years ago he only managed to finish 19th.
Update: Really good qualifying effort from Riggs, but he may end up going backward. In cash games you probably go with Tanner Gray ($8,500; Starting P26) and save yourself $200. I'm likely not landing on Riggs in my builds so go with your gut.
Stewart Friesen ($8,000)
We’re reaching a point with the driver pool where we have some drivers fighting for a playoff spot. Tanner Gray ($8,500) is currently five points to the good. Daniel Dye, who we’ll get to shortly, is behind him. And Friesen is 16 points behind. So Friesen really needs a strong performance and to have the other two finish poorly. You could say there’s some correlation amongst the three.
Friesen had some momentum heading into the break. He was top 10 at North Wilkesboro, Gateway, and Pocono. He was also the runner-up at Charlotte. Richmond is far from his best track as he has just one top 10 finish in four races here. But again, there’s a lot on the line and he’s not completely dead in the water for the playoffs.
Value Price Core Plays
Kaden Honeycutt ($7,300)
Kaden Honeycutt is back and we have quite the price bump! Honeycutt has run six races this year and Nashville was his only “bad” race for DFS. He started P8 and finished 33rd. Prior to that he had finished top 12 in his other five races in 2024, and that includes a top 10 at Martinsville.
Honeycutt once again drives for Niece Motorsports and he seems to be the only driver with that organization competent enough to do anything with the equipment when he gets an opportunity. We can’t shy away from him if he qualifies well as we know he has that 50+ point upside. I also want to keep an eye on William Sawalich ($7,200), who I always think is a good value option because he drives for TRICON, but the results haven’t always been great although he did grab a top 12 finish at IRP three weeks ago.
Update: Qualified P8 but we've seen him start in this range and hold position before. GPP only exposure right here.
Daniel Dye ($7,000)
How about a third driver from McAnally Hilgemann Racing? I haven’t previewed Dye a ton, but it’s the final race of the regular season. And Dye is flirting with the playoff picture. He’s currently five points behind Tanner Gray for the final playoff spot and he definitely needs a great run to make the playoffs.
The performances on the comparable tracks this year haven’t always been great. He did move up 10 spots and finish 13th at Martinsville and he was ninth at North Wilkesboro. This is more of a play on Dye simply because of the playoff picture. But he has made plenty of great strides this year in becoming a better, more mature driver. I don’t mind getting exposure to a driver at $7,000 that has a little extra incentive for this weekend.
Stefan Parsons ($6,900)
Parsons starts deep in the field for Henderson Motorsports. It's a small team but they bring quality rides. Parsons has returned 34+ fantasy points on DraftKings in four of his seven races this year so he provides a nice floor from this starting spot.
Jake Garcia ($6,700)
Garcia has certainly had his up’s and down’s this year. And I wrote him up far more last year than I have this season. The actual results on the comparable tracks aren’t promising. However, the speed has been there. But truly, finishing has been Garcia’s issue.
He ran as high as 13th at IRP but finished 30th. At North Wilkesboro he had an average running position of eighth but finished 21st. Martinsville was more of the same as the average running position was inside the top 15 but he finished 21st. We know the Thorsport equipment is good enough to conjure some intrigue at this price. We just need him to get that one good finish to break the slate.
Update: Garcia had a really strong single lap in practice but did struggle in the longer run. And he had tire rub on his qualifying lap. But he starts P23 and might be good enough to finish in the Top 12-15.
Connor Hall ($6,000)
Hall is making his Truck Series debut with McAnally Hilgemann (same team as Ankrum and Eckes). He's in the 91-truck which has arguably been top 15 and Hall starts P21 so he won't carry a ton of ownership. But he can hit 6X value with a clean run if he finishes 14th. I think he's a great pivot off Conner Jones ($6,200; Starting P28), who may have better equipment but has also disappointed plenty this year.
Friendly reminder that Bret Holmes ($5,800) and Timmy Hill ($5,700) are never far from our hearts, even if they don’t make the NASCAR DFS Playbook. They typically suck at qualifying but can move up. However, at a track like this maybe the upside is suppressed a bit if either driver fails to maintain the lead lap.
Update: Holmes qualified P22 and Hill will start right behind him in P24. I actually don't hate these starting spots. The start far enough forward where they can possible maintain their track position after stage one without losing the lead lap and that may suppress ownership. These are two good plays for Tournaments.
Clean Harbors 250 NASCAR DFS Driver Pool
Price Range | Drivers |
Top Tier | Christian Eckes ($10,900; Starting P1) |
Corey Heim ($10,600; Starting P6) | |
Ty Majeski ($10,400; Starting P2) | |
Grant Enfinger ($10,100; Starting P3) - Better for GPP's | |
Connor Zilisch ($9,700; Starting P27) | |
Mid-Tier | Taylor Gray ($9,000; Starting P10) |
Ben Rhodes ($8,800; Starting P11) | |
Tanner Gray ($8,500; Starting P26) - Better for Cash Games | |
Stewart Friesen ($8,000; Starting P12) | |
Chase Purdy ($7,800; Starting P20) | |
Value Tier | Kaden Honeycutt ($7,300; Starting P8) - GPP Only |
Daniel Dye ($7,000; Starting P13) | |
Stefan Parsons ($6,900; Starting P29) | |
Jake Garcia ($6,700; Starting P23) | |
Matt Mills ($6,600; Starting P18) | |
Connor Hall ($6,000; Starting P21) - Potentially good leverage play | |
Bret Holmes ($5,800; Starting P22) |