Richmond Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Ranking Picks (UPDATED)
1) Kyle Busch (Starting – 5th)
Richmond Fantasy Spin – The path to victory lane at Richmond, goes through Kyle Busch. At Richmond, nobody has been better. 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. In spring Richmond races he’s been especially good. Five of his wins have come in this particular event and he’s finished in the top five in 11 of his 13 races. In the two races he didn’t, he was top five good but his race wasn’t incident free. One attribute I really like about Kyle Busch is his prowess at shorter flat tracks (Richmond, Phoenix and New Hampshire). Since 2018 on this sub-track type (6 total races) he has 4 wins, he’s finished in the top 2 every race and has led 582 laps. At Phoenix this spring he led 177 laps and easily raced his way to victory lane. In practice, Kyle Busch had a great car. He had the best ten lap average and his team only did small adjustments to fine tune his car. On Saturday night, look for Busch to finish in the top five and be a serious threat to win.
Richmond Track History – Kyle Busch has thrived at Richmond and last year he brought out the broom and had the season sweep despite starting near the back in both races. 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. In spring 2018, Busch started in 32nd and also raced his way to victory lane. 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. In fall 2017, he was solid and finished 9th. Additionally, he 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.
DraftKings $13,000 / FanDuel $15,300
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2) Kevin Harvick (Starting – 1st)
Richmond Fantasy Spin – Kevin Harvick is always a factor at Richmond and on Saturday night he’ll be tough to beat. He’s a three-time winner who’s finished in the top five in 7 of the last 9 races. On Saturday night I would look for Harvick to finish in the top five and compete for the win. In practice #1, Kevin Harvick had a good car and his ten lap average ranked as the 2nd best.
Richmond Track History – Richmond has been a great track for Kevin Harvick and he’s almost always in contention for a top five. In 2018 at Richmond he was one of seven drivers who swept the top five. Last fall, Harvick had a great car and ran well throughout the race. He 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 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 finished a misleading 15th. “Performance Wise”, I thought he was around 8th place good but he made a time consuming pit stop after he damaged the nose of his car. In the three Richmond races prior to that he finished 5th every race.
DraftKings $12,300 / FanDuel $14,000
3) Joey Logano (Starting – 3rd)
Richmond Fantasy Spin – Joey Logano will be one of the drivers to beat at Richmond. He’s a two-time winner who’s finished in the top ten in 9 of the last 10 races. In spring Richmond races he’s been a fantasy ace. Over the last six spring races he has 2 wins and a series best 3.7 average finish. On Saturday night I have high expectations for Logano and I would look for him finish in the top ten and compete for a top five.
Richmond Track History – Joey Logano has consistently performed at a high-level at Richmond. Last fall at Richmond, Logano was top ten good but finished a misleading 14th. I’ll note his race wasn’t incident free. During green flag pit stops around lap 266 he had a tire violation and had to serve a drive thru penalty, and then with 75 laps to go he was burned by a caution during the pit cycle. Prior to his problems starting he finished 10th in both Stage #1 and Stage #2. Last spring, Joey Logano had one of the best cars at Richmond. In the race he won Stage #1, won Stage #2, earned the best driver rating, finished 4th, had a 4th place average running position and led 92 laps. In 2017 at Richmond, nobody was better than Logano. He finished 2nd in the fall and in the spring he raced his way to victory lane.
DraftKings $11,800 / FanDuel $14,000
