2016 Week 26 Pit Road: Richmond

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Richmond International Raceway

By Richard Tix

It's time to reset. 26 races down and 10 to go to crown the 2016 Sprint Cup Champion. The first 26 races were a blast but I guarantee the next ten will be even better as the heat ramps up. It may not always be the best "clean" racing, but it is sure to provide some enjoyment. 

As always, Behind the Wall will go into the Chase with a clean slate in the Power Rankings. It is time to reset them completely. This week the rankings will start as a mix between how hot they're coming into the Chase and how much of a chance I think they have at winning. Remember, it is a mix of the two aspect's (cough cough, Rowdy fans). I think Kyle is higher then a top seven contender, but he isn't coming into the Chase setting the world on fire.

For the first three races we will have 16 drivers ranked and they will all come from the Chase field. Once NASCAR cuts the field to 12 so will Behind the Wall (again, all Chase drivers). Once we cut to 8 drivers I will still rank the top 12, but the top 8 will be only drivers left in the Chase and the remaining four can be anyone (previous Chase drivers OR someone who was never in the Chase). This type format will continue all the way down to the final (so in the end the Champion will be number one and the other eleven can be anyone in the Sprint Cup. 

Let the fun begin!

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 26 (Week 25)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- Four straight top fives from a guy who has navigated this Chase format before, yup I'm all in with Harvick as a safe No. 1. Some pit crew worries have held up the excitement of a second title in three years. 
2. Denny Hamlin (LW-2)- He had seven straight top 10's BEFORE RIR's win. Two wins, five top 5's, and eight top 10's in his last eight means Hamlin has turned it on at the right time. 
3. Brad Keselowsi (LW-4)- The No. 2 team qualified poorly for RIR, but managed to salvage the night. That is what BK and Paul Wolfe have done all year; use strategy to compete week in and week out. Those saving strategies could be the difference in a Champion or an exit.
4. Martin Truex Jr (LW-8)- MTJ and the No. 78 love 1.5 mile tracks and the Chase has a bunch of them. Truex followed up his Darlington win with a 3rd place run at RIR after leading 193 laps.
5. Joey Logano (LW-3)- For a guy who has ten top 5's and 18 top 10's in 26 races, JoLo's season has been quiet. I think most of that has to do with his one win, but don't count out his consistency to get him to Miami.
6. Kyle Larson (LW-6)- Ask me two months ago where Larson would be in the rankings at this time and I would have said something like "either 15th or missing the Chase." He has turned his youth promise into reality. A win at MIS got him in, but his last three races have all been top 3 finishes. 
7. Kyle Busch (LW-11)- I like this Kyle's odds of winning a Championship more then the one above, but the Chase is a funny thing now. You have to get hot at the right time and avoid the bad luck. Rowdy has been fast all year and if he is during the next ten races he has a shot to go back to back.
8. Carl Edwards (LW-5)- Carl started 2016 on fire, but it hasn't gone very smooth as of late. JGR isn't what it was in the first half so maybe other teams have a shot to take them down.
9. Jimmie Johnson (LW-12)- This is not typical Johnson, but this is also not typical Hendrick. It's been awhile since Team Hendrick has lost this much on the track, so it will be interesting to see JJ and Chase fight through it.
10. Chase Elliott (LW-7)- Speaking of Chase, Elliott has had one heck of a rookie season. I'm not sure he can make a legit push at a Championship this year, but at the very least he has shown it should be in his future.
11. Matt Kenseth (LW-9)- I'm not sure what to think of Kenseth. He sure hasn't run well as of late, but they have the speed. Plus, he is a veteran that you can't count out of it. Anything is possible, but inconsistency could be the No. 20's downfall this year.
12. Kurt Busch (LW-NR)- Where has Kurt gone? He finishes 8th on Saturday, but it is a lone bright spot as of late. He started the season as a title contender with a great start, but now he might be bounced by the round of eight.
13. Jamie McMurray (LW-11)- It's been fun watching CGR get a win at MIS (Larson) and JMac pointing his way in with four top 10's in the last five races. 
14. Tony Stewart (LW-NR)- Rules are rules so Smoke is in the Chase, but his last four races have been terrible. He did turn it on for awhile this season, but can he get that back and have one final run at another Championship?
15. Austin Dillon (LW-NR)- AD took a step this year and it paid off by making the Chase. A career high in top 10's (10), he has already doubled his previous high (5). 
16. Chris Buescher (LW-NR)- I think more people are mad Beuscher got in then Smoke, yet Chris won a race and ran all of the races... You can't fault a guy for playing by the rules and using strategy to get here. Plus, who in the final four spots really has a legit shot to win anyways? If you want to argue, argue that we have too many Chase spots. Congrats Chris!

