NASCAR DFS Picks – Cook Out 400 Projections, Lineup & Strategy

• DraftKings is offering $100,000 to first place on a $20 entry for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway
• Five of our six DFS selections start 22nd or worse, with Chase Briscoe supplying the dominator upside from the front row
• Below, see our NASCAR DFS picks, projections, lineup, and strategy for the Cook Out 400

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The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Richmond for 400 laps of Saturday night short-track racing, complete with tire wear (hopefully), heavy traffic and enough pit stops to turn a perfectly reasonable DFS lineup into a hostage situation.

Richmond offers a massive supply of dominator points, but the starting grid also produced an unusually deep collection of place-differential options. Several proven drivers qualified near the back despite showing considerably more speed in practice. Apparently, everyone agreed to make lineup construction easier for us. Very considerate.

Our $49,300 DraftKings lineup attacks both paths while leaving $700 unused. DraftKings will not mail us a certificate for spending the entire salary cap. Chase Briscoe starts second and provides access to early laps led, while the other five drivers start 22nd or worse. Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick and Shane van Gisbergen all start outside the top 30.

The lineup becomes even more attractive when practice speed enters the equation. Austin Cindric ranked first in our practice metric, Larson ranked second and Reddick ranked fifth. That gives us one potential dominator and five drivers with room to move forward during a long, sweaty and probably unreasonable night at Richmond.

Cook Out 400 Expert DFS Lineup and Projections

DraftKings salaries as of race week. Build your Cook Out 400 NASCAR DFS lineup at the best DFS sites and apps before the green flag drops at Richmond.

Cook Out 400 DFS Strategy

Kyle Larson ($9,700) | Starting Position: 30th

Larson’s recent results have been ugly enough that the model labels his form “Ice Cold.” DraftKings, however, only cares about Saturday.

Larson ranked second in our practice metric and projects to finish 15.33. His raw comparable-track profile includes an 11.24 average running position, 13.5 fastest laps per race and 76% of all laps completed inside the top 15.

We have also seen this exact Richmond setup. Larson started 30th here last season and finished sixth, gaining 24 positions with a 13.7 average running position. That performance demonstrates the enormous DFS ceiling attached to his starting position, the kind of place-differential swing that also plays well on pick’em apps like PrizePicks when you’re isolating a single driver’s finishing range.

Chase Briscoe ($9,500) | Starting Position: 2nd

Here’s how the field will line up for a short-track Saturday at @RichmondRaceway. pic.twitter.com/wLM5EAUfJn

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 14, 2026

Briscoe is the lone driver in this lineup without obvious place-differential upside. His value comes from leading laps and collecting dominator points from the front row.

Our model projects Briscoe to finish 8.77, fifth-best in the field. He also brings the top-rated team and manufacturer combination with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota.

The comparable-track numbers strengthen the case. Briscoe has spent 70.2% of his laps inside the top 15 while averaging 7.67 fastest laps and 10.25 laps led per race across the 12-race sample. He finished third at North Wilkesboro and sixth at Iowa this season. He also finished second and led 81 laps at Iowa last year.

His 23rd-place practice ranking creates concern, but starting beside Ryan Blaney gives Briscoe immediate access to clean air. An early stretch at the front could quickly accumulate a useful collection of laps led.

NASCAR DFS Picks: Place Differential Targets

Tyler Reddick ($9,000) | Starting Position: 32nd

Reddick ranked fifth in our practice metric and projects to finish 18.64, more than 13 positions ahead of where he starts.

He has averaged 7.5 fastest laps per comparable race while spending 64.8% of his laps inside the top 15. Reddick also ran eighth at Phoenix earlier this season with a 5.8 average running position, then posted an 11.5 average running position at Martinsville.

Richmond has also bitten him. Reddick led 41 laps here last year before finishing 34th. Starting 32nd dramatically reduces the place-differential downside, while his practice speed gives him a clear path into the high teens.

Trouble for @TylerReddick in Turn 4. pic.twitter.com/iyIhgMq7ao

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 14, 2026

Carson Hocevar ($7,700) | Starting Position: 22nd

Hocevar projects to finish 15.76 and carries a “Rising” recent-form label. His practice metric ranked 13th, while the model ranks him ninth in overall power.

The raw profile is modest, with a 16.97 average running position and 48.6% of his laps inside the top 15. Hocevar finished 15th here last season, recorded 17 fastest laps and led 10 circuits. He also ran 13th at North Wilkesboro this year with a 7.2 average running position.

The model places Hocevar firmly in the mid-teens, creating useful place-differential potential from the 22nd starting position.

Austin Cindric ($7,000) | Starting Position: 23rd

Cindric is the lineup’s best combination of salary, speed and projection. He ranked first in our practice metric, and the model projects him to finish 13.93.

His raw comparable-track numbers include a 14.09 average running position and nearly 65% of his laps inside the top 15. The individual races are even more encouraging. Cindric started 13th and finished fifth at Richmond last year with a 7.9 average running position. He also finished eighth at Martinsville this spring, posting a 5.9 average running position and 25 fastest laps.

A $7,000 driver starting 23rd with the field’s top practice rating and a projected finish near 14th creates one of the clearest values on the slate.

Shane van Gisbergen ($6,400) | Starting Position: 31st

SVG provides the salary relief, but he is not a blind punt. He ranked ninth in our practice metric and projects to finish 19.55, more than 11 positions ahead of his starting spot.

The raw sample remains uneven, with a 21.68 average running position and 40.4% of laps inside the top 15. Recent results show growth. SVG finished 11th at Martinsville with a 9.0 average running position, then finished fifth at North Wilkesboro after running fourth on average, leading 49 laps and recording 15 fastest laps. He also climbed from 27th to 14th at Richmond last year.

Those results, combined with top-10 practice speed and the 31st starting position, give SVG substantial upside at $6,400.

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