News & Notes, Driver Finishes, etc ~ Richmond

[16Fan]

Next Up: Saturday Night Short Track Racing at Richmond

Denny Hamlin celebrates his 19th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in Kansas Speedway’s Victory Lane on Sunday in Kansas City, Kan.
Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

Congratulations to Denny Hamlin on winning the race at Kansas this past weekend. Once again the majority of the participants in the Yahoo leagues we are running did very well themselves. Kudos to all of you.
This week the series heads to Richmond, VA for the running of the Richmond 400. Richmond International Raceway is a 3/4-mile track without a lot of banking. This is the first race run here this season and the second one will be the final race before the Chase. No matter what happens to a car during the race they will continue to experiment for the race this fall.
Richmond 400

Kyle Busch: Kyle has run 14 Sprint Cup races at Richmond and has won three of those races. He has also finished 2nd four times, in the top-5 11 times and in the top-10 12 times. He hasn’t looked all that good yet this season but, with a Joe Gibbs’ driver winning last week’s race this team will be looking forward to this weekend.
Denny Hamlin: With his second victory of the season under his belt and two career wins at Richmond, Denny and his team will head into this weekend with a lot of momentum and confidence on their side. He also has eight top-10 finishes here in only 12 starts.
Tony Stewart: Tony has struggled a little bit the last few weeks on the intermediate tracks and will be glad to get back on a short track once again this weekend. He has looked very good on these types of tracks so far this season. Even though he hasn’t won here in almost 10 years I think he will have a car that will compete this weekend.
Kevin Harvick: Kevin won the Richmond race last fall in dominating fashion, leading over 200-laps in that race. This team should have a good setup under their car when they unload it this weekend and it shouldn’t take them very long to dial it in during practice. He might dominate once again.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. : Dale has had an excellent season so far and this weekend will tell us a lot about how good they really are right now. Dale won three races here while he was with DEI but he has really struggled here since moving to Hendrick Motorsports. If they have a good run this weekend I would have to say that they could be serious contenders for the Championship this season.
Jeff Gordon: Although he hasn’t won a race here in 12 years, Jeff has still run consistently well over the last 10 Richmond races. During that stretch he has eight top-10 finishes and needs a good run after the disappointing finish he had last week at Kansas. I think he will be a contender this weekend.
Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie won three races here during the 2007-2008 seasons but he has been very inconsistent here throughout the rest of his career. He has four top-10 finishes in his last eight races here but he has also finished 30th or worse in three of those races.
Greg Biffle: Greg has been on top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings for most of the season and this will be his toughest test of the year. He has never won a race here and hasn’t finished in the top-10 in his last 10 starts here. This race will tell us if Greg is going to be a contender all year or if he will start to fade away.
Matt Kenseth: Matt has been great on the longer tracks this season and now we will see how he handles another short track. He is another Roush driver who has struggled here over the last 10 races with only one top-10 finish in that stretch.
Carl Edwards: Carl is the only Roush driver that has had any success here lately. He has finished in the top-10 in his last four starts here and almost won this race last fall after leading 113-laps in that race. This could be a breakout race for this team.
Mark Martin: Mark was having another good run last weekend until he had mechanical problems late in the race at Kansas. Mark has run consistently well at Richmond during his career but he has seemed to struggle on the short tracks lately.
Yahoo Fantasy NASCAR Picks for Richmond International Raceway

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kyle Busch
• Denny Hamlin

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Ryan Newman
• Clint Bowyer
• AJ Allmendinger
• Marcos Ambrose

Yahoo Driver Group C (Might change depending on entry list.)

• David Ragan
• Aric Almirola

Top-5 Overall at Richmond International Raceway

1. Kyle Busch
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Tony Stewart
5. Carl Edwards

Dark Horse: Ryan Newman
Stay Away From: Brad Keselowski

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[16Fan]

