How the NASCAR playoff drivers fare at Richmond
Welcome to the NASCAR playoffs. Before each playoff race we’re going to take a look at how each of the playoff drivers have done at the track hosting the upcoming race. Richmond is race two of the playoffs.
Alex Bowman
Points: 2,028
5 starts
Average finish: 30.6
Here’s the start that matters: Bowman was 18th after starting 11th in the spring. His first four starts came in cars that had no chance of being competitive.
Ryan Blaney
Points: 2,042
5 starts
Average finish: 28.6
Blaney needs to have a career-best finish at Richmond. His finishes at the track go 28th, 39th, 36th, 18th and 22nd.
Austin Dillon
Points: 2,031
9 starts
Average finish: 21.1
Dillon has never finished in the top 10 at Richmond. He may be in trouble if that trend continues and a lot of playoff drivers do. Dillon’s best finish at Richmond came in the fall of 2016 when he finished 13th after starting eighth. He’s finished 20th, 21st and 15th in the three starts since.
Martin Truex Jr.
Points: 2,087
25 starts
2 top 5s, 8 top 10s
Average finish: 19.8
Truex’s most memorable Richmond moment is from 2013, when Clint Bowyer spun to get him into the playoffs. Days later, Truex was out of the playoffs. That it’s Truex’s most memorable moment points to just how much he’s relatively struggled at the track. He was 14th in the spring after starting first and finished 20th last fall. His best finish at the track came in the fall of 2016 when he was third.
Erik Jones
Points: 2,009
3 starts
1 top 10
Average finish: 19.0
Jones’ first Richmond start was a disaster. He made it four laps and crashed after contact with Kasey Kahne cut a tire. Since then he’s been a lot better. He was sixth in the fall last year and 13th this spring.
Aric Almirola
Points: 2,034
13 starts
1 top 5, 4 top 10s
Average finish: 16.3
Almirola really likes to finish 17th at Richmond. He’s finished there in each of his last two starts and four times overall in 13 starts. His best run at Richmond came in 2015 when he finished fourth in the fall.
Kurt Busch
Points: 2,046
35 starts
2 wins, 7 top 5s, 15 top 10s
Average finish: 15.3
Busch’s recent history at Richmond is far better than his cumulative statistics success. Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014 he’s finished 23rd, seventh, first, 15th, 10th, eighth, eighth, fourth and 11th. A finish in the top 10 will do a lot to help make up for what Busch lost in that late crash at Vegas.
Jimmie Johnson
Points: 2,022
33 starts
3 wins, 7 top 5s, 14 top 10s
Average finish: 15.3
Johnson last won at Richmond in the fall of 2008, meaning this race is 10 years after his last win. He’s been really good at the track recently though. Johnson has finished no lower than 11th since the beginning of the 2015 season. He was sixth in the spring.
Chase Elliott
Points: 2,019
6 starts
1 top 5, 2 top 10s
Average finish: 13.8
Elliott did a lot to boost his average finish by finishing second to Kyle Busch in the spring. That was his first finish above 10th at the track.
Brad Keselowski
Points: 2,069 (clinched second round)
18 starts
1 win, 4 top 5s, 8 top 10s
Average finish: 13.7
Keselowski’s lone Richmond win came in the fall of 2014 when he led 383 of 400 laps. He’s been very good since then with six finishes in the top 11 since then. Keselowski should be in the hunt again on Saturday night.
Clint Bowyer
Points: 2,029
25 starts
2 wins, 4 top 5s, 13 top 10s
Average finish: 13.2
Bowyer won at Richmond in 2008 after Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch crashed and in 2012. His recent history at the track hasn’t been great. He’s got three finishes outside the top 20 in his last six starts and his best finish is ninth in that span.
Joey Logano
Points: 2,056
19 starts
2 wins, 8 top 5s, 11 top 10s
Average finish: 11.5
Welcome back to the track where Logano won at in 2017. That win didn’t count as Logano’s car failed inspection and he ended up missing the playoffs because of it. He got his first Richmond win in 2014 and hasn’t finished outside the top 10 since.
Kevin Harvick
Points: 2,060
35 starts
3 wins, 13 top 5s, 22 top 10s
Average finish: 10.3
Harvick has never won at Richmond for Stewart-Haas Racing. Kind of surprising, isn’t it? He’s never been worse than 15th in his nine starts with the team and has finished fifth five times.
Kyle Larson
Points: 2,041
9 starts
1 win, 2 top 5s, 3 top 10s
Average finish: 10.0
Larson won the fall race a year ago after starting fourth. He’s never finished lower than 16th at Richmond and has seen his best runs come in the fall race the last two seasons. He was second in the fall of 2016.
Denny Hamlin
Points: 2,008
24 starts
3 wins, 11 top 5s, 15 top 10s
Average finish: 9.3
Hamlin is on a run of six-straight top-six finishes. That snapped a weird run of five-straight finishes between 18th and 22nd. Hamlin’s been really, really good at Richmond and it’ll be a surprise if he doesn’t qualify in the top 12.
Kyle Busch
Points: 2,085
26 starts
5 wins, 15 top 5s, 19 top 10s
Average finish: 7.2
Busch has led at least one lap in 16 of his 26 Richmond starts. He won the spring race after starting 32nd and has finished ninth in each of the last two fall races at the track. His win in the spring was his first at Richmond since 2012 when he won for the fourth time in a seven-race span at the track.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
Follow @NickBromberg on Twitter
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