The second race of the playoff’s is this weekend at the short track of Richmond. We saw a lot of shocking developments last weekend at Las Vegas. With Martin Truex locking up his trip to the next round and having a solid fantasy night will he be able to repeat at Richmond? Also fantasy race fans, I’m sure you’ve noticed a change in the driver picking format change. You now have two playoff drivers, and two non playoff drivers. Your garage pick can either be a playoff driver or a non playoff driver so make sure you choose wisely each week for your garage.
Lineup
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kyle Busch
- Jimmie Johnson
- Daniel Suarez
- Joey Logano(Garage Pick)
Why at Richmond?
At Richmond in the last five races there hasn’t been a driver lead more laps than Martin Truex Jr. He has led a total of 668 laps in the last five trips. While I know he only has one win in those five trips it shows me one thing Martin will be up front and consistently stay there barring any bad luck. Which is very much possible like we seen with Erik Jones, and Kurt Busch last weekend at Las Vegas.
Kyle Busch the poster boy for anger and defiance this week after his post race interviews. He had a rough go at it and if you were like me had him in your lineup you suffered a little bit as well. I think Richmond is a good a track as any for Kyle to rebound. In the past five trips he has won twice and led a combined 264 laps which puts him second behind his teammate Martin Truex Jr. Kyle has been very adamant about his hatred for the aero package and it being hard to pass, but I think Kyle will figure it out this week and be just fine.
The first time since its existence that Jimmie is not in the playoffs. I know that is rough for his fans and him as the driver. Jimmie is an obvious choice as one of my non playoff driver selections this week. Jimmie as of late has consistently been getting better week in and week out. Jimmie is a past winner at Richmond(2007) and since the fall 2014 race his worst finish is 12th. Also this year alone the seven time champion ranks second among non playoff drivers in fantasy points earned. So, while Jimmie hasn’t had the best of season’s the past two years look for him to still be a top ten contender.
Daniel Suarez, the under achiever of his team. The only SHR driver who didn’t make the playoff’s but he was close. Which sadly has been the case for Suarez his whole career thus far. In five career starts at Richmond Daniel’s best finish is seventh. He has been unable to lead any laps at this track. While he is still win less he does have something good going for him in the fantasy world side of things. Daniel leads all non playoff drivers in points earned this season. That’s really my reasoning behind him and Johnson there point contributions have been solid enough.
Joey Logano started the round off well leading a bunch of laps last weekend. Sadly though his car fell off once the sun went down and he was involved in some issues. He however recovered to have a nice top ten finish. Joey is another driver who has won here in the past five races, and led 169 laps. Joey also is the leading points grabber this year among all drivers he has averaged around thirty seven points per race. Look for last year’s champion to come out strong at Richmond.
Dark Horses
Not really a Dark Horse, but Brad Keselowski could come out to shine this weekend. I mean I do have him in my final four predictions so? In the last five races Brad has led 217 laps, and finishes second once. Also keep an eye on Kyle Larson, he was the last driver to get Chevrolet a win on a short track back in 2017 here at Richmond so he could shock some this weekend. After all his finishes have been a lot more consistent as of late. You could even have a chance for solid points with drivers like Ryan Newman or Austin Dillon both have been decent here at Richmond as of late.
Conclusion
Richmond is the first short track in the playoff’s, and the last oval track before the Roval. Which after last year we all know the Roval is one of if not the most unpredictable track in the playoffs. One thing is for certain though and it has been mentioned by a lot of drivers is that with this aero package passing is difficult at a track like Richmond. That mean’s one thing track position will play a huge role in this race.
The track position game will lead to a lot of different strategies this weekend. Which for us race fans can sometimes make for an interesting race. This race doesn’t have a whole lot of repetition as for winner making it to the championship four, but last years winner Kyle Busch did advance on thru after a strong showing during this race. So look to see who has a strong showing this weekend you never know it could be an under liar as to who might make it to the championship four.