Driver Finishes at Richmond ~ Last 8 races

Sprint Cup

Nationwide Camping World Truck #yspFilterMessage ** PADDING-BOTTOM: 7px; COLOR: #ff0000}#dummy-swfproxy ** VISIBILITY: hidden}Time FrameType 2012 Season2011 Season2010 SeasonLast 5 YearsLast 10 YearsSince 1975By RaceBy TrackBy Track TypeAll TracksAtlanta Motor SpeedwayAuto Club SpeedwayBristol Motor SpeedwayCharlotte Motor SpeedwayChicagoland SpeedwayDarlington RacewayDaytona International SpeedwayDover International SpeedwayHomestead-Miami SpeedwayIndianapolis Motor SpeedwayInfineon RacewayKansas SpeedwayKentucky SpeedwayLas Vegas Motor SpeedwayMartinsville SpeedwayMichigan International SpeedwayNew Hampshire Motor SpeedwayPhoenix International RacewayPocono RacewayRichmond International RacewayTalladega SuperspeedwayTexas Motor SpeedwayWatkins Glen International* Includes only active drivers NameRacesPolesWinsTop 5Top 10DNFAvg StartAvg Finish Kyle Busch82367012.04.1 Denny Hamlin81245012.68.1 Tony Stewart80035019.210.0 Clint Bowyer80114011.910.4 Kevin Harvick80126012.810.4 Carl Edwards81035014.110.4 Jeff Gordon80036112.010.5 Mark Martin8104508.610.8 Jeff Burton80023017.212.5 Ryan Newman80015014.512.5 Marcos Ambrose60012023.015.2 Kurt Busch80023119.416.1 Jimmie Johnson80124010.116.2 Joey Logano60011115.716.5 Greg Biffle80000020.917.5 Juan Pablo Montoya81003012.918.5 David Ragan80022022.820.0 Kasey Kahne80012111.820.1 Jamie McMurray80001119.020.8 Martin Truex Jr.80012116.521.0 Dale Earnhardt Jr.80011018.921.0 A J Allmendinger80002117.821.1 David Reutimann81001012.521.2 Brian Vickers71002017.721.3 Casey Mears80001124.522.2 Reed Sorenson50000120.623.0 Brad Keselowski5000019.823.0 Sam Hornish Jr.60002132.023.2 Matt Kenseth80000023.423.2 Stephen Leicht10000040.024.0 Regan Smith70000123.024.9 Bobby Labonte80000132.426.5 Travis Kvapil60000032.826.7 Dave Blaney70000228.126.9 Ken Schrader20000039.029.5 Elliott Sadler60000025.830.2 Michael Waltrip40000132.830.2 David Gilliland80000235.530.2 Robby Gordon60000137.530.7 Scott Riggs30000134.030.7 Paul Menard80000024.030.9 Landon Cassill30000027.732.0 David Stremme50000220.833.4 Scott Speed50000122.434.2 Bill Elliott10000037.035.0 Michael McDowell50000432.236.0 Jeff Green10000016.036.0 Tony Raines40000242.238.5 Mike Bliss40000328.838.8 Joe Nemechek80000530.539.0 J.J. Yeley30000242.039.7 Terry Labonte10000137.040.0

 

[16Fan]

It’s a short track Saturday night this weekend as NASCAR heads to Virginia for 400 laps at the 3/4-mile Richmond International Raceway.

This week is all about momentum. Denny Hamlin won for the second time this season at Kansas Speedway last Sunday and has a pair of Richmond victories on his resume. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver hails from nearby Chesterfield and coming to his home track is always special. Winning, however, makes the trip even sweeter. Hamlin is so looking forward to coming home that he plans on arriving early.

"We have our big Short Track Showdown coming up on Thursday, so we've got a lot of planning,” Hamlin told reporters. “I obviously need to go to Richmond early to get some stuff done and schmooze some of our sponsors for that race for a few days. We're excited. I love going to Richmond anyway, but any time you can go after winning the previous week, it makes it a little more exciting.”

One driver who has had very little reason to celebrate so far this season is Hamlin’s JGR teammate Kyle Busch. Busch ranks 13th in the standings - 31 points out of the Top 10. His last victory came at Michigan International Speedway last August - 20 starts ago. But Busch has won the last three spring races at Richmond and is tied with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart for most wins among active drivers at the track. Busch could kick start his season with a win and get right back into the thick of the championship battle.

“We haven’t had the runs that we are looking for quite yet,” Busch told the media. “I’ve been missing a little bit of comfort in our cars this year, but I feel like we’re slowly gaining it back. I look for a certain feel in the car and we just haven’t quite hit on it, yet. We’ve kept working at making that better. We’ve been working hard at gaining some spots in the points. We’ve got some really good racetracks for us coming up with places like Richmond this weekend.”

Hendrick Motorsports continues to search for that, so far, elusive 200th win. The team has had some bright moments this season, but hasn’t visited Victory Lane since last fall, 14 races ago. Two of their four drivers have been leading the way this season.

Jimmie Johnson swept both Richmond races in 2007 and finished third in Kansas last Sunday. Dale Earnhardt Jr., a three-time Richmond winner (most recently in spring 2006), is riding a four-race Top-10 streak.

You might think that Johnson would come out as my favorite, being the most recent Hendrick winner here. However, Earnhardt Jr. will take over that role this week and there’s a feeling that he could steal the show and win for the first time since 2008 Saturday night.

Head-to-head

Clint Bowyer vs. Kevin Harvick: This week’s primetime matchup features two former teammates at Richard Childress Racing. Bowyer has a win here, Harvick has two with the most recent coming last fall. Harvick has the higher driver rating but Bowyer, in his new ride at Michael Waltrip Racing, has shown some strength this season. Harvick has yet to find his way. Look for Bowyer to prevail in this matchup.

Ryan Newman vs. Greg Biffle: It’s a battle of Chevy versus Ford as Stewart-Haas Racing’s Newman goes up against Roush Racing’s Biffle. Both have wins this season with Newman’s coming at Martinsville, the last short track the series raced on. That might give Newman an edge but Biffle has been leading the point standings and will do whatever it takes to stay there. Look for Biffle to finish in front of Newman Saturday night.

Bottom line

Sixty-three of 111 races have been won from the Top-5 starting positions, including 22 from the pole. The last driver to win from the pole was Kyle Busch in 2010. The furthest back in the field a race winner has started was 31st, by Clint Bowyer in the 2008 spring race.

Picks

Denny Hamlin (+600)
Kyle Busch (+600)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+1,800)

 

[16Fan]

Chassis selections for the Richmond 400: see the list of many teams and what chassis were selected by the team to run at Richmond International Raceway:
MISSING? why are some teams missing? like the #11, #24 or others? those teams do not report what chassis in the race previews or prs.
#1-Jamie McMurray: Crew Chief Kevin "Bono" Manion and the No. 1 McDonald's team will bring Chassis #1206 to Richmond International Raceway this weekend. This chassis first saw track time this year at Phoenix International Raceway, leading one lap before retiring from the race due to an engine failure.
#5-Kasey Kahne: For Saturday's race, crew chief Kenny Francis will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-663. Kahne started 10th in this car at Phoenix International Raceway in March before an early incident sent him to the garage for repairs. Kahne finished that event 34th. The No. 5 team also raced the car four times in 2011 with driver Mark Martin notably collecting a top-10 finish at Richmond in September.
#9-Marcos Ambrose: The #9 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 805 for this weekend's race at Richmond International Raceway. This Stanley Ford was run previously this season at Phoenix.
#10-David Reutimann: will pilot the No. 297 chassis, which he also drove at Phoenix International Raceway and Martinsville Speedway this season. TBR debuted chassis No. 297 with Blaney at Texas Motor Speedway in November 2011. Blaney also piloted the chassis at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the 2011 NSCS Season Finale where he finished 28th. TBR purchased the chassis from Richard Childress Racing during the 2011 season.
#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-710: This is a brand-new racecar that has never turned a wheel on the racetrack, but it has seen numerous hours in the wind tunnel. The Capital City 400 marks Chassis No. 14-710's on-track debut.
#15-Clint Bowyer: will race chassis No. 712 at Richmond. Bowyer finished 30th with No. 712 in Phoenix after struggling with multiple cut tires early in the race. Chassis No. 718 will serve as the backup and previously served as backup at Phoenix and Bristol but never raced.
#16-Greg Biffle: Primary: RK-778 Last ran Phoenix - finished third; Backup: RK-759 Last ran Phoenix in '11 as the No. 6 - finished 33rd
#17-Matt Kenseth: Primary: RK-802 (Last run at Bristol)
#22-A.J. Allmendinger: and his Todd Gordon-led Penske Racing #22 Team will be racing their "PRS-808" Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger this weekend at Richmond. The team raced the car earlier this season at Phoenix. In that race Dinger started 15th and was involved in an early-race incident that tore the entire back deck lid off the car. He was able to salvage an 18th-place finish out of the day. The "PRS-807" is the backup Dodge Charger for the "Double-Deuce" team. It was in the transporter serving as the backup at Phoenix, Bristol and Martinsville, but has never seen any track time to date.
#27-Paul Menard: will pilot Chassis No. 380 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 27 Chevrolet is a brand new addition to the RCR fleet and will log its first laps during Friday's practice session.
#29-Kevin Harvick: will pilot Chassis No. 365 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This chassis was used by the No. 33 RCR team during the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season, and Harvick most recently drove it to a second-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway in March.
#31-Jeff Burton: will race chassis No. 367 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 31 Chevrolet, built new for the 2012 season, was utilized in February at Phoenix International Raceway where engine issues thwarted Burton's top-five run and relegated him to a 33rd-place finish.
#36-Dave Blaney: will drive the No. 293 chassis, which he drove five times during the 2011 season and once this season. The Harford, Ohio native's best start with the No. 293 chassis was 22nd at New Hampshire last fall and best finish was 23rd this season at Phoenix. TBR purchased the chassis from Richard Childress Racing, where Jeff Burton drove the chassis prior to its debut with TBR.
#39-Ryan Newman: Chassis No. 39-719: Chassis No. 39-719 will turn its first laps on a racetrack with practice on Friday at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The new chassis for Newman has been to the wind tunnel in recent weeks and will make its first start this weekend.
#42-Juan Pablo Montoya: Crew Chief Chris Heroy and the No. 42 Target team will bring Chassis #1203 to Richmond International Raceway this weekend. This chassis made its debut this year at Phoenix International Raceway, finishing 11th.
#43-Aric Almirola:: The #43 Smithfield Ford will be chassis number 804. This is the same chassis the team ran at Phoenix earlier this year.
#48-Jimmie Johnson:: Chassis No. 715 is a new chassis and serves as the primary for Johnson at Richmond. Chassis No. 689 serves as the backup.
#51-Kurt Busch: Chassis No. 662: This weekend's Richmond 400 will be the second race of the 2012 season for this chassis. This is the same car the #51 Phoenix Racing team competed with at Phoenix International Raceway in March. Busch started 19th and led two laps en route to a 15th-place finish. This car was built in June 2011 and used by the No. 51 Phoenix Racing team a handful of times last season. Landon Cassill finished 29th at Phoenix in chassis No. 662 in November 2011. The car was also used in events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon in July and September 2011, scoring 26th- and 30th-place finishes, respectively.
#88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: This weekend, crew chief Steve Letarte will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-709. Earnhardt last raced this chassis to a 14th-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway in March.
#99-Carl Edwards: The No. 99 team will be bringing chassis RK-801 to Richmond this weekend. This was a brand new chassis at Phoenix in March when Edwards finished 17th after running out of fuel on the final lap.
(from team PR's/sites if reported)(4-27-2012)

 

[16Fan]

Top Fifteen Ranking Entering The Sprint Cup Series 400:​

1. Kevin Harvick - When you look at the stat sheet, Harvick isn’t the flat-out, number one pick in most people’s minds, but he is in mine. When you combine history at Richmond along with how each driver is running this year, I believe Harvick is the safest bet, and for that reason he gets my vote. Also, as I said before, “Happy” is the most recent winner here, and he led the most laps at Phoenix earlier this year (which, if you pay attention to ifantasyrace.com, Ryan Rantz thinks is a reversed Richmond). In the last fourteen races here, Harvick has finished inside the top 10 on ten seperate occasions, and that includes five top 5s. Statistically, this is the fourth-best track on the circuit for Kevin, and his average driver rating of 110.1 in the last two years here is third-best in the series.
2. Jimmie Johnson - When you look at average finish, Jimmie Johnson probably wouldn’t be on the top of your fantasy lists this week. However, you have to look at more than just that. Yes, in twenty career starts at Richmond Five Time has averaged a finish of 17.2, but he has also had three visits to victory lane and led 414 laps. Last fall, Jimmie finished 31st, but he led 38 laps that day and was a top 5 car until Kurt Busch put him into the wall. Furthermore, in the last five Richmond races, that is the only event that he hasn’t finished inside the top 11. Also, let’s not forget that the #48 team has had great cars week in and week out and Jimmie hasn’t finished worse than 12th since Daytona. Go against him if you want, but I know I won’t.
3. Denny Hamlin - What’s not to like about Hamlin this weekend? He’s coming off his second win of the season and heading to one of the best tracks on the circuit for him. In twelve career starts at Richmond, Denny has finished inside the top 5 in half of them and notched two victories along the way. His worst finish here is 24th–although he led 93% of the laps ran in that race (flat tire)–and he has completed 4,806 of the 4,810 laps ran in his twelve starts here. Hamlin has also led 1,188 laps in his career here, which is better than everyone not named Jeff Gordon. The #11 should be a force once again on Saturday.
4. Kyle Busch - I actually found it very difficult ranking these next two drivers like I did. However, it’s hard going against numbers like these two have. We’ll start with Rowdy Busch. Richmond is Kyle track, plain and simple. His average finish of 5th here is, by far, the best in the series, and he’s tied with just a handful of others with the most wins at this track (3). In fourteen starts here, he’s never finished worse than 20th, and Busch has eleven top 5s to his name. He has led 859 laps in his career here and has completed 100% of the laps ran (how impressive is that?). Unless a freak situation happens like in Bristol, I fully expect Kyle to be a top 5 car on Saturday night.
5. Jeff Gordon - Gordon’s record isn’t as stout as Kyle’s at Richmond, but it’s still good nonetheless. In thirty-eight career starts at this track, Jeff has visited victory lane twice and amassed twenty-four top 10s (fifteen of them being top 5s). Gordon has led a series-best 1,413 laps here and has the fifth-best average driver rating (104.8) in the last two years at this track. He’s going to stop having bad luck sooner or later, and the last time we were at a short track, Gordon absolutely dominated (Martinsville). He also finished 8th at Bristol despite starting 30th. Also, nine of the last ten Richmond races have ended with Gordon in the top 12.
6. Tony Stewart - Here’s a real wildcard for the weekend. Smoke is pretty good here (three career victories) and owns the fourth-best average finish in the series on this track, with a 10.9 in twenty-six career starts. Statistically, this is Stewart’s fourth-best track on the circuit, behind Watkins Glen, Indianapolis, and Chicago. He finished 9th and 7th here last season but has led just two total laps in the last six Richmond events. Despite struggling here in 2010, Smoke still has seven top 10s in the last ten races here, and has completed all but two laps during that span. His 817 laps led here is sixth-best among active drivers.
7. Carl Edwards - This team is making strides, they just need to finally break through. The good news is that Edwards led his first lap of the season last weekend in Kansas, and he’s been pretty good here at Richmond lately. Carl is one of only two drivers (the other being the man ranked #3) to post top 10 finishes in each of the last four races here. Edwards also has led a total of 221 laps during that span and has averaged a driver rating of 108.1 (fourth-best in the series). Carl hasn’t finished worse than 11th in the last month and I wouldn’t expect that to change on Saturday night.
8. Martin Truex, Jr. - I think this week is going to be a real test for this team because Truex hasn’t been good at all in his career at this track. In twelve career starts here, Martin owns an average finish of 24.3 and just four finishes inside the top 20. As I said last week, though, Truex is sort of like the 2011 Brad Keselowski–you just throw out past history for now. He has top 5s in both short track races thus far in 2012, so that’s a little re-assuring. Truex has also qualified in the top 10 in 42% of his starts at Richmond.
9. Clint Bowyer - One of the most surprising things to me this season has been that Clint Bowyer has consistently had the worse car in the Michael Waltrip Racing stable week in and week out. There are a couple things that I like about Clint this week, though. First, he has top 10s in both short track events in 2012 (10th at Martinsville and 4th at Bristol). Also, he has the third-best average finish (10.5) of anyone in the series at this race track, despite only having only one top 5 finish, which was his win in 2008. However, Clint has three 6th-place finishes to his name in his last five starts here, and he has qualified in the top 5 in each of the last three Richmond races. His average driver rating of 104.3 in the last two years here is sixth-best in the series.
10. Ryan Newman - The Rocketman should be one person that is real happy to get away from the intermediate tracks for a week. His success at Richmond is pretty consistent, although, like many people, he has had a few bumps along the way. In twenty career starts at this track, Ryan has compiled twelve top 10s and an average finish of 11.7. He also has just two finishes outside of the top 20. Want to know what I really like about Newman this week, though? His last eight finishes in the spring race here: 20th, 8th, 4th, 6th, 6th, 8th, 3rd, 9th.
11. Greg Biffle - If there’s any track type that you can say Greg Biffle has struggled at this season (I use that term loosely, by the way), it’s the short tracks. In case you forgot, The Biff won the pole in Bristol and ended up finishing 13th, and at Martinsville he wound up 13th as well after starting 26th. On Saturday night, I think Greg could easily challenge for a top 10, but I’m thinking he gets a top 15 finish. In nineteen career starts here, Biffle owns an average finish of 16.6, and he hasn’t finished better than 13th at Richmond since 2006. It’s hard to against a guy when he’s this hot, but you probably should stay away from the #16 this weekend.
12. Mark Martin - Martin hasn’t really ran a short track this season for Michael Waltrip Racing, unless, of course, if you count Phoenix, where he put the #55 Toyota on the pole and finished 9th. However, with Brian Vickers behind the wheel, this car has looked very impressive on the short tracks, especially at Bristol where “The Sheriff” brought it home in 5th. Mark has made a whopping 52 career starts at this 0.75-mile race track and has recorded twenty-eight top 10s and grabbed four poles.He struggled here in 2010, but during the 2011 season, Mark finished 14th and 10th at Richmond and qualified in the top 5 in both races.
13. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - This ranking will probably end up being too low for Junior, but I can’t stop looking past the fact that in the last six races here, NASCAR’s golden boy hasn’t finished better than 16th and has an average driver rating of 63.4. The good news is that Earnhard finished 15th at Bristol and 3rd at Martinsville earlier this year, and I think he should, at least, finish top 15 on Saturday. Junior has three victories at Richmond (in 2000, 2004, and 2006), and actually had more consistent success here before joining Hendrick Motorsports (data here).
14. Matt Kenseth - Like his team mate, I think you would be better off leaving Kenseth on the bench this weekend. Once again, it’s not a firm avoid, but I just think there are too many other options that are better than wasting your time and taking a risk with Kenseth. He was pretty good here from 2002 to 2004, but since then the single-digit finishes are few and far between. In the last nine Richmond events, Matt’s best finish has been just 13th, and he has finished on the lead lap in just 56% of those starts. One thing to take note of, though, is Kenseth has top 5s in both short track races thus far in 2012 (Bristol and Martinsville).
15. Juan Montoya - I don’t know about you, but I was very impressed–and surprised–with Montoya’s 12th-place finish in Kansas last weekend. He started in the back and was on my Avoid list for the race but that #42 Chevrolet was actually pretty good. Hopefully that will give JPM some momentum, which he obviously needs, as he has just one top 10 finish on the season. I think the problem with this team is that they are absolutely horrible at qualifying. Anyway, at Richmond, Montoya has had some good runs and some bad runs as well. In ten starts, he has four finishes of 15th or better along with four finishes of 29th or worse. He sat on the pole for this event last season and Juan is going to be my dark horse of the week for Richmond.
Just Missed The Top 15…Brad Keselowski, A.J. Allmendinger, Marcos Ambrose​

Those To Avoid Entering The Sprint Cup Series 400:​

Greg Biffle - This isn’t an “avoid like the plague” title for the Biff this week–obviously, as I have him ranked above–but if you’re in an allocation league, I wouldn’t start him unless he looks absolutely unstoppable in practice (which is a possibility with how they have been running). There are too many intermediate tracks the rest of the way for you to use the #16 this weekend.
Paul Menard - You don’t have to look at the stat sheet too long to realize that Paul Menard simply is not good here. He finished 16th here in his first start, but in the nine events since, Paul hasn’t ended up on the lead lap once and also hasn’t notched a finish better than 26th. In the last three races here, Menard has qualified 15th, 10th, and 7th, but finished those events in 34th, 37th, and 26th, respectively.
Kurt Busch - I’m starting to trust this team a little more on the intermediate tracks, but the short tracks are a different story for Kurt Busch. He may have finished 5th here last fall, but let’s remember that was when he was still with Penske. In the three races before that at Richmond, the elder Busch brother never finished better than 18th. At the two short track races ran so far in 2012 (Bristol and Martinsville), Kurt has finished 18th and 33rd, respectively.​