Richmond Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings
William Byron
Richmond Fantasy Spin – At Richmond, look for William Byron to be a top ten contender. The #24 was one of the best this spring at Richmond, and in 2022 on this track type minus Gateway where Hendrick missed the setup as an organization, Byron has a 7.6 average running position and a 10.7 average finish, which even underrates him since he finished 18th at Phoenix, but take note in that race he won Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2, had a 5.7 average running position and had the 6th best Total Speed Ranking. At New Hampshire, the most recent shorter-flat track visited, Byron finished 11th and had the 9th best Total Speed Ranking. Heading into the weekend, Byron has finished in either 11th or 12th in 3 of the last 4 races.
Richmond Track History – William Byron has had limited success at Richmond, and all his good results are in spring races (8.75 average finish), so take note of that weird variable. In races at other times in the year at Richmond, he’s 4 for 4 at finishing 19th or worse (21.0 average finish). This spring, William Byron looked great and nearly raced his way to victory lane only being beat by drivers with superior tire strategy at the end. In the race, Byron finished 3rd, led 122 laps, had a 6.8 average running position and had the 6th best Total Speed Ranking. Last fall, Byron had an evening he would like to forget. In the race he finished 19th, had a 16th place average running position and his Total Speed Ranking was the 18th best. Last spring, Byron had a great Richmond race and finished 7th. Additionally, Byron finished 4th in Stage #1, 8th in Stage #2, had an 8th place average running position and his Total Speed Ranking was the 7th best.
Bubba Wallace
Richmond Fantasy Spin – At Richmond, Bubba Wallace has a horrendous track record, but don’t overlook him. New Hampshire is a similar track and recently at that venue he finished 3rd, had the 8th best Total Speed Ranking and was the 8th Fastest Driver Late In A Run. Fantasy racing is about “What have you done lately”, and that performance was impressive. Based on his track record, Wallace has 20’s finish written all over him but going off that New Hampshire race and how the #23 has been running in recent weeks (4.5 average finish over the last four races), I wouldn’t be surprised if he sneaks in a top ten.
Richmond Track History – Bubba Wallace has a buzz kill resume at Richmond and in 7 of his 8 starts he’s finished 25th or worse. This spring in the #23 before they started to run well, it was more of the same from him at “The Action Track.” In the race, Wallace finished 26th, had a 24.4 average running position and had the 24th best Total Speed Ranking. I’ll note, Wallace did have to make an unexpected pit stop on lap 326 for a loose wheel during a round of green flag pit stops, but he was only running around the low 20’s before that so I can’t say it impacted him too much. Last fall, Bubba Wallace was a mid to high-teens driver, but he walked away with an asterisk mark 32nd. On lap 250 while he was running around 17th, Wallace had a tire go down and got into the wall hard. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Wallace had speed rankings of 23rd and 14th in his first two incident free segments. In spring 2021, Wallace finished 3 laps down in 26th. Additionally, Wallace had the 26th best Total Speed Ranking and a 23.6 average running position.
Chase Briscoe
Richmond Fantasy Spin – Chase Briscoe has been a popular pick at shorter-flat tracks in 2022, and at Richmond I think that trend will continue. To start the year, Briscoe raced his way to victory lane at Phoenix, and then in his other two incident free races he had results of 11th (Richmond) and 15th (New Hampshire). At Gateway, Briscoe looked strong early. In that race he won the pole and led 27 laps, but then had a flat tire while leading. On Sunday, I’m going to view Briscoe as a low double-digit driver who has a good chance to finish in the top ten.
Richmond Track History – At Richmond, Chase Briscoe has finished better in each new start, so that’s an encouraging trend that hopefully he’ll continue. This spring, Briscoe had his best Richmond race. In the race he finished 11th, had a 16.9 average running position and had the 17th best Total Speed Ranking. Last fall at Richmond, Chase Briscoe didn’t run bad by his 2021 standards. In the race he finished 16th, had a 19.1 average running position and had the 19th best Total Speed Ranking. In spring 2021 in his track debut, Briscoe finished 22nd, had a 22.9 average running position, had the 22nd best Total Speed Ranking and was the 18th Fastest Driver Late In A Run.
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