Richmond Federated Auto Parts 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Ryan Newman – Shorter flat tracks rank as some of Ryan Newman’s best tracks. This season on this sub-track type he’s scored the 5th most points and has an 8.3 average finish. Richmond has historically been a good track for Ryan Newman. He’s a past champion and in 59% percent of his starts he’s finished in the top ten. In 81% percent of his starts he’s finished in the top fifteen. Since 2009 only once has he finished outside the top fifteen. Over the last four Richmond races Newman has a 7.8 average result and the 8th best driver rating. This spring at Richmond I wouldn’t say he had a strong car but he managed to finish well. In the race he started 23rd, had a 15th place average running position and finished 11th. About the highest he ran in the event minus help from pit cycles was 10th. Last fall he started in 12th but fell back a few spots early to the high-teens. When the checkered flag waved he finished 9th, had an 8th place average running position and earned the 8th best driver rating. In spring 2014 he also had a good showing. Over the final 100 laps I would estimate his average running position was around 5th. In the race he started in 18th, had a 10th place average running position, finished 8th and earned the 8th best driver rating. In fall 2013 Ryan Newman almost had the “clutch” moment of the season but he came up short after Clint Bowyer spun. In the race he was told with 40 laps to go while he was in 4th that he had to win to make the Chase. Over that green flag run he reeled in the cars that were ahead of him and with 10 laps to go he passed Carl Edwards for the lead. Unfortunately then with 8 laps to go Bowyer’s arm got itchy and the #15 spun. That brought out the caution and a few drivers elected not to pit and others simply had quicker pit stops than Newman. During that restart Newman was back in 5th. He did manage to drive up to third though and that’s where he finished. (Yahoo A Driver – DraftKings Price $7,700)

[themify_box ]

Want to be a better fantasy racer? Get the ifantasyrace advantage and read all of our content.

The 2015 Chase Challenge is coming soon. This year there’s $400 worth of prizes up for grabs!

[/themify_box]

Denny Hamlin – Richmond is Denny Hamlin’s home track and he’s historically been a fantasy ace here but I have concerns. This year at shorter flat tracks his performances haven’t been up to par. This year on this sub-track type he has an 19.7 average finish, 18.7 average running position and has run just 33% percent of the laps in the top fifteen. In the last five Richmond races he’s finished between 18th and 22nd. This spring at Richmond he was not good. He started 2nd, had a 19th place average running position and finished 22nd. Last fall Hamlin wasn’t competitive and missed the setup. In the race he earned the 15th best driver rating, had a 15th place average running position and finished two laps down in 21st. In spring 2014 he didn’t perform well early. He started in 28th and through the first 100 laps the closest he got to the front was about 20th. After that portion of the race his car started getting better. Around lap 240 he was at his best and got up to around 5th. He likely would’ve finished around 10th but his race wasn’t incident free. Late in the event he spun and never recovered. In fall 2013 when he was “walking wounded” he was very uncompetitive. He ran around the top ten for about the first 140 laps but after that his race went downhill. When the checkered flag waved he finished 21st. In spring 2013 Hamlin missed the race due to injury. In fall 2012 at Richmond Hamlin was awesome. In that race he earned the #1 position in the PROS Rankings. There’s no question he had the best car but late in the race the outcome came down to fuel mileage. That didn’t play into his favor and as a result he finished 18th. In that event Hamlin led more than half the laps (202) and had a 3rd place average running position. In his career at Richmond he has two wins and has finished in the top ten 50% percent of the time. (Yahoo A Driver – DraftKings Price $9,500)

Further Recommended Reading – Richmond Top Tier Elite Picks, Richmond Mid Pack Predictions, Who will win at Richmond, Richmond Scouting Report

Clint Bowyer – There’s horses for courses and Richmond has been a great track for Clint Bowyer. At this venue he’s been to victory lane twice, has finished in the top ten 58% percent of the time and has a 11.4 average finish. This spring he had a good performance. He finished 9th, had a 10th place average running position and earned the 10th best driver rating. It was a very solid afternoon for him especially when you consider all of his struggles he had in the season heading into the event. Last fall he had one of the strongest cars and ran in the top 8 for the entirety of the race. Over the final 80 laps he was never lower than 3rd. When the checkered flag waved he finished 3rd, earned the 4th best driver rating and had a 4th place average running position. In April 2014 he was a fantasy bust. He started the race strong but struggled over long runs. Also in the race he had two flat tires and the second one looked like a bonfire and sent him to the garage area. In fall 2013 Clint Bowyer was Mr. Controversy with his “itchy arm”. It’s important to look beyond that and take note how well he performed. The main aspect of his performance 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 4th, had a 6th place average running position, led 72 laps and earned the 5th best driver rating. Following his spin 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. 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. (Yahoo B Driver – DraftKings Price $7,500)

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our Richmond Federated Auto Parts 400 Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > Yahoo C List Preview