Black's Tire 250
Location: Richmond, Va.
Course: Richmond Raceway
Format: 0.75-mile D-shaved oval
Laps: 250
NASCAR Trucks Race Preview
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series roars back to life this week at Richmond Raceway for the first of two races remaining in the regular season. Layne Riggs earned his fifth win of the season in the most recent race at Lucas Oil Raceway and now holds a 100-point lead over Kaden Honeycutt in the regular-season championship. The battle around the cutline for the Chase is significantly closer, though. Stewart Friesen enters this week's race in the 10th and final championship position, but his spot is far from secure. Tyler Ankrum trails him by only eight points, while just 61 points separate eighth through 14th place. With only 10 drivers advancing to race for the 2026 series championship, every position and every stage point will matter over these final two races. Corey Heim dominated last year's race at Richmond, leading all but two laps, but the competition should tighten this week as the championship field begins to solidify.
Key Stats at Richmond Raceway
- Number of races: 17
- Winners from pole: 2
- Winners from top-5 starters: 11
- Winners from top-10 starters: 13
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 2
- Fastest race: 104.227 mph
Previous 10 Richmond Winners
2025 - Corey Heim
2024 - Ty Majeski
2023 - Carson Hocevar
2022 - Chandler Smith
2021 - John Hunter Nemechek
2020 - Grant Enfinger
2005 - Mike Skinner
2004 - Ted Musgrave
2003 - Tony Stewart
2002 - Tony Stewart
Richmond Raceway is a relatively flat 0.75-mile tri-oval that is familiar to NASCAR teams and fans. Unlike other small ovals, Richmond is also a short track where the winner does not necessarily need to start near the front. Three of the last five Truck Series races were won by drivers who started on the front row, while the other two winners started outside the top 15. The deepest starting position for a winner at Richmond was 27th in 2003. The track's wide, flat turns give drivers opportunities to change grooves and make passes, but its shallow banking can make side-by-side racing difficult and slow a driver's progress through the field. Strategy and caution timing can also determine the outcome. Most pit stops will likely involve four tires, but a well-timed caution could create an opportunity to gamble on track position with a two-tire stop. As the race winds down and the opportunity to grab positions and points increases, teams and drivers will have more incentive to take risks and race aggressively.
RotoWire NASCAR Truck Series DFS Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Black's Tire 250
Based on Standard $50k Salary Cap.
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Layne Riggs - $13,500
Corey Heim - $13,000
Chandler Smith - $11,500
Christopher Bell - $11,000
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Ty Majeski - $10,000
Christian Eckes - $9,500
Shane van Gisbergen - $9,000
Gio Ruggiero - $8,500
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Grant Enfinger - $8,000
Tyler Ankrum - $7,700
Landen Lewis - $7,500
Daniel Hemric - $7,300
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Jake Garcia - $6,800
Tanner Gray - $6,700
Justin Haley - $6,300
Brenden Queen - $6,200
Optimal DraftKings Lineup for the Black's Tire 250
Corey Heim - $13,000
Gio Ruggiero - $8,500
Tyler Ankrum - $7,700
Landen Lewis - $7,500
Jake Garcia - $6,800
Brenden Queen - $6,200
This week's race will be Corey Heim's seventh in the series this season. Of the first six, he won three and only failed to finish in the top 10 once. His last series race was at North Wilkesboro where he started fourth and finished ninth. Since then, he added another Cup Series win to his achievements at Indianapolis. Heim is at the top of his game despite not sticking to one series full time in 2026, and he is putting together an enviable prelude to his first full-time Cup season in 2027. Even though Heim finished ninth last time out at North Wilkesboro, he remains a legitimate threat to win every time he is behind the wheel.
Gio Ruggiero heads to this week's Richmond race fifth in the championship standings. With four top-15 finishes in the last five races, he is doing what he needs to be able to race for the championship beginning at Bristol. His race at North Wilkesboro was also his best of the last five race. At Richmond, another short track, he has one prior series start from last season when he moved from 35th starting position all the way up to sixth for the finish.
Tyler Ankrum finds himself in the thick of the fight to be one of the 10 championship contenders. He sits just eight points behind Stewart Friesen for that final transfer spot, and he needs as many positions and points as he can collect this week. In his six prior Richmond starts, Ankrum finished in the top 10 three times and has never finished lower than 13th. With a ninth-place finish in the most recent race at Indianapolis, he should feel confident of working his way back into the top 10.
After some impressive top-five finishes to announce his arrival in the trucks, Landen Lewis suffered adversity at Indianapolis. The Niece Motorsports driver qualified 20th and was working his way forward before a late crash ahead of him took him out of the race prematurely. While Richmond is another track he will be tackling for the first time in a truck, Lewis remains capable of walking away with top finishes. Four top-10s and three top-fives from just six starts is enough to be excited about him again this week despite his trouble at Indianapolis.
Jake Garcia has some ground to make up in order to be part of the championship field this season, and he will need to reverse his recent trend if he is to succeed. He is 32 points behind Stewart Friesen in 10th, but covering that ground isn't an impossible task. Garcia will have to be at his best, though. At Richmond, he has an average finish of 11th from four prior starts with two top-10 finishes. Last year, he finished this race in seventh position after starting eighth.
Brenden Queen could face elimination from the championship battle if things don't go his way this week. He is 43 points behind the final transfer spot and finished 20th and 21st in the last two races. However, Richmond Raceway is his home track and the boost of a hometown race could help drive him forward. The team also expects to field some updated equipment this week, which could help Queen close out the season on a high note while also moving into Chase contention.
Best Bets for the Black's Tire 250
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 11:00 AM ET Friday
Race Winner - Corey Heim +200
Top-Three Finish - Kaden Honeycutt +260
Top-Five Finish - Landen Lewis +550
He may not be a full-time competitor in the series this season, but Corey Heim has not lost his winning ways. In just six starts, he has three victories and five finishes of ninth or better. Heim is also the defending winner of this specific race, which puts some extra emphasis behind his chances this weekend. From four Richmond starts in this series, Heim brings an average finish of 7.0 with three results of sixth or better. It is always a challenge to win these races if you aren't behind the wheel every week, but Heim is proving that isn't a big disadvantage for him.
Kaden Honeycutt is having a fantastic season and enters Richmond second in points with nine top-fives and 11 top-10s. He has three prior Richmond starts, and he has improved each time with last year's 10th-place finish being his best. This year, Honeycutt has been racing better than ever before, though. Top-five finishes are more common than ever before, and with a good qualifying outing ahead of Friday night's race to start with positive track position, Honeycutt could have a top-three, if not even a win, within his sights.
Landen Lewis is making his mark on the series. Were it not for some unfortunate luck at Indianapolis, he might be entering this weekend's race with four consecutive top-five finishes. As is, he has three top-fives in the last four races, including a fifth-place finish at North Wilkesboro. With that short-track top-five under his belt, there should be optimism of another impressive result at Richmond despite this being his first visit to the track.
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