NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond

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

By Race

All with 4 - Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and Jimmie Johnson
All with 3 - Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch, and Clint Bowyer

By Track
Joey Logano - 9
All with 7 - Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Jimmie Johnson
All with 6 - Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, and Martin Truex Jr.

Clint Bowyer - 5

Recent Pole Winners:
2018 Kevin Harvick
2017 Matt Kenseth

2016 Denny Hamlin

Last Year's Race Winner: Kyle Busch

The Likely Suspects: Richmond short-track racing is always exciting, but this year's playoff races have been particularly chaotic, so this race should be a nail-biter. My Richmond fantasy go-tos are: Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, and Martin Truex Jr.

My 2 Cents: My no-brainer pick this week is a tie between Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. My next choices are Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, and Ryan Newman. I'll complete my team with Michael McDowell and Daniel Hemric.

My Final Four: Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman and Michael McDowell.

Second-look driver: This week's second-look driver is Jimmie Johnson. He could play spoiler this weekend. Jimmie has three victories at Richmond, and  has finished 12th or better in the last 10 consecutive Richmond races – seven times among the top 10. Last week's second-look driver, Alex Bowman made an excellent showing in the first playoff race in Las Vegas. Alex started 19th on the grid and battled throughout the day, picking off places one by one. His pit crew played an important role by gaining him five spots during the caution leading into the final stage. He finished the race in sixth place.  

Points to Ponder:

• Denny Hamlin (2006, 2008 and 2016) and Kevin Harvick (2005, 2018 and 2019) lead all active drivers in Busch poles at Richmond with three each, followed by Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson with two each.
• Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in wins at Richmond with six victories (spring 2009, spring 2010, spring 2011, spring 2012 and spring 2018, Playoff race 2018).  
• The pole starting position is the most prolific starting position in the field, producing more winners than any other starting position at Richmond Raceway with 24. 
• Petty Enterprises has the most wins at Richmond in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with 15 victories, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing with 14, Hendrick Motorsports with 10, and Richard Childress Racing with nine.
• Kevin Harvick leads all active drivers in top 10s at Richmond with 24, followed by Kyle Busch (21) and Ryan Newman (19).
• Kyle Busch (28 series starts) leads all active drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Richmond Raceway with a 6.964.
• Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with 1,659 laps led, followed by Kyle Busch (1,282).

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your picks by 8 a.m. ET on Saturday, September 20th, and your final picks by 7:30 p.m. ET on race day Sunday, September 21st.

Enjoy the race!

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

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Carol D’Agostino wields fantasy-racing superpowers. Each week, Carol researches statistics and combs through her personal racing notes to provide fans with fantasy racing advice in NASCAR Fantasy Fusion, a column she has written for Skirts & Scuffs since October 2011. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. This year she joins the NASCAR Expert Picks panel at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. When she isn’t crunching numbers, you’ll find Carol in business meetings or hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat.