Richmond Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks
Kevin Harvick
Richmond Fantasy Spin – Kevin Harvick is a shorter-flat track ace and at Richmond, there’s no debate he’ll be the favorite. Harvick raced his way to victory lane here last summer, he finished 2nd last spring and then to top it off, Harvick was the class of the field at Phoenix a few weeks ago with the new low-down force rules package and was poised to win until the late caution came out. In the desert, Harvick had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking (fastest in segment #4), was the fastest driver late in a run and led 36 laps. In 2022 at shorter-flat tracks, Harvick was one of the best and for the season minus Gateway where he crashed, Harvick had a 3.8 average finish. In terms of 2022 Shorter Flat Track Total Speed Rankings, Harvick ranked #2.
Richmond Track History – At Richmond, Kevin Harvick has been elite. At “The Action Track”, Harvick’s a four-time winner and in 13 of the last 16 races he’s finished in the top 8. Since 2018 minus spring 2021 where he crashed late while running in 6th, Harvick has a 4.6 average finish. Last year, nobody was better than Harvick in the results column at Richmond and he swept the top 2. Last August, the #4 was at its best when the trophy was on the line, and Harvick raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Harvick finished 4th in Stage #2, led 55 laps, ranked as the 2nd fastest driver late in a run and had the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking. Last spring, Harvick had a great car and finished runner-up. In the race, the #4 was fast and in terms of speed stats, Harvick had the best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 6th for speed late in a run. Over the last 100 laps, the #4 was the fastest car on the track. In fall 2021, Harvick finished 8th and then in the spring, Harvick crashed on lap 382 while running in 6th. In the five Richmond races prior to that, Harvick had results of 7th, 7th, 4th, 2nd and 5th.
Christopher Bell
Richmond Fantasy Spin – At Richmond, Christopher Bell will be a factor and should be on your short list of favorites. Bell is one of the premiere performers at shorter-flat tracks and since 2021 on this track type minus Phoenix spring 2022, Bell is 11 for 11 at finishing in the top ten and his average finish is 5.5. At Phoenix a few weeks ago with the new rules package, Bell finished 6th, had a 4.8 average running position, had the 4th best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 2nd for speed late in a run. Take note if the late cautions didn’t come out, Bell was poised to finish in 3rd.
Richmond Track History – Christopher Bell has been a fantasy ace at Richmond. Over the last four races at “The Action Track”, Bell has a 3.8 average finish and is 4 for 4 at finishing between 2nd to 6th. Last summer, Bell didn’t have an incident free race but that didn’t stop him from finishing runner-up. In the race, Bell started 21st, got a pit penalty during green flag pit stops around lap 180 and had to serve a pass thru (around the mid-teens at the time), spun on lap 251 after just getting back on the lead lap but then to close out the race, nobody was better than Bell. He then drove up thru the field and over the final 100 laps, the #20 was the fastest car on the track. I’ll note, fresher tires certainly helped him with that. In terms of speed late in a run, Bell ranked 5th. Last spring, Bell had a great performance. In the race, Bell finished 7th in Stage #1, 2nd in Stage #2, led 63 laps, had a 5.5 average running position, and then finished 6th when the checkered flag waved. In fall 2021, Bell had a great performance. In the race he started 10th, finished 6th in Stage #2, finished 3rd overall and had a 7.7 average running position. In the race, Bell ranked as the 3rd Fastest Driver Late In A Run and over the final two segments, Bell fielded the 2nd fastest car on the track. In spring 2021, Bell finished 6th in Stage #1, 9th in Stage #2, finished 4th overall, had the 5th best Total Speed Ranking and was the 5th Fastest Driver Late In A Run.
William Byron
Richmond Fantasy Spin – At Richmond, look for Phoenix winner, William Byron to be a contender. In the desert, Byron had the best Total Speed Ranking, a 2.5 average running position, led 64 laps but take note he was running in 4th until late cautions broke out, so you can’t exactly say he had the best car. In 2022 at shorter-flat tracks, minus Phoenix #1 (wasn’t incident free) and Gateway (Hendrick collectively missed the setup), Byron had a 7.9 average finish.
Richmond Track History – William Byron has been a solid performer at Richmond, and historically, Byron’s been at his best here in the spring, with his average finish in spring races being 8.75. Last summer, Byron was respectable. In the race, Byron finished 11th, had a 12th place average running position and had the 12th best Total Speed Ranking. Last spring, 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. In fall 2021, Byron finished a dud 19th. In spring 2021, 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.
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Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions >The Low Tier
