Richmond Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Kyle Busch – At Richmond, the road to victory lane goes through Kyle Busch. At Richmond, he’s a super elite performer who’s always a threat to win. He’s won 2 of the last 3 races and if he didn’t get a speeding penalty while leading this spring, there’s a great chance he would’ve won that race too. In his career at Richmond, he’s a six-time winner who’s finished in the top five 61% percent of the time and in the top ten 75% percent of the time. Over the last four combined races at Richmond, Busch has a series best 4.8 average finish, he’s tied for the 2nd best average running position (6.8) and he has the 2nd best driver rating. Earlier this year at Richmond, Busch had a great car but finished a misleading 8th. In the race he won Stage #1, led 101 laps but around lap 130 during a caution he was caught speeding on pit road while leading and that penalty dropped him back to 24th. 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 had a great car and raced his way to victory lane from the 32nd place starting position. 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. This year at shorter-flat tracks over the combined races, Busch has scored the most points and has a 5.7 average finish.

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Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr. raced his way to victory lane this spring at Richmond, and on Saturday night I wouldn’t be surprised to see him pull out the broom and have a season sweep. At Richmond, Truex Jr. has been a super-elite performer and has been good enough to win many of the recent races, but one way or another victory lane has consistently eluded him until this spring. In 5 of the last 6 races at “The Action Track” he’s led 121 laps or more. Earlier this year, Truex Jr. had a phenomenal car. In addition to finishing first he earned the best driver rating, had a 2nd place average running position, led 186 laps, finished 3rd in Stage #1 and 2nd in Stage #2. In 2018, Truex Jr. was a serious threat to win both races. Over the combined events he had the best driver rating, the best average running position (5.0) and led the most laps by a wide margin (284). In fall 2018, nobody was better than Truex Jr. In the race he won Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 163 laps but finished a misleading 3rd. During the caution for Stage #2 which he just won his team had an uncontrolled tire which dropped him to the back of the field. In spring 2018, he had a great car but finished an asterisk mark 14th. In the race he led the most laps (121), had a 4th place average running position and earned the 5th best driver rating. A slow pit stop with about 10 laps to go dropped him from 2nd to 9th, and then during a late caution with under 5 laps to go he pitted from 8th because his car was overheating. In fall 2017, Truex Jr. was the class of the field but a late caution while leading with 4 laps to go cost him a certain victory. That led to him getting beat off pit road and then on the final lap while running in 2nd Denny Hamlin wrecked him which led to his 20th place finish. From the race it should be noted he won Stage #2, had a 2nd place average running position and led a race high 198 laps. This year at shorter-flat tracks, Truex Jr. has a series best 3.0 average finish.

Joey Logano – Joey Logano will be a contender at Richmond. He’s a recent winner who’s consistently performed at an elite level. Over the last 11 Richmond races he has 2 wins, 10 top tens and every result of his is in the top 14. Over the last five Richmond races, Logano has 3 top two finishes, a 4.6 average finish and a 7.6 average running position. Earlier this year at Richmond, Logano had a great car and if he wanted to move Truex Jr. at the end for the win, he probably could’ve. When the checkered flag waved he finished 2nd, had a 3rd place average running position and led 52 laps. Additionally, he finished 2nd in Stage #1 and won Stage #2. 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. In spring 2018, Logano was a serious threat to win and had one of the best cars. 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. In fall 2017 he had a strong showing. He finished 2nd, earned the 7th best driver rating and had an 8th place average running position. Additionally, he finished 6th in Stage #1 and 4th in Stage #2. Over long runs he had one of the best cars. In spring 2017 Logano raced his way to victory lane despite starting in the rear of the field.

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