Federated Auto Parts 400
Week 26
By Richard Tix
25 regular season NASCAR Sprint Cup races down and only one to go until the 16 driver Chase field is locked in. Guys like Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, and Dale Earnhardt Jr are feeling pretty good as they have been locking in for awhile and only need to work out a few things for the Chase while at Richmond.
On the other hand, guys like Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, and Greg Biffle are sweating it out and need to have the best possible finish they can on Saturday just to squeeze into the playoff. Richmond could provide fans with some fireworks if these guys and a mix of win less drivers are up front near the end. I honestly think the real excitement may come during each elimination round in the Chase, where four drivers are dropped every 3 races until four stand for the finale in Miami.
So lets take a look at some of the latest results from RIR.
On the other hand, guys like Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, and Greg Biffle are sweating it out and need to have the best possible finish they can on Saturday just to squeeze into the playoff. Richmond could provide fans with some fireworks if these guys and a mix of win less drivers are up front near the end. I honestly think the real excitement may come during each elimination round in the Chase, where four drivers are dropped every 3 races until four stand for the finale in Miami.
So lets take a look at some of the latest results from RIR.
The Good, Middle, and Bad
(This is just a review of each drivers recent past performance, generally about 5-10 past races)
The Good
- Kyle Busch- He made this list last time we previewed Richmond and it paid off for a 3rd place finish. Well, he is staying here again after adding that top 5 to his resume. He also has 4 wins at RIR since 2009.
- Carl Edwards- He has three straight top 10 finishes at RIR and 8 in the last 9. He has a career 13.5 average finish position at Richmond.
- Kevin Harvick- Harvick has three career wins at Richmond and two of those have come in the last 6 races (2011 and 2013). He finished 11th earlier this season after leading 23 laps. Look for an improvement and a top 10 finish.
The Middle
- Dale Earnhardt Jr- In his last 7 races at RIR he has an average finish of 11.57. During that same time he has 3 top 10's but only one of them was a top 5 (2012). Before that stretch he has a run of finishes 21st and higher. With Jr having a good year I would expect him to be closer to the 11 mark then the 20 mark.
The Bad
- Paul Menard- Before last year Menard struggled at RIR, then he finished 13th and 5th in 2013. Well, in the first stop at RIR earlier this year he finished 24th and seemed to fit right back into his not so impressive stats here. Hitting a rough stretch when it has counted, I expect Paul to be in the 15-25 range again.
- Casey Mears- Mears has had some good runs this year that seem to get overlooked. After starting 34th earlier this year at RIR he finished 19th on a decent run. Unfortunately, most of his finishes here leave much to be desired.
- Brian Vickers- Vickers needs Richmond for the Chase. He has two Pole awards here but has never finished in the top 5. His last finish was 12th here, but I still don't see a top 10 in the making.
Track Stats
- Richard Petty once won 7 RIR races in a row, 9 of 10, and 12 of 17. All were from 1967 to 1975
- Last year Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards won from the 17th and 26th positions. Joey Logano won earlier this year from the 17th position as well.
- Toyota has won 7 of the last 11 races at RIR but didn't win once in the two trips last year
- Michael Waltrip has 45 career starts at RIR and no wins or top 5's. He does have two career top 10's though
- In 43 tries, Jeff Gordon has 6 total career Poles at RIR. He also has 2 wins, 17 top 5's and 27 to 10's
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