2018 Richmond Raceway, Federated Auto Parts 400

I am writing this article before the race weekend in Las Vegas even gets started because I am out of town and won’t have many chances to get internet access once again this coming week. I should be back to civilization sometime around the middle of the week to answer your questions and possibly even update this article, so please bear with me.

FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 400

The second race of the playoffs will be run on the short, flat track known as the Richmond Raceway. This is a three-quarter mile D-shaped oval track with minimal banking. Now, I don’t know if hurricane Florence is going to have any affect on this track as she bears down on the East Coast and hopefully everyone stays safe and the damage is minimal everywhere. Fantasy racing is the least of our worries when a natural disaster is looming. Hopefully everything turns out better than they are predicting and we can get back to enjoying racing for the rest of the season.

Denny Hamlin: I keep picking Denny to take that next step and win a race soon and this is another week where he can do it. He has finished no worse than sixth in his last six races he has run here and that includes one of his three career wins here. Picking up a win during the playoffs punches a drivers ticket for the next round, so they all have a lot to fight for and if he can avoid problems on pit road he should be a contender this weekend.

Kevin Harvick: Not to be outdone by too much, Kevin has finished in the top five here in six of his last eight starts. This team has been the cream of the crop for most of the season and I think they show us what they have once again this weekend. Their biggest downfall seems to be poor pit stops because someone is making a mistake and that makes Kevin start back in the field quite often where he has to race his way back to the front multiple times during races.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin hasn’t come away with the finishes that he probably should over the past few years, but he has led over five-hundred laps in his last five starts here. Martin would love to win another championship for Furniture Row Racing before they disband at the end of the season. I thought it was great to have a team like this show the big boys that they could compete, but the cost was still too high. Another black eye for NASCAR in my opinion.

Joey Logano: Joey is a great driver to take a chance on this weekend. He has finished in the top ten in his last nine starts here including his win last spring where he didn’t pass post race inspection and lost his spot in the playoffs. Even after that he came out and finished in the top five in both races he ran here including a second place finish in this very race last fall.

Kyle Busch: Kyle is the most consistent driver at this track coming away with sixteen top five finishes in twenty-six starts. He won the race here in the spring and leads all active drivers with five wins here. This is a tough place to pick you A group driver because there are so many good choices. If you have starts left for Kyle you really need to have him on your roster this weekend unless you are trying to make up ground late in the season in your league.

Kurt Busch: Kurt has been very consistent here himself although not quite as good as his little brother. Kurt has two wins here and has finished in the top ten in eight of his last eleven starts at Richmond. Kurt seems to be at his best on the short flat tracks and this is one of the tracks I will definitely have him on my roster for. He could surprise once again as his future is once again in doubt.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is pretty good here in his own right and had momentum on his side when the playoffs started. He hasn’t finished worse than seventeenth in his last ten starts here and has led over seven-hundred laps in that stretch. Once again, this is a place where he can get the job done if there aren’t any mistakes made in the pits because once you get down laps here it is hard to get them back.

Kyle Larson: Let’s not count this guy out yet. He won this race last year and finished second in the fall race in the 2016 season. Kyle could easily come away with a victory here and make his way into the second round of the playoffs. He is another of the A group drivers you could have on your roster that might make you big gains this week.

Daniel Suarez: Daniel has only run three races at this track in his young career and he hasn’t finished any worse than twelfth. He is a good driver to have on your roster this weekend as he might be that driver who astounds a lot of people in your league. He is a diamond in the rough this week and my dark horse to win.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie hasn’t been real fast all season, but this isn’t a track where the speed is the most important thing. Handling is by far the most important thing here this weekend and we have seen how Jimmie and Chad can make the right adjustments to the car to get it to be at its best late in races. Jimmie hasn’t finished worse than eleventh in his last eight starts here and could very well be a contender once again this weekend.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR RICHMOND RACEWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Denny Hamlin
• Kyle Busch

Driver Group Game Group B

• Kurt Busch
• Daniel Suarez
• Clint Bowyer
• Ryan Newman

Driver Group Game Group C

• Alex Bowman
• William Byron

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT RICHMOND RACEWAY

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Kyle Busch
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Kyle Larson

Dark Horse: Daniel Suarez

Stay Away From: Ryan Blaney

Big 18: Denny Hamlin