Richmond Capital City 400: Fantasy NASCAR “Top Tier Elite” Picks

Denny Hamlin – Hamlin is a two-time winner at Richmond and he sports a 7.6 career average finish. That number is amazing and I would argue that it’s skewed downward. For example his worst result at Richmond is a 24th place finish, but in that race he 381 laps. What happened to him? He had a flat tire. This happened back in 2008, don’t ask me how I remember! Since Hamlin’s been on the scene at Richmond (2006 first race) he’s put up some pretty astonishing numbers. He’s led 1,188 laps (best in series), has a 6.3 average running position (best in series), and a 117.6 driver rating. Last year at Richmond Hamlin finished 2nd and 9th. Hamlin won at Phoenix in March and he’s my predicted winner for the race at Richmond. (Yahoo! A Driver)

Kyle Busch – Since 2009 Kyle Busch has three wins at Richmond and hasn’t finished worse than 6th (2.7 average finish). All three of his wins coincidentally have come in the last three spring races. In 14 starts at “the action track” Kyle Busch has 11 top five finishes. Kyle Busch doesn’t always qualify the best at Richmond but he’s a fantasy stud. I know I wouldn’t want to bet against him. In fact I would argue that Richmond is his best track. I speculate that Phoenix is essentially a reverse Richmond and in the desert this year Kyle Busch finished 6th and led 52 laps. (Yahoo A Driver)

Wondering where I found these stats? Check out FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com

Kevin Harvick – Harvick is the most recent winner at Richmond International Raceway. Last fall Harvick led more than half the race (202 laps) and had the best average running position (3.0). From a career standpoint he has two wins here and 14 top ten finishes. I love Harvick on short tracks. He has the right amount of calculated “hate” it takes to be good on this track type. Another attribute I like about Harvick is how well he ran at Phoenix. He finished second and led 88 laps. One additional attribute I like about Harvick is that he has teammates (video). (Yahoo A Driver)

Get in your VOTE for who will win at Richmond

Jimmie Johnson – Last fall Jimmie Johnson was having a great race at Richmond but Kurt Busch put him in the wall. Before the #48 Lowes car was temporarily parked Jimmie Johnson led 38 laps and was consistently running in the top five (Yahoo! race chart). As long as he avoids problems he’s about as good as anyone here. Since 2007 when you subtract the three races that he’s had problems his average finish is 5th. Johnson also looked really impressive at Phoenix this year. Don’t count out Jimmie Johnson Saturday night. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Top Tier Elite > Front Runners > Mid Pack Projections > Drivers To Avoid