After an Easter weekend off the racetrack, the NASCAR drivers return to the short track at Richmond. There will not be a shortage of paint transfers, and the end result will be some exciting racing in Virginia.
Richmond will be the first race where I will begin to write articles on salary cap racing. Based on the scoring and salary cap data from www.nascar.com, this article will focus on the best value picks for your weekly salary cap leagues.
SALARY CAP LEAGUES
The rankings that are used are the results from the spring race over the last five years. The salary cap league combines:
- Points from the race results
- Rank differential between the beginning of the race and the end
- Laps led
- Top lap speeds for the race
Drivers perform differently on tracks at different times of the year. As a result, I chose to only use the data for the spring race. The formula being used in this article is simply the average points per race over the last five years divided by the salary cap amount for the driver.
The final result is the average points per race over the last five years divided by the salary cap figure. The only inaccessible data was the top laps at the track and is not used in this formula.
MATT KENSETH AT RICHMOND (EXAMPLE)
- Matt Kenseth Average finish over the last five races: 13th place (31 fantasy points)
- Matt Kenseth Average Start/Finish Differential last five races: (10 places = 10 fantasy points)
- Matt Kenseth Total Laps led over the last five years: 156 (156/five races = 31.8 laps per race/2 = 15.6 points per race)
- Matt Kenseth total points last five races: 57
- Current Matt Kenseth salary on www.nascar.com: 28.25
- Fantasy Nascar points per salary cap dollar for Matt Kenseth: 2.02
BEST AND WORST SALARY CAP PICKS FOR RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Applying this formula for all 43 drivers at Richmond had some predictable results accompanied with some surprises value picks. Most of the rookies do not have any historical data at the track. For comparison’s sake, we are using each rookie’s average point total per race for the 2014 season.
Best Picks
- Kyle Busch 3.71 fantasy points per dollar ($27.75)
- Landon Cassill 3.61 ($7.75)
- Dave Reutimann 3.42 ($5.25)
- Reed Sorensen 3.41 ($6.75)
- Dave Ragan 2,75 ($11.25)
- Denny Hamlin 2.62 ($23.25)
- Carl Edwards 2.48 ($27)
- Tony Stewart 2.41 ($23.25)
Worst Picks
- Joe Nemechek -1.15 fantasy points per dollar ($9.50)
- Michael McDowell -0.57 ($5.25)
- Brad Keselowski 0.42 ($25.75)
- Parker Kligerman 0.75 ($9.50)
- Ryan Truex 0.93 ($10.75)
- Casey Mears 0.97 ($18.50)
Other Notables
- Matt Kenseth 2.02 fantasy points per dollar
- Jimmie Johnson 1.32
- Jeff Gordon 1.45
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1.06
- Kevin Harvick 1.16
- Joey Logano 1.13
- Kasey Kahne 1.07
- Kurt Busch 1.22
- Ryan Newman 1.53
- Kyle Larson 1.35
- Austin Dillon 1.59
MY RECOMMENDED STARTERS FOR RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
- Kyle Busch $27.75
- Carl Edwards $27
- Denny Hamlin $23.25
- Dave Ragan $11.25
- Landon Cassill $7.75
Total Salary Cap Used: $97