Richmond Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Ryan Newman – Richmond ranks as one of Ryan Newman’s best tracks and on Saturday night he needs to have a good performance in order to avoid a first round bounce. At Richmond, Newman has finished in the top ten 54% percent of the time, in the top fifteen 74% percent of the time and his overall average finish is 12.5. Since 2017 at Richmond minus a misleading result in spring 2018 he has an 8.5 average finish and a 13.3 average running position. Earlier this year at Richmond, Newman had a good performance. When the checkered flag waved he finished 9th and had a 15th place average running position. Last fall, he had an OK performance. He finished 15th and had a 14th place average running position. In spring 2018 he had top ten potential, but finished a misleading 37th after being involved in a wreck with 34 laps to go. Prior to his problem he was running right around 10th. From the race it should be noted he finished just outside the top ten in Stage #1 and finished 7th in Stage #2. In 2017, he swept the top ten and had results of 3rd and 7th. At the other two shorter-flat tracks visited this year, Newman has results of 7th (New Hampshire) and 12th (Phoenix).

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Jimmie Johnson – Jimmie Johnson may not be in the Playoffs, but he’s definitely a driver who you don’t want to overlook. At Richmond, Johnson has been as consistent as they come. Over the last 10 Richmond races he sports a 7.9 average finish, a 12.3 average running position and he’s finished in the top 12 every race. In 5 of the last 6 races here he’s finished between 8th to 12th and on Saturday night if he can avoid trouble, I think he has a great chance to finish around that range again. Earlier this year at Richmond, Johnson started in the rear of the field but he still came home with a respectable 12th place result. His average running position was 15th. Last fall, Johnson had a solid race. He finished 8th, had an 11th place average running position and earned the 11th best driver rating. In spring 2018, he finished 6th when the checkered flag waved. He didn’t run well for much of the race (19th place average running position), but he closed out strong. In fall 2017, Johnson had a good evening and came home with an 8th place finish. In the two Richmond races prior to that he had back to back 11th’s.

Erik Jones – Erik Jones has been a respectable, but not great performer at Richmond. Over the last four combined races at “The Action Track” he has an 11.0 average finish and a 14.0 average running position. Earlier this year at Richmond, Erik Jones had a fast car and was top ten good, but his race wasn’t incident free. In race he started in the rear of the field along with a handful of drivers but he had no trouble advancing in the running order. At lap 130 he was up to 8th. When Stage #2 ended (lap 200) he was also in 8th. Then in the final Stage around lap 245 while he was running in the top ten he had a long pit stop to add a wheel spacer and that problem dropped him back into the 20’s and he just never fully recovered. When the checkered flag waved he finished 14th. Last fall he had a solid showing. When the checkered flag waved he finished 11th and had a 14th place average running position. In spring 2018 he finished a respectable 13th, but he really didn’t run that well. His average running position was 20th and he earned the 19th best driver rating. In fall 2017 he had his best Richmond performance. He earned the 5th best driver rating, finished 6th and had a 7th place average running position. Additionally, he finished 7th in Stage #1 and 3rd in Stage #2. New Hampshire is the most recent shorter-flat track visited and he finished 4th there in July. On Saturday night, look for Erik Jones to compete for a top ten.

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