Richmond Toyota Owners 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Jamie McMurray – If you’re looking for a dark horse fantasy NASCAR pick at Richmond International Speedway it’s hard to do any better than picking Jamie McMurray. He’s been extremely good here recently and has performed as well as some of the elite drivers. Over the last five RIR races McMurray has a 7.6 average finish (2nd best), 7.8 average running position (3rd best) and the 6th best driver rating. Last August he started deep in the field in 31st but drove up through the pack without much difficulty. By lap 52 he was all the way up to 11th. Performance wise McMurray was top 7 good but while he was running in that position on lap 290 he got a pit penalty which dropped him back to 13th. After getting penalized he just wasn’t able to bounce back. Last spring he had a great car and it could’ve potentially been the best. Over long runs he was the class of the field. When the checkered flag waved he finished 4th and earned the 4th best driver rating. It should be noted his race wasn’t incident free. During the competition caution on lap 50 he had problems during a pit stop and had to pit a second time which dropped him back to 30th. Before he had his problem he was running in 8th. While he was back in traffic he sliced and diced his way through the field and even drove up to the lead briefly. In fall 2014 McMurray was very strong and had one of the best cars. In the race he started in 15th and raced all the way up to 3rd around lap 60. From that point to the conclusion of the race he was one of the consistent front runners and never left the top 8. When the checkered flag waved he finished 4th, had a 5th place average running position and earned the 5th best driver rating. At Richmond in spring 2014 he had a solid race. He started in 7th, had a 10th place average running position, earned the 10th best driver rating and finished 13th. For the majority of the last quarter of the race he ran right around 10th. In fall 2013 he finished 4th. At Phoenix this spring McMurray finished 16th. (Yahoo B Driver)

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Ryan Newman – Ryan Newman is a driver who should be on your radar at Richmond. He’s a former champion and its home to his best average finish among the 23 venues on the circuit (11.5). In 28 races at Richmond Newman has 6 top fives, 16 top tens, 22 top fifteens and 26 top twenties. Last fall Newman didn’t have a great race and finished three laps down in 20th. Personally I wouldn’t hold that event against him too much because he was a points racer and his main goal was to avoid trouble at all costs. In the four Richmond races prior to the event he had the 7th best driver rating, a 7.8 average finish and an 11.3 average running position. Last spring 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. In fall 2014 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 Newman almost had the clutch moment of the season and likely would’ve won if Bowyer didn’t spin on purpose. In that race he finished 3rd. At Phoenix this spring Newman finished dead last after having an early flat tire and crashing into the wall. (Yahoo B Driver)

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