NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Richmond Regular Season Finale

Track Classification: Short Track

Similar Tracks: Bristol Motor Speedway • Dover International Speedway 

Martinsville Speedway •  Phoenix International Raceway 

Distance: .75 Miles

Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last 5 Years):

By Race

Jeff Gordon- 5
Ryan Newman - 4

All with 3 - Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth

By Track
Matt Kenseth -7

All with 6 - Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer 

All with 5 - Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson

All with 4 - Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr.

Recent Pole Winners:

2015 Joey Logano
2014 Brad Keselowski

Last Year's Race Winner: Matt Kenseth

The Likely Suspects: This last race before starting the Chase is always an exciting one. When picking this week, think about those drivers who must produce this weekend in order to get into the Chase and then enhance your team with Richmond elite drivers. Look for these drivers to run well: Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch.

My 2 Cents: My no brainer pick this week is a tie between Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski. Joey Logano is also a fine pick. My next picks are Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer and Kyle Larson. I will complete my team with Jeff Gordon and Chris Buescher.

My Final Four: Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray and Jeff Gordon.

Points to Ponder:

• The pole starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners than any other starting position at Richmond (23). 
• Petty Enterprises has the most wins at Richmond in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 15; followed by Joe Gibbs Racing with 11, Hendrick Motorsports, with 10 and Richard Childress Racing with nine.
• Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Richmond International Raceway with a 6.864 as well as in wins with four (all of which were spring races).
• Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in runner-up finishes at Richmond with eight, in top-5 finishes with 18 and in top-10 finishes with 30.
• Brad Keselowski has led the most laps at RIR over the last 3-years and has the best 3-year Loop Data Driver Rating. 
• Joey Logano has the best 3-year Average Finish at Richmond.

I'll be covering the race weekend at Richmond for Skirts and Scuffs. Check here on the blog for my articles and visit our Facebook page to see my photos.

Enjoy the race! Post your comments here or follow me on Twitter at @purplecatpr.