StatChat - NASCAR Cup Series @ Richmond 2
This Saturday, the Cup Series returns to Virginia for the second visit to Richmond Raceway this season. First opened in 1946, it is a 0.75-mile D-shaped asphalt oval. NASCAR began racing at Richmond in 1953, and has been regularly hosting 2 races a year since 1959.
This weekend’s race is the “Federated Auto Parts Salute to American Heroes 400,” and is set to be 400 laps (300 miles). Stage breaks will occur at 80 – 235 – 400, with a competition caution at lap 30. The fuel window is approximately 120-130 laps, though teams may want to pit sooner for fresher tires.
NASCAR has run 9,592.35 miles so far this year. Denny Hamlin has completed 99.90% of them, the most of any driver.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Richmond:
| Kyle Busch | 6.81 over 31 races |
| Denny Hamlin | 9.00 over 29 races |
| Christopher Bell | 9.50 over 2 races |
| Kevin Harvick | 10.10 over 40 races |
| Joey Logano | 10.46 over 24 races |
Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Richmond:
| Quin Houff | 33.75 over 4 races |
| Michael McDowell | 31.90 over 20 races |
| Ross Chastain | 28.40 over 5 races |
| Corey LaJoie | 28.00 over 7 races |
| Chris Buescher | 26.50 over 10 races |
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Richmond is a Short Track
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks:
| Denny Hamlin | 11.62 over 151 races |
| Kyle Busch | 11.90 over 157 races |
| Chase Elliott | 12.56 over 53 races |
| Brad Keselowski | 12.60 over 114 races |
| Joey Logano | 13.00 over 122 races |
Richard Petty is the winningest driver at Richmond, by quite a margin. He has won 13 races at Richmond. The next best driver is Bobby Allison who has 7 wins. For current drivers, Kyle Busch has the most with 6, followed by Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin who each have 3.
Notable drivers who have not won at Richmond:
| Chase Elliott | (has won at 11 other tracks) |
| Ryan Blaney | (has won at 6 other tracks) |
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No current drivers earned their first Cup Series win at Richmond.
No current drivers list Richmond as their BEST track. Josh Bilicki lists it as his WORST, though he has only had one prior race there.
Milestone Watch!
| Denny Hamlin | Currently has 298 Career Top 10s |
| Erik Jones | This will be his 174th Cup Series Start |
| Joey Logano | This will be his 25th Cup Series Start @ Richmond |
Based on their point pace, let’s have a look at who’s having a better year than last year.
Drivers Faring Better than in 2020
| Daniel Suarez | +264 pts |
| William Byron | +221 pts |
| Tyler Reddick | +208 pts |
| Christopher Bell | +153 pts |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | +133 pts |
Drivers Faring Worse than in 2020
| Aric Almirola | -349 pts |
| Kevin Harvick | -310 pts |
| Erik Jones | -256 pts |
| Brad Keselowski | -222 pts |
| Matt DiBenedetto | -134 pts |
While some drivers may be doing better this year than they did in 2020, how does this year stack up against their entire career? This statistic does not include rookies, as this is their first full year in the Cup Series.
Drivers Having their BEST Career Year
| Denny Hamlin | 8.78 |
| Kyle Larson | 9.44 |
| Ryan Blaney | 12.15 |
| William Byron | 13.85 |
| Austin Dillon | 14.93 |
| Chris Buescher | 17.59 |
| Ross Chastain | 18.07 |
| Bubba Wallace | 19.22 |
| Michael McDowell | 20.30 |
| Ryan Preece | 21.70 |
| Corey LaJoie | 24.30 |
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Drivers Having their WORST Career Year
| Ryan Newman | 20.59 |
| Erik Jones | 20.59 |
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In 2017, NASCAR introduced the concept of Stage Racing, which pauses the race at certain intervals and awards bonus points for the top 10 at that moment. Here are the Top-5 Stage Point earners so far this year:
Stage Point Leaders:
| Denny Hamlin | 300 pts |
| Kyle Larson | 299 pts |
| Chase Elliott | 203 pts |
| William Byron | 198 pts |
| Kyle Busch | 189 pts |
For those that aren’t aware, the Manufacturer Standings are calculated by awarding points to the highest finisher for each manufacturer according to their finishing position. (40 for 1st, 35 for 2nd, 34 for 3rd, etc.) No stage points or playoff points count.
Manufacturer Standings
| Chevrolet | 995 |
| Ford | 934 |
| Toyota | 922 |
Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis:
Chartered Team Standings
| Hendrick | 963 |
| Joe Gibbs | 913 |
| Penske | 875 |
| Stewart-Haas | 785 |
| Chip Ganassi | 708 |
| Richard Childress | 694 |
| JTG-Daugherty | 631 |
| Roush-Fenway | 620 |
| Wood Brothers | 538 |
| Front Row | 488 |
| 23XI | 483 |
| Richard Petty | 446 |
| Trackhouse | 442 |
| Spire | 417 |
| Rick Ware | 266 |
| Live Fast | 199 |
| StarCom | 131 |
The race is Saturday, September 11that 7:30pm EST (4:30pm PST) – Enjoy the races everyone!
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