Driver Rankings for Richmond

The NASCAR Cup Series will once again compete at a short, flat track this week when they make the tip to Richmond Raceway. I would love to see this race on a Saturday night under the lights because that is where short track racing should be run IMO. This .75-mile track produces some good racing so it should be fun to watch even though it is run Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on Fox.

I asked a crew chief what the secret is to Richmond. He told me, “Richmond is a difficult track because everyone is searching for the same thing… launch on the exit of the corners. The rest of the track is pretty simple, but the teams that can get their cars pointed in the right direction on the exits of turns 2 and 4 will be able to turn some fast laps.”

Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske have been the best teams at finding the perfect setup for Richmond. They have won 9 of the last 10 races at Richmond (7 for JGR and 2 for Team Penske). The only other driver to win at Richmond in the last 10 races was Kyle Larson in 2018. I would be surprised if the winner did not come from JGR, Penske or Larson Sunday.

For my rankings this week I used the Driver Ranking from the race at Phoenix. That is the closest track in size and shape to Richmond this season so the drivers who ran well in the desert should be up front Sunday. I also used the stats from Richmond last year, driver’s stats in the 750 HP aero package in 2021 and momentum in the last four race.

Here are the Driver Rankings for the Toyota Owners 400…

* Photos from NASCAR Media

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