Richmond Federated Auto Parts 400 Fantasy Front Runner Rankings

Joey Logano – SLEEPER ALERT! In the Richmond Federated Auto Parts 400 I think Logano has dark horse sleeper potential. His overall track record is pretty bad here. That alone will keep many people away. Prior to moving to Penske he only had one top ten finish and his three most recent results in the 20 car were all 24th or worse. Now it seems that he’s turned the corner. In April he started in 7th, earned the 8th best driver rating and finished 3rd. Phoenix is the most similar track on the schedule and earlier this season he had a top ten car but had fuel issues late. Recently Joey Logano used one of his allocated test sessions here. If you’re a fantasy NASCAR believer in momentum nobody has been hotter than him recently. (Yahoo! B Driver)

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Jeff Gordon – Jeff Gordon is a risky fantasy prospect for the Richmond Federated Auto Parts 400. I haven’t liked what I’ve seen from him here in the last two races. If you just look at NASCAR stats lines you would’ve missed the fact that he was garbage in both of those races. Earlier this season Jeff Gordon started in 3rd and finished 11th. That sounds more than respectable to fantasy owners but he really struggled. When the green flag waved he dropped back like a rock. By lap #100 he was all the way back to about 25th! He then slowly worked his way back to the front. Last fall he had a similar performance. In that race he started in 2nd and finished 2nd. If that race didn’t have rain delays that gave them time to come up with a game plan to fix the #24 car he would’ve finished just ahead of the start and parkers. Take my word for it that he was that bad. After the rain stopped they found something and were one of the best cars on the track. Since 2007 Jeff Gordon has been very good at Richmond. He has the 4th best driver rating and a 9.8 average finish. Recently Gordon used one of his allocated test sessions here.(Yahoo! A Driver)

Recommended Reading : Richmond Top Tier Elite Picks, Richmond Mid Pack Predictions, Richmond Recap Review, Richmond Weekly Vote

Denny Hamlin – If Hamlin’s ever going to have a bounce back race in 2013 it will be here in the Richmond Federated Auto Parts 400. In April Denny Hamlin was sidelined at Richmond with his back injury. In his place Brian Vickers drove the #11 Toyota. In the race Vickers started the event strong. He qualified 2nd and through the first 140 laps I would estimate his average running position was around 3rd. Then he elected to pit and get out of sequence with the field. He doesn’t have Denny Hamlin’s Richmond driving skill and you could essentially stick a fork in him after that because he never advanced through the field. At the end of the race he was the driver who wrecked and brought out the final caution. On his own accord Denny Hamlin is a super elite talent on shorter flat tracks. In fact I believe he’s the best driver in the series on this sub track type. What makes him so good on venues like this is how he rolls through the corner. He’s also easy on equipment and you can count on him being good over long runs. Richmond is Denny Hamlin’s home track and he’s been very good here. The case could be made that following Martinsville this is arguably his best track. He’s won here twice and has finished in the top ten 64% percent of the time. I can think of two more races here where he had the event won only to have it slip away from him by circumstance. Last fall was one of those “stolen” events. He had the best car but it became a fuel mileage race. In the race he finished 18th but it’s important to note he had a third place average running position and led more than half the race (202 laps). One testament to how good Denny Hamlin here is his driver rating. It has stood the test of time and since he started racing at Richmond he has the best driver rating in the series (15 races minus the spring race). Over the course of his career he’s led 1,390 laps, has a 8.1 average finish and a 6.0 average running position. Phoenix is the most similar track on the schedule and earlier this season he finished third there. (Yahoo! A Driver)

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