Toyota Owners 400 Betting News and Notes

Richmond Driver Tale of the Tape

Clint Bowyer (No. 15 HScott Motorsports Chevrolet)

· Two wins, four top fives, 12 top 10s
· Average finish of 11.300, fourth-best
· Average Running Position of 10.783, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 98.6, fourth-best
· 214 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.119, fifth-fastest
· 6222 Laps in the Top 15 (77.6), fourth-most
· 538 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

· Four wins, 14 top fives, 15 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 7.095, series-best
· Average Running Position of 8.082, third-best
· Driver Rating of 110.4, series-best
· 571 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.447, series-fastest
· 7332 Laps in the Top 15 (87.1), second-most
· 618 Quality Passes, third-most

Kurt Busch (No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet)

· Two wins, six top fives, 11 top 10s
· Average finish of 15.000, eighth-best
· Average Running Position of 13.657, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 94.2, fifth-best
· 441 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.138, fourth-fastest
· 5393 Laps in the Top 15 (61.2), eighth-most
· 500 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

· Three wins, ten top fives, 14 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 15.455, ninth-best
· Average Running Position of 14.414, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 87.2, 11th-best
· 358 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.928, 12th-fastest
· 5093 Laps in the Top 15 (57.8.), 10th-most
· 509 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Carl Edwards (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

· One win, four top fives, 11 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 14.364, seventh-best
· Average Running Position of 15.122, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 88.3, 10th-best
· 308 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.943, 11th-fastest
· 5041 Laps in the Top 15 (57.2), 11th-most
· 498 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

· Two wins, seven top fives, ten top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 10.789, third-best
· Average Running Position of 8.058, second-best
· Driver Rating of 108.8, third-best
· 631 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.398, third-fastest
· 6309 Laps in the Top 15 (82.9), third-most
· 479 Quality Passes, 11th-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet)

· Three wins, nine top fives, 18 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 8.591, second-best
· Average Running Position of 7.495, series-best
· Driver Rating of 110.1, second-best
· 564 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.412, second-fastest
· 8211 Laps in the Top 15 (93.1), series-most
· 702 Quality Passes, series-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

· Three wins, six top fives, 11 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 16.136, 11th-best
· Average Running Position of 15.086, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 90.1, eighth-best
· 319 Fastest Laps Run, third-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.022, eighth-fastest
· 5363 Laps in the Top 15 (60.8.), ninth-most
· 482 Quality Passes, 10th-most

Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

· One win, four top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 16.455, 13th-best
· Average Running Position of 16.017, 13th-best
· Driver Rating of 86.5, 12th-best
· 379 Fastest Laps Run, series-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.998, ninth-fastest
· 4861 Laps in the Top 15 (55.1), 12th-most
· 496 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

· Two wins, six top fives, 15 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 16.045, 10th-best
· Average Running Position of 15.589, 12th-best
· Driver Rating of 89.0, ninth-best
· 284 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.986, 10th-fastest
· 5408 Laps in the Top 15 (61.3), seventh-most
· 508 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Team Penske Ford)

· One win, two top fives, five top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 16.231, 12th-best
· Average Running Position of 12.477, sixth-best
· Driver Rating of 93.9, sixth-best
· 276 Fastest Laps Run, second-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.054, sixth-fastest
· 3496 Laps in the Top 15 (67.2), sixth-most
· 288 Quality Passes, 12th-most

Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford)

· One win, five top fives, six top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 13.786, sixth-best
· Average Running Position of 14.911, ninth-best
· Driver Rating of 85.5, 13th-best
· 121 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.793, 13th-fastest
· 2718 Laps in the Top 15 (48.5), 13th-most
· 238 Quality Passes, 13th-most

Ryan Newman (No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet)

· One win, six top fives, 16 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 11.318, fifth-best
· Average Running Position of 11.950, fifth-best
· Driver Rating of 91.1, seventh-best
· 143 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.030, seventh-fastest
· 6438 Laps in the Top 15 (73.0), fifth-most
· 652 Quality Passes, second-most

Toyota Owners 400
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

The third short track race of the Sprint Cup season takes us to Richmond International Raceway for Sunday's Toyota Owners 400.

