Matt Vecchio 
Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Truck Series for Friday’s Truck Series from Richmond Raceway! Saturday night the Truck Series races under the lights in Richmond in the second race of the playoffs. This is a long race by Truck Series standard, 250 laps, so picking dominators will key on Saturday. There will be 175 dominator points in this race and there’s no doubt they will be crucial to the success of your DFS lineups.
Unlike the Cup Series, pole sitters have not been optimal in the Truck Series. Only three times in seventeen races has the driver starting on the pole been in the optimal lineup including the last two races. I won’t put too much stock into the practice speeds from Saturday considering they were run in warmer daytime temps while this race will be run under the lights. They are a decent barometer of speed, but it is not the be-all-end-all it is on some weeks.
NASCAR DFS: Top Tier
Zane Smith ($11,000)
Starting Position: 6th
Smith is the class of the field in 2022 with eight top-three finishes in 17 races this season. Smith also leads the series with three wins this season as well. Earlier this season at Nashville (a similar track), Smith led 70 laps on his way to a second-place finish.
Cory Heim ($10,100)
Starting Position: 16th
Heim has two wins and five top 10’s in just ten races this season. At Nashville earlier in 2022, Heim had a good run going until he wrecked late in the race. In that race, Heim finished third in both stages after starting from P4. Heim was 3rd best in 10-lap average in Saturday’s abbreviated practice session but had a poor qualifying effort. This is a top 5 truck in my opinion and there is a lot of PD upside here making Heim one of my favorite plays.
Stewart Friesen ($9,000)
Starting Position: 3rd
Friesen had some issues in practice but it appears they worked them out and found some speed for this #52 Toyota Tundra. After a poor showing in practice, Frisen came out and put down the third-best lap in qualifying. In two career races here, Friesen has finishes of 10th and 13th respectively. Friesen has five top 5’s in his last seven races including top 5’s at Gateway and Nashville (similar track type). Friesen will be a contender for the win and should be a lock for a top 5.
Other Options:
Other Options: John Hunter Nemechek ($11,400 – P7): Nemeheck was fast in practice posting the best 10,15, and 20-lap averages. Ty Majeski ($9,900 – P1): I know I said to be leery of the pole sitter, but Majeski is underpriced and could dominate this race, Ben Rhodes ($9,700 – P14), Chandler Smith ($10,300 – P2)
Really, you can play any driver in the top tier on Saturday night, but I won’t be listing them all.
NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier
Rajah Caruth ($7,100)
Starting Position: 28th
For those who don’t know who he is, Carruth is one of NASCAR’s most talented up-and-coming drivers. Carruth is in a tight battle for the ARCA Championship and should be a contender for a top 10 on Saturday night. Carruth had a great performance at Gateway earlier in 2022 (his only career truck race) where he finished 11th after starting 19th.
Matt Crafton ($8,700)
Starting Position: 15th
Crafton needs points to secure his spot in the next round of the playoffs as he currently sits on the outside looking in. Similar to Frisen, Crafton was not fast in practice, but he said that his team fixed some issues they had and he was happy with his truck. Since the Series returned to Richmond in 2020, Crafton has finished 2nd and 18th in the two races and has led 36 laps in those two races combined.
Derek Kraus ($8,300)
Starting Position: 18th
Kraus had a slip in qualifying which caused him to qualify poorly on Saturday, but this is a fast truck and he should make for a solid PD play. In practice, Kraus posted a top ten lap but fell off a bit in the 5-lap average. Now, there is a chance that the 19 team prepared this truck for the cooler track at night and that is why it didn’t handle well on the long run so he could be ahead of the field. Either way, Kraus has been pumping out solid results with seven finishes of 14th or better in his last eight races including four top 10’s, so he should be a contender again for a top 10 on Saturday night.
Other Options: Tanner Gray ($7,900 – P19), Tyler Ankrum ($8,500 – P11)
NASCAR Value Rankings
- Timmy Hill ($6,400 – P36) – Hill has a fast truck, but had a slip in qualifying coming out of turn 4 and didn’t attempt a second lap. Because of this, Hill is the best PD play on the slate.
- Taylor Gray ($6,500 – P24)
- Dean Thompson ($5,700 – P29)
- Brett Holmes ($6,200 – P32)
- Joey Gase ($5,900 – P30)
- Lawless Alan ($5,300 – P27)
- Layne Riggs ($6,900 – P4) – Great GPP play and could pull out another top 10. Riggs is in the #62 truck (Friesen’s teammate) so the youngster has a good track and team building this truck.
- Jack Wood ($6,000) – P25 – Wood was fast in practice, but he has a propensity for wrecking weekly. There is some risk involved here.
Make sure you head to the Win Daily Sports Discord for up-to-date info and help from our pros! Head over to Twitter and give the @WinDailySports account and me (@MVecchio81) a follow for all things Fantasy Sports! You can find more FREE NASCAR content over at WinDailySports.com!
Make sure to check out my NASCAR DFS Tutorial to ensure you are ready and understand how I break down the races and build lineups (https://windailysports.com/nascar-dfs-pit-stop-2021-introduction-to-nascar-dfs/).
There were a lot of changes in the cars and what driver is in what car/truck in 2022, check out my What’s new in 2022 article (https://windailysports.com/nascar-dfs-whats-new-in-2022/)
