The Sprint Cup series heads to another short track this weekend, racing under the lights at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. While Richmond doesn’t typically have the same amount of beating and banging as Martinsville or Bristol, it’s still an old school short track where a small mishap can get great cars lapped by the leaders quickly. If they can stay out of trouble, these drivers stand a good chance of going to victory lane this weekend:
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Denny Hamlin has the highest average career finish at Richmond of all drivers who will be running this weekend. He’s averaged a 10.41 place finish with two wins and seven top 5s in 17 races at the track. The 34-year-old favors short tracks, with his best finishes coming at Martinsville and Richmond. His average career finish on a short track is 12.1, including his win earlier this year at Martinsville. He’s also scored two other top 5s this season. Unfortunately for Hamlin, though, his Richmond wins came back in 2009 and 2010, and he hasn’t finished in the top 20 in his last three races there. He’ll be looking to improve on his 17th-place average finish for 2015 this weekend.
Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Looking at the statistics from recent short track races as well as career finishes at Richmond, it seems like two Toyota drivers from the Joe Gibbs stable may stand a chance this weekend in the Toyota Owners 400. Matt Kenseth has an average finish of 10.3 and two wins on short tracks during the last two seasons. His career average finish at Richmond is 16.3 in 30 races. This includes a win and five top 5. His streak of five straight top 10 finishes at the Virginia track was crushed last fall when he was involved in an incident and only completed 330 of the 400 laps. Kenseth is, however, looking strong on short tracks already this season. He won last week at Bristol, and finished 4th at Martinsville.
Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
Kevin Harvick has a career average Richmond finish of 11.04, and only 14.1 when considering all short tracks. He’s also score three wins at the track: 2013, 2011 and 2006. Part of his success at the track can be attributed to his prowess for avoiding wrecks; he has finished outside the top 20 at Richmond only once in the last decade, and only three times in his career. Harvick’s performance this season cannot be overlooked, either. In eight races, he’s scored two wins and six top 5s. This weekend, he will be looking to overcome a season-low 38th place finish last week at Bristol.
Other Possible Contenders
Jeff Gordon has the highest average finish in last four races at Richmond, with 5.75. This includes three top 10s. Gordon is also the stats leader at all short tracks during the last two seasons, with an average finish of 8.4 and one win.
Richard Petty holds the record for most career wins at Richmond with 12. Kyle Busch, who is still sidelined with injuries, is ranked 7th in all time wins with four. There are three current drivers tied for 8th behind Busch, and any of them could score win number four this weekend. They are Harvick, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson. Recent winners Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, who have both gone to victory lane at Richmond in the last two seasons, also cannot be counted out.
The Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway will be run Saturday, April 25, 2015. Pre-race coverage will begin on Fox at 6 p.m. with the race following at 7.