Because the D-shaped oval is less than 1-mile in distance, we call it a short track, but for oddsmaking and handicapping purposes the best way to approach Richmond races is to look at recent results on the flat 1-mile tracks at New Hampshire and Phoenix rather than the half-mile tracks at Bristol at Martinsville.

I'll share a part of the process I've been going through for the past 22 years every Sunday night when doing pre-practice rating adjustments for the upcoming race. This process helps me set the numbers on each driver for every race and also use the largest variances from my numbers against the sports book numbers to offer the best perceived betting value for myself. Every driver has a number with a dollar and cents value attached for each race which helps me find the best value in driver vs. driver matchup wagers.

The last major part of the equation will come Saturday following the two practice sessions, but its also a part that many sports book over-adjust with -- pricing drivers way higher in matchups than they should be. They reason the books do it that way is because they're just reading their bettors wagering patterns. The average bettor looks at practice speeds and fires away at any price with whoever looks fast. Sometimes it works out, but most times it doesn't -- see Kyle Larson's 35th-place finish last week at Bristol after being stellar in final practice.

However you choose to go about weighing your own driver data for Sunday's race, the first team you want to break down and analyze is Joe Gibbs Racing, who have won the past three races on the schedule. Kyle Busch won at Martinsville, and then Texas. Sunday at Bristol, Carl Edwards won from the pole and also led the most laps. He had 8/1 odds at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

It could be argued that the short track wins at Martinsville and Bristol give the five Gibbs drivers (Martin Truex Jr. included) a huge edge making them the easy favorite to win at Richmond. But the counter argument that might weigh heavier in each drivers' rating this week is what happened at Phoenix in March.

Last season three of the top-five finishers at Phoenix finished in the top-five at Richmond in April. Kevin Harvick won at Phoenix -- of course -- and his Stewart Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch (finished fifth at Phoenix) won at Richmond. They both led the most laps in their wins. Harvick also led the most laps six weeks ago during his Phoenix win.

I'm of the opinion that the most current Phoenix events weigh more heavily at Richmond than the most recent Martinsville or Bristol results. The set-ups for the flat layouts appear more relevant. If crew chiefs use the same set-ups and sometimes same exact chassis for each, that should be good enough for me to follow suit when adjusting pre-practice driver ratings.

It's also important to note that JGR's Matt Kenseth won at Richmond in September (led 352 laps) and also at New Hampshire two weeks later. However, those results don't weigh as much in driver ratings just because the new low downforce package wasn't used in those races.

When we look at this years Phoenix results, there's Harvick winning followed by Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to complete the top-five. That's three JGR drivers that were set up very nice for Phoenix which should apply to Sunday at Richmond as well. Just to note the JGR strength at Phoenix: Kenseth finished seventh and Truex Jr. was 14th.

Harvick has won three times at Richmond (2006, 2011, 2013) and has a 10.8 average finish in 30 starts. However, all those wins came while driving for Richard Childress Racing. He was runner-up in this race last season following the Phoenix win for his top finish in four races while driving for Stewart Haas Racing.

Kyle Busch has finished in the top-five there in 14 of his 21 starts, which includes four wins. This dude is absolutely awesome -- 14 top-fives in 21 races is incredible consistency over long haul. His 7.1 average finish is the best among all active drivers. Harvick and Busch deserve to be 5/1 co-favorites as both rate the highest on equal terms.

The best look with value this week might be Hamlin, who hails from Virginia. He's a two-time winner (2009, 2010) at his home track who you should be able to fetch, hopefully, at 10/1 odds to win at one of your favorite sports books. His 10.7 average finish is second-best and his 1,404 laps led is tops in the series. His third-place Phoenix finish make him someone to seriously consider, or at least if you believe anything I've discussed here.

So yes, JGR still has the edge here, but not as pronounced as what we saw at Bristol last week. The best long shot to consider this week is Earnhardt Jr. at 20/1 odds just because of a solid Phoenix run.

Top-5 Finish Prediction:

1) #11 Denny Hamlin (10/1)
2) #4 Kevin Harvick (5/1)
3) #19 Carl Edwards (8/1)
4) #18 Kyle Busch (5/1)
5) #20 Matt Kenseth (8/1)

NASCAR at Richmond Betting Odds, Driver Previews
By Micah Roberts
Sportingnews.com

Joe Gibbs Racing has won the past three Sprint Cup races, and this week all four of its drivers have odds to win posted at 8-to-1 or less for Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Kyle Busch is listed as the 9-to-2 favorite at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook on the basis of current form and leading most track statistical categories among active drivers, such as wins and average finish.

One of the best handicapping strategies for Richmond races is to see what happened in the most recent races at Phoenix or New Hampshire. Although Richmond's three-quarter-mile layout is considered a short track, it is most comparable to the two one-mile flat tracks. If it's good enough for crew chiefs to use similar setups, and sometimes even the same chassis, it should be good enough for bettors to follow.

Last year's New Hampshire fall race won by Matt Kenseth, two weeks after he won at Richmond, isn't as relevant as usual because the new, low-downforce package wasn't used. It was used at Phoenix in March, and Kevin Harvick won that race.

Kyle Busch, 9/2: His 7.1 average finish at Richmond is tops in the series. In 21 starts, he has had four wins and 14 top five finishes. His next win in the capital of the old Confederacy will tie Dale Earnhardt for sixth all time. It would also give Joe Gibbs Racing its 11th win as an organization there, which would break the tie at top of the owners list with Hendrick Motorsports. Busch finished fourth at Phoenix after leading 75 laps, which is a great sign of matching success at Richmond.

Kevin Harvick, 6/1: He's a three-time winner, all coming while with Richard Childress Racing. His best finish with Stewart-Haas Racing in four starts was second in this race last season. He won at Phoenix like he always does, but his Richmond success has always come on the heels of Phoenix. In 2006 he swept Phoenix, but also won at Richmond and New Hampshire. In 2012, his lone win of the season came at Phoenix and were sandwiched between a 2011 fall Richmond win and a 2013 spring Richmond win. A top three finish — likely second, again — looks like a good bet.

Denny Hamlin, 6/1: The Virginian loves racing in his home state and it shows with his 10.7 average finish in 19 starts, which is second-best among all active drivers. He's won twice and his 1,404 laps led are the most in the series. Beyond his affinity for the track, he also grabbed a third-place finish six weeks ago at Phoenix, a track that compares well to Richmond. He'll be using that Phoenix chassis again this week. The Westgate has the proper low number on Hamlin, but it's possible you'll find 8-to-1 or higher at other books — 10-to-1 would be really nice. Could he be the fourth straight Joe Gibbs Racing driver to win on the schedule?

Joey Logano, 7/1: He's had finishes of sixth or better in his past four Richmond races, including a 2014 win. He was fifth and third last season and had three other top fives between the four races at Phoenix and New Hampshire.

Matt Kenseth, 7/1: He won for the second time in 32 starts (15.5 average finish) at Richmond last fall. His poor 2016 luck continued last week at Bristol; he led 142 laps but a nagging right front tire issue caused him to finish 36th. His first top five of the season is coming soon. So is a win. The JGR cars are so strong that the odds are in his favor.

Jimmie Johnson, 8/1: He's a three-time Richmond winner, but he has a very un-Johnson-like 16.6 average finish in 28 starts. His last win came in 2008, but he is on a run of three straight top 10s at Richmond.

"We had a tough race last weekend at Bristol — we had a way better (No. 48 car) than the results showed," said Johnson of Sunday's 23rd-place run. "I love short-track racing and my team has been bringing me great cars that are fast out of the gate, so I am having a blast this year."

Carl Edwards, 8/1: He won the fall Richmond race in 2013 and has three Xfinity Series wins there. A good sign for him this week, beyond strong the Bristol win last week, was his second-place finish at Phoenix where he led 65 laps. He's pumped following his first win of the season.

“All right, heading to Richmond this week after a great run at Bristol," he said. "I really think that this one is going to be a lot of fun. During the test I heard that the track widened out a little bit so I’m really excited about the possibility of three different grooves there. Richmond can be a lot of fun when the groove widens out."

Brad Keselowski, 10/1: Just like his Penske teammate Logano, Kes got his only Richmond win in 2014. He also got his only other top five at the track that season, and he won at New Hampshire during that year. He finished 29th at Phoenix last month, six laps down.

Kurt Busch, 18/1: He earned his second career Richmond victory last spring, leading 291 laps. The result came a few weeks after a fifth-place finish at Phoenix. In 30 Richmond starts, he has a 16.5 average finish.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., 20/1: This looks like the best overall value on the board. In addition to his three wins (the last in 2006) and 13.6 average finish over 33 starts, Earnhardt led 34 laps before settling for fifth at Phoenix last month. The two tracks correlate well — see Kurt Busch for what happened to the fifth-place Phoenix finisher at Richmond. Junior is coming off two straight runner-up finishes and has three on the season. He wants a win badly and this could be it.

Chase Elliott, 20/1: “Richmond has been a special place for me," he said in a team press release. "We had a good year last year there on the Xfinity side — we were able to win the fall race and we ran the Cup race there in the spring and that was one of my first couple Cup starts. So that was neat to get there and run at that track in a Cup car. I’m excited to get back. We had a strong run on the Xfinity side and I think we definitely had a lot of work to do on the Cup side from the spring race, but we made a lot of gains. I learned a lot and I can’t wait to get back there. It’s a neat place and with it being a day race this year I think it will be exciting to watch. Tire wear will be a big factor and that will just make the race even better.”

Martin Truex Jr., 25/1: His only top five came in 2008. He has a 21.9 average finish in 20 starts.

Kasey Kahne, 30/1: He won in 2005 and has a 17.2 average finish in 24 starts, but no top fives since 2012. “I think moving the race to a Sunday, midday race is definitely the right direction for Richmond," he said. "I liked it a lot better last year when we ran it during the day than at night. During the night race we really hugged the white line. When we ran during the day last year we were able to move around a lot more — different grooves opened up."

Jamie McMurray, 40/1: Last spring he was second at Phoenix and then followed it up with a fourth at Richmond; he only had four top fives all season. In 26 Richmond starts, he has averaged a 20th-place finish.

Austin Dillon, 50/1: He finished 27th in three of his Cup starts and 20th was his best finish in 2014. RCR has nine wins as an orgainzation at Richmond; one more and it will tie JGR and HMS for most owner wins in track history.

Ryan Newman, 60/1: Richmond was one of his eight wins in 2003, which was his best Cup season ever (he has 17 career Cup wins). Prior to being 20th there last fall, he had averaged a 9.6 finish in eight previous starts.

Kyle Larson, 60/1: He finished 12th in both races last season and has a 12.8 average in four starts.

Ryan Blaney, 100/1: He'll be making his Cup debut on the track this week.

Greg Biffle, 100/1: He hasn't had a top five there since 2006 and has had just two in 27 starts.

Brian Vickers, 100/1: He's back in the No. 14 this week. He has a 24th-place finish in 18 starts.

Paul Menard, 200/1: He posted a career-best fifth-place finish in 2013, but he doesn't have any top 10s in 17 other starts.

Aric Almirola, 200/1: He finished a career-best fourth last fall. He has a 16.4 average in eight starts.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 200/1: Stenhouse posted a career-best 10th in 2013. He has a 22.3 average in six starts.

Clint