2016 NASCAR Week 26 Preview: Richmond

Federated Auto Parts 400

Richmond International Raceway

By Richard Tix

Everything comes down to this. One. Last. Race. Thirteen drivers are going to arrive at Richmond and take one huge breath of fresh air remembering they don't have any extra pressure on them until race 27. Meanwhile, the rest of the teams are scrambling, waking up from nightmares, and trying to prepare as best they can for one last shot at a win.

Thirteen drivers did what was needed in the first 25 races so they could get to this point and not stress over where they stand before Chicagoland. Those thirteen will focus on winning, like they do every week, without the pressure of behind a bystander in the Chase. With the exception of Chris Buescher, all thirteen are locked in (Chris just needs to stay top 30).

What this leaves us is three spots open with a wildcard fourth spot if Buescher has early trouble, finishes 40th, and drops out of the top 30 in points.

The only way the rest of the drivers know for sure on the last lap if they're in, is if they win. So, can guys like Chase Elliott, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, Kasey Kahne, Trevor Bayne, Paul Menard, or Ryan Blaney get it done? One thing is for sure, only three (maybe four) will be in the Chase from that group above.

The Sprint Cup Chase not only adds excitement to the last ten races of the season, but it also adds another dimension in during the closing races of the regular season, as any popular sport in America does. 

So get ready fans, Richmond should be a fun weekend!

**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good

• Kyle Busch- A 6.9 average finish position over a 22 race career should say it all for Rowdy. If not, four career wins should say the rest (which is the most active wins at RIR). The last two RIR races he finished runner up so he has a good chance to end up in VL.
• Kevin Harvick- Three career wins, ten top 5's, and 19 top 10's. Harvick knows how to get it done at RIR. Earlier this year he took the pole and finished 5th after leading 63 laps.
• Joey Logano- JoLo has five straight top 10's at RIR which all started with a win in 2014. RIR is a track he slowly came around to, but now can consitently be found at the front.

The Middle

• Ryan Newman- Newman is going to need more then just a top 15 finish this weekend to make the Chase. However his last and only RIR win was in 2003. 

The Bad

• Greg Biffle- For a driver who has had as good a career as Biffle has, six top 10's in 28 career RIR starts is not something to be proud of. In fact, he hasn't cracked the top 10 in seven straight races.
• Martin Truex Jr- In 21 career RIR starts Truex has one top 5 and six top 10's. Worse yet, only nine times has he finshed in the top 20.
• Austin Dillon- 27th, 20th, 27th, 27th, and 20th. Sound like a ton of great finishes? Nope, not really. It's a very short sample, but so far it hasn't gone AD's way.

About the Track: Richmond

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
• In 2013 Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards won from the 17th and 26th positions. Joey Logano won in 2014 (Spring) from the 17th position as well. 
• In 2009 and 2010 Kyle Busch won both early season races and Denny Hamlin won both late season. Kyle also won the early season RIR race in 2011 and 2012 making it 5 straight Toyota wins and 6 in 7 (actually 7 of 8 because Bowyer won late in 2012).
• Richard Petty has the most career RIR wins with 13.
• Of current drivers Kyle Busch has the most total wins with 4.
• Richard Petty also has the most career top 5's (34), top 10's (41), and Poles (tied with Bobby Allison with 8).

Track Info

• Surface 
• Asphalt
• Length 
• 0.75 miles
• Banking
• Turns: 14 degrees
• Frontstretch: 8 degrees
• Backstretch: 2 degrees

2016 Richmond NASCAR Schedule

Federated Auto Parts 400

By Richard Tix

All Times are Eastern Tiem Zone (ET)

Friday September 9, 2016

• 8-9:55 a.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series first practice- NBCSN
• 10-10:55 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series first practice- NBCSN
• 12-1:25 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice- NBCSN
• 4:15 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- NBCSN
• 5:45 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying- NBCSN
• 7:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Virginia529 College Savings 250 (250 laps)- NBCSN

Saturday September 10, 2016

• 7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 (400 laps)- NBCSN

2016 Week 25 Pit Road: Darlington

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Darlington Raceway

PHOTO BY LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

By Richard Tix

Darlington is towards the top of my must see races, yet almost every year I miss a good chunk of it. That's because Labor Day weekend always has been a family and friend camping outing. With Darlington making it's way back to it's traditional Labor Day weekend date, it means I have to hope we make it on a bike ride to a local bar, or to just catch some updates on Twitter while hanging around the campfire.

Even though I would love to see Darlington (especially because of the throwbacks), I wouldn't trade this family time with anything.

So, I missed a ton of the race but caught some on twitter and read a few updates throughout the night. With that said, I will have no review of the race and I also will spare you any opinion rant since I wasn't engaged enough to fully have one. Let's get to the rankings!

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 25 (Week 23)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- I'm not 100% sure where I stand on the Harvick rant after Darlington. On one side, he is frustrated and they need to know it. On the other, maybe it could have been behind closed doors because those team members are busting their butts and know they have screwed up. Its not very team member like to oust them in front of the NASCAR world. On the bright side, KH is still running well despite the poor pit stops. Finish: 2nd
2. Denny Hamlin (LW-4)- Hamlin hasn't really been winning goo often, but he has been very "consistent good." Seven straight top 10's for Hamlin heading into week 26. Finish: 4th
3. Joey Logano (LW-2)- JoLo has 11 top 10's in the past 13 races. He has been running well, but will it be well enough in the Chase? Finish: 5th
4. Brad Keselowski (LW-5)- In the last 17 races, BK has lead at least one lap in in 13 of those, 13! In nine of those races he lead ten or more laps. The No. 2 hasn't always been the fastest, but Paul Wolfe and BK make calls every week to give them a shot at a quality finish. Finish: 9th
5. Carl Edwards (LW-6)- Carl gives himself a shot every week by qualifying well. Nine times in the last twelve he has started top 5 with six of those being front row. Finish: 19th
6. Kyle Larson (LW-10)- Larson wins at Michigan and goes on a tear to win the 2016 Sprint Cup Championship... It's not actually as crazy as you think. Look back at how good he was in 2014 down the stretch and then remember he is a more well rounded driver now. It's a long shot, but you never know. Finish: 3rd
7. Chase Elliott (LW-9)- Chase has turned in some quality performances since he was under pressure of making the Chase. Great timing and it should be enough to get in. Finish: 10th
8. Martin Truex Jr (LW-NR)- Bad luck aside, Truex has been very good on 1.5 mile tracks the past two seasons. Take a look ahead and remember the Chase is full of 1.5's. Finish: 1st
9. Matt Kenseth (LW-8)- Where have all the top 5's gone? The big difference in Kenseth's 2016 compared to 2011-2015 is he has four top 5's currently. Finish: 6th
10. Kyle Busch (LW-3)- Dominant car at Bristol: Wreck. Good car at Michigan: Spin and lose track position. Rowdy almost got back on track at Darlington, but his focus should be the final ten races. Finsish: 11th
11. Jamie McMurray (LW-NR)- What a time to run well. McMurray needs all the points he can get just to squeeze in  (currently 16th in Chase points). Three straight eights and a fifteenth at Darlington helps, but he needs a good run at RIR this week. Finish: 15th
12. Jimme Johnson (LW-11)- Sunday evening was one to forget again for JJ. Before Sunday, he was starting to gain some momentum heading into the Chase. Finish: 33rd

Dropped Out: Tony Stewart (LW-7) and Kurt Busch (LW-12)

Just Missed: Austin Dillon and Kasey Kahne