Richmond Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch is a super-elite performer at Richmond who’ll be the driver to beat. On Saturday night I would look for him to finish in the top five and be a serious threat to win. Phoenix is a similar track and this spring at that venue he led 177 laps and easily raced his way to victory lane. At Richmond, nobody is better than Busch. He’s a six-time winner who’s finished in the top five 63% percent of the time and in the top ten 74% percent of the time. Last year at Richmond he pulled out the broom and won both races, despite not starting anywhere remotely close to the front in either event. Last fall he qualified 11th, but had to start in the back after making unapproved adjustments. He had a great car so he had no trouble advancing in the running order. When the checkered flag waved he finished 1st, earned the 3rd best driver rating and led 92 laps. Last spring, Busch had a great car and raced his way to victory lane from the 32nd place starting position. In addition to winning he earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 6th place average running position, led 32 laps and finished 6th in both Stage #1 and Stage #2. When he climbed up to the lead late nobody was going to get around him. In fall 2017, Busch had a solid showing and came home with a 9th place result. In the race he won Stage #1, finished 10th in Stage #2, earned the 3rd best driver rating and had a 6th place average running position. In spring 2017, Busch had a great car but walked away with a misleading 16th place finish. Performance wise he was likely 2nd place good but late in the race while he was running in 2nd he got a commitment cone violation.

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Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr. has never won at a short track, but that could change at Richmond. Last year he was a serious threat to win both races, but neither were incident. In 2018, Busch won both races, but Truex had the best driver rating, the best average running position (5.0) and he led the most laps by a wide margin (284). Last fall at Richmond, nobody was better than Truex Jr. In the race he won Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 163 laps but finished a misleading 3rd. During the caution for Stage #2 which he just won his team had an uncontrolled tire which dropped him to the back of the field. In spring 2018, he had a great car but finished an asterisk mark 14th. In the race he led the most laps (121), had a 4th place average running position and earned the 5th best driver rating. A slow pit stop with about 10 laps to go dropped him from 2nd to 9th, and then during a late caution with under 5 laps to go he pitted from 8th because his car was overheating. In fall 2017, Truex Jr. was the class of the field but a late caution while leading with 4 laps to go cost him a certain victory. That led to him getting beat off pit road and then on the final lap while running in 2nd Denny Hamlin wrecked him which led to his 20th place finish. From the race it should be noted he won Stage #2, had a 2nd place average running position and led a race high 198 laps. In spring 2017 he had a respectable race. He earned the 6th best driver rating, had a 7th place average running position and finished 10th. In fall 2016 he earned the 2nd best driver rating, finished 3rd, had a 3rd place average running position and led a race high 193 laps. That’s impressive when you take into account he got a speeding penalty. On Saturday night I would look for Truex Jr. to compete for a top five and be a factor to win.

Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick is a strong performer at Richmond who’ll be a favorite. He’s a three-time winner who’s finished in the top five in 5 of the last 6 races. On Saturday night I would look for Harvick to finish in the top five and be a threat to win. In 2018 at Richmond, Harvick had a great season. He swept the top five and ranked as one of the best. Last fall he had a strong showing. He started on the pole, finished 2nd, finished 2nd in Stage 1 & 2, earned the best driver rating, had a 2nd place average running position and led 40 laps. Last spring, he had a very solid performance. He finished 5th, earned the 6th best driver rating and had an 8th place average running position. In both Stage #1 and Stage #2 he finished 10th. In fall 2017 he didn’t have an incident free race and made a time-consuming pit stop at the end of Stage #2 to repair some damage to his nose. Prior to getting that damage he looked about 8th place good. When the checkered flag waved he finished 15th. In the three Richmond races prior to that he finished 5th every race.

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Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > The Low Tier