Richmond Federated Auto Parts 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Kasey Kahne – In 2005 at Richmond Kasey Kahne started on the pole, led 242 laps and held off Tony Stewart to earn his first career victory. Since then he’s finished in the top ten only six more times. Recently at Richmond he’s been a low double digit finisher. In three of the last four races he finished between 12th and 14th. This spring he finished 14th but he performed better than his result. In the event he likely had about an 8th place car but his race wasn’t incident free. With about 30 laps to go while he was running around 9th he had a missing lugnut and he had to pit again to fix the issue. That dropped him all the way back to 22nd. Also in the race he had a good long run car and he liked how it handled. Last fall at Richmond Kasey Kahne finished 14th. In the race it looked like his car was better than his result. He was a driver who got burned by a caution with 58 laps to go. Prior to that caution he was running around 9th. After the caution he dropped all the way back to about 18th. In April last year Kasey Kahne had a disappointing performance. He started in 4th and ran well for about the first 100 laps. Then he nosedived in the running order because his car got “evil tight”. From that point on in the race I would estimate his average running position was around 20th. To cap off the event with 63 laps to go him and Mark Martin got into each other and wrecked. When the checkered flag waved he finished 21st and had a 16th place average running position. In 2012 at Richmond Kahne had one of the strongest cars in both races. In the spring race he finished 5th and earned the 5th best driver rating. In fall 2012 he had a very fast car over long runs. He started in 21st and by the time of the competition caution he moved up to sixth place. If that race played out traditionally he certainly would’ve finished much better than 12th. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Clint Bowyer – Clint Bowyer’s Richmond performance was a complete disappointment in April. Prior to the race many of the garage insiders pointed to him as one of the drivers to beat. Following the race he said he didn’t know what happened that caused him to be so bad. His race got off to a rough when the green flag waved. He started in 3rd and on the first lap in the first turn he got into the back of Kyle Larson and spun him. Fortunately for him that didn’t cause any damage. In the race he ran in the top 5 for the first 60 laps but then his day started going downhill. After that portion of the race he struggled on long runs. Then around lap 99 he had a tire coming apart under green and was forced to pit. That dropped him two laps down and shortly after he completed his stop he was burned by a caution. He then immediately took the wave around. Then on lap 131 he fell another lap down under green when he got lapped. On lap 161 he had his second tire issue of the race and pitted under green. When he left pit road his tire was on fire and caused all sorts of damage and it melted some parts of his car. After the fire his car got pushed behind the wall. Last fall at Richmond the only thing most people remember about Clint Bowyer is that he spun with 8 laps to go which brought out the final caution. For fantasy racers that’s really not what you should be focusing on. The main aspect of his performance last fall that you should remember is that he was the leader of the race going into a round of green flag pit stops that were interrupted by a caution with 58 laps to go. In the race Bowyer started in 4th, had a 6th place average running position, led 72 laps and earned the 5th best driver rating. Following his spin last season he did some additional tanking and as a result he finished 25th. In spring 2013 at Richmond Bowyer had a strong car. He started in 5th, had a 4th place average running position, led 113 laps, finished 2nd and earned the 2nd best driver rating. At the time of the final caution he was running in 4th. In fall 2012 at Richmond Bowyer got his 2nd victory here. In that race he had a top three car but he got an advantage on the competition after he got a cut tire from Montoya. That allowed him to get out of sequence with the field and at the end that proved to be the deciding factor. In spring 2012 at Richmond he finished 7th. At Richmond Bowyer is a two-time winner and has finished in the top ten 53% percent of the time. New Hampshire is a similar track and he recently finished 6th there. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Jimmie Johnson – Richmond has been one of the more volatile tracks to Jimmie Johnson. He’s a three-time champion but he’s only finished in the top ten 32% percent of the time. Among the 23 tracks on the circuit that ranks as his lowest top ten finish percentage. Also at Richmond he’s only finished in the top twenty 60% percent of the time. Only at Daytona does he have a lower top 20 finish percentage. Recent Richmond races haven’t been the kindest to him. This spring at Richmond he finished 32nd but that’s one of those results that deserve an asterisk mark. Through lap 280 he consistently ran in the top ten and I would estimate his average running position for that portion of the race would be around 7th. His race wasn’t incident free. On lap 290 he had a tire going down and made an unexpected pit stop that dropped him down two laps. Then later in the race with 34 laps to go he had a flat tire and brought out the caution. Last fall at Richmond Johnson should’ve just took the weekend off. Due to the birth of his second daughter he missed practice and qualifying. Since he didn’t qualify his car he started in the back. In the race his car was extremely tight. By lap 70 he was already a lap down. Then later he had battery issues. Then with 58 laps to go he had a flat tire and got into the wall hard and as a result he finished 40th. In spring 2013 he finished 12th. In that race he started in 26th but it only took him 100 laps to crack the top 10. When he reached the top ten he remained there until he was involved in an accident shortly after a restart with 74 laps to go. If he didn’t have that problem I think he likely would’ve finished around 5th. In 2012 he was good in both races. In fall 2012 he finished 13th but his car was better than that. That result is because of the non-traditional manner the race played out. In spring 2012 he had a top three car but had a late pit penalty that dropped him in the running order. He still managed to rally up to a 6th place finish though. This spring at Phoenix he finished 6th but was never truly a contender for the win. (Yahoo A Driver)

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