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It’s the second visit of the season for the Cup Series to the Richmond Raceway in Virginia. Team have a notebook from the spring race here, and it could give us a solid idea about who to watch out for this weekend. Who are the five drivers to watch out for this weekend at Richmond?
By the Numbers: 0 Wins; 4 Top-5s; 5 Top-10s; 6 Races; Avg. Finish 5.7; 99 Laps Led
Spring Race Result: Started 21st, Finished 4th, 20 Laps Led; Stage 1: 8th; Stage 2: 2nd
Breakdown: In his first career race at Richmond, Christopher Bell had a respectable 15th place finish. Since then, he has never finished worse than sixth. That win has always eluded him, but it seems it is only a matter of time before Bell gets to Richmond Raceway’s victory lane.
By the Numbers: 0 Wins; 1 Top-5; 2 Top-10s; 10 Races; Avg. Finish 15.4; 238 Laps Led
Spring Race Result: Started 1st; Finished 24th; 117 Laps Led (Most Laps Led); Stage 1: 1st; Stage 2: 3rd
Breakdown: William Byron’s career at Richmond has been feast or famine, especially over the last few years. He led 122 laps here in the spring after winning the pole, but he finished 24th after getting spun out late. He also led over 100 laps in April of 2022 to finish third, but he has finished outside of the top-10 in the last two late-summer races at Richmond. Regardless of that, Byron’s run in the spring makes him a threat.
By the Numbers: 2 Wins; 4 Top-5s; 8 Top-10s; Avg. Finish 10.8; 185 Laps Led
Spring Race Result: Started 9th; Finished 1st; 93 Laps Led; Stage 1: 2nd; Stage 2: 8th
Breakdown: Kyle Larson has an impressive 10.8 average finish at Richmond, but he has a 10.2 average finish over his last 10 races there. This includes two victories, one of which happened back in the spring. He also has two poles there coming in September of 2021 and August of 2022.
By the Numbers: 4 Wins; 17 Top-5s; 21 Top-10s; Avg. Finish 8.7; 2,206 Laps Led
Spring Race Result: Started 11th; Finished 20th; 71 Laps Led; Stage 1: Outside Top-10; Stage 2: 1st
Breakdown: The spring race at Richmond was not Denny Hamlin’s best result at the track, but, given his history there and at short tracks in general, he is always someone to watch out for. Richmond is his home race track, and the spring race was the first time since 2020 and just the third time since the fall of 2015 that he finished outside of the top-6. He will be a factor on Sunday.
By the Numbers: 6 Wins; 18 Top-5s; 27 Top-10s; Avg. Finish 7.5; 1,530 Laps Led
Spring Race Result: Started 2nd; Finished 14th; 1 Lap Led; 0 Stage Points
Breakdown: The spring race at Richmond was a poor performance by Kyle Busch standards; as it was the first finish outside of the top-10 at the track since April of 2017. He has led laps in 23 of his 35 starts there, and he has never either failed to finish a race or finish outside of the top-25. The spring race was likely just a blip on the radar, and he should be back up front on Sunday.
Based on spring race results and historical results at the track, these drivers are all ones to watch this weekend at Richmond. Some are historically dominant, while others are just starting to hit their peak. Will this weekend be a member of the new guard or the old guard?
