Kyle Busch is the talk of the NASCAR world right now, and why he wouldn’t be? He’s been driving like he’s the Michael Jordan of the sport over the past several weeks. He will look to add to his collection, as he tries to defend his Toyota Owners 400 title he won a year ago at Richmond Raceway. Read on for a preview of the race’s favorites, sleepers, and a longshot.
We’re starting to get tired of putting Kyle Busch’s name as a pre-race favorite every week, but that’s also just a glaring sign how dominant he has been this season. After a 10th place finish in Texas late last March, Busch quickly got back in his top form and topped the rest of the field in last week’s race in Bristol. He has won three races thus far this season, all of which coming in just the last five weeks. Apart from the fact that he currently owns an insane 3.4 average finish in Cup Series races this season, Busch has the most career wins at Richmond Raceway with six first-place finishes there, including the two he won in his last two races at the track.
Denny Hamlin
Despite getting penalized last weekend due to pit road speeding, Hamlin still managed to close out the race fifth overall in Bristol. He remains second in the NASCAR Cup standings with 334 points – behind Busch, who has 361. Hamlin has finished outside of the top seven just three times in eight races this season. Prior to the Bristol race, Hamlin won in Texas and finished fifth in Martinsville. Hamlin also has three career wins at Richmond Raceway and has had a top five or better finish in four of his last six starts there.
SLEEPERS
Ryan Blaney
Blaney was fantastic for the most part of the race in Bristol, as he was the leaders in laps lead there with 158. He ended up snaring the fourth-place spot to get back his momentum. He had a three-race streak of top five or better finish before placing 37th in Texas. Blaney hasn’t had plenty of proud stories in six career starts in Bristol, as he has yet to break in the top 17 there, but he’s coming into this weekend’s race with a ton of confidence, which could be just all that matters to him to show up with a strong performance.
Aric Almirola
Almirola had a forgettable weekend in Bristol, finishing last in the race after getting forced out of the competition due to a crash. If anything, that he barely made his presence felt in that event should only strengthen his appeal as a sleeper heading into another race this coming weekend. Almirola has zero career wins in Richmond, but he’s got five top 20s and two top 5s at the track. Last year, he placed fifth during the Federated Auto Parts 400.
LONG SHOT
Paul Menard
The Team Wood Brothers returned to relevancy following an impressive fifth place finish in Bristol. It’s hard to feel confident in him having a top 10 finish for the second week in a row, considering he has only one placed inside that frame once in 24 career starts at the Richmond Raceway.
Writer’s Prediction
Love him or hate him, Kyle Busch is just on another level right now. He’ll snag another win in Richmond.
