Just a few more races to break into the Playoffs if you aren’t there yet and we’ve arrived at the “Action Track,” Richmond. Plenty of capable drivers looking to Win today — will it be someone well entrenched in the Playoffs or a surprise drivers on the outside looking in?
Here’s what to look for:
–Tyler Reddick wasn’t the fastest in the first round of Qualifying, but delivered the mail when he had to. He hasn’t yet led a single lap at a short track, and that fact is looking to change in a hurry. He’s also looking to top his best career finish here: 11th.
–Kevin Harvick won this race last Fall, something that is a bit of a rarity lately. It seems like just yesterday he was knocking down eight Wins a season, but they have been few and far between recently. Happy is in great position today to add another, he’ll start 8th.
–Martin Truex Jr. has been on a tear, and he’s now at a track where he’s won three times in the last ten attempts and carries a 4.9 average finish over that same time span! Incredible average, he rolls off 10th. In six attempts here, his teammate Christopher Bell‘s last five finishes that were 6th or better. He brought it home 2nd last Fall, and he led a total of 89 laps over the two most recent Spring events. He’ll have some work to do today start 29th, but it seems like he’ll be headed to the front as soon as he can get there. Their teammate Ty Gibbs isn’t someone who has dominated this track, just making his third attempt here in the Cup Series today, but something feels different this weekend. He’ll start 7th, and could be the first rookie to make it into the Playoffs this season. He’s currently 19th in points, and a Win would catapult him into the postseason. The last drivers in the JGR camp, Denny Hamlin, will start 3rd. This is a track that he’s very comfortable with, one of which he refers to as his home track. That didn’t stop him from getting heavily booed, however. Can he rise above the drama of the last week and snag another trophy? Good money one of these four guys is standing in Victory Lane after 400 miles. Maybe all four of them somehow!
Coverage of the race starts on USA at 3:00pm, green flag scheduled for 3:16pm.
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