NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond

 

And the streak of consecutive races with different winners was broken last week at Martinsville Speedway. Martin Truex Jr. earned his second win of the season when he passed his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin on Lap 485 of the rain-delayed Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500. Boy, the rain delay was worth the wait. Lots of great racing.   
 
This Week's Pick Strategy:
I'm going with the "load 'em up with short-track elite and JGR drivers and don't look back" approach!

Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last 5 Years and 9/2020 race):
Spring race last 5 years and 9/2020 race
Both with 6 - Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick
Martin Truex Jr. - 5
All with 4 - Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch
Kurt Busch - 3

By Track (2015 to 2020)
All with 9 - Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Busch
All with 8 - Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, and Martin Truex Jr.
Both with 5 - Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson

2020 Playoff Race Winner: Brad Keselowski

Top 12 Driver Ratings at Richmond
Kyle Busch............................... 110.6
Kevin Harvick........................... 110.3
Denny Hamlin........................... 106.8
Brad Keselowski....................... 100.9
Kurt Busch................................. 94.2
Martin Truex Jr........................... 92.2
Joey Logano.............................. 92.2
Kyle Larson................................ 89.2
Ryan Newman............................ 87.3
Chase Elliott............................... 86.3
Aric Almirola............................... 77.5
Tyler Reddick............................. 76.5
Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2020 races (31 total) among active drivers at Richmond Race
SOURCE: NASCAR Media 

My No-Brainer Pick: Denny Hamlin

My Final Four: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Second-look driver: This week's second-look driver is Christopher Bell. Christopher has a great Xfinity record at Richmond Raceway with an average finish of 5.0. Last September in the Cup race he finished in 15th place. C. Bell has momentum on his side this weekend with his seventh-place finish at Martinsville. He even led nine laps. Christopher will start eighth on the grid this week, and of course, it doesn't hurt that he is a JGR driver.

Last week's second-look driver Ryan Blaney had quite a dramatic race in Martinsville. He started fourth on the grid, won the first and second stages and led 157 laps. Unfortunately, during the last pit stop he dragged an air hose out of the pit box. The penalty sent the No. 12 car to the rear of the field for the Lap 459 restart. He fought back for an 11th-place finish. His frustration with not being able to close it out — again — was palpable. “We’ve had an issue the last three times we’ve been here with a car to win, so that’s frustrating, but I’m real proud of the effort,” Blaney said. “I just wish we could close one out.”

Points to Ponder:
  • The pole is the most prolific starting position in the field, producing more winners than any other starting position at Richmond Raceway with 24.
  • Despite that fact, only three active drivers have won from the pole, or first starting position: Kyle Busch (2010), Brad Keselowski (2014) and Denny Hamlin (2016).
  • Joe Gibbs Racing leads the NASCAR Cup Series in victories at Richmond Raceway with 16 wins.
  • Petty Enterprises has the second-most Cup Series wins with 15 victories.
  • Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in wins at Richmond with six victories, in runner-up finishes with seven, in Top 5s with 18. He also leads active drivers in average finishing position at Richmond Raceway with a 6.9.
  • Kevin Harvick leads all active drivers in Top 10s at Richmond with 26.
  • Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with 1,704 laps led in 28 starts.
Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your picks by 3 p.m. ET on race day Sunday April 18th.

Enjoy the race!
________
Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 15 years. She launched  NASCAR Fantasy Fusion for Skirts & Scuffs in October 2011. Each week, Carol pores through statistics and combs through her personal notebooks to arm fans with analysis and picking strategies that will leave their friends wondering how they got so smart. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. She is also part of the distinguished NASCAR Expert Picks panel at frcs.pro. formerly called Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet.
 
When she isn’t wielding her fantasy-racing superpowers, you’ll find Carol hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat, or executing downtown revitalization projects for a small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Reviewed by Carol D'Agostino on Saturday, April 17, 2021 Rating: 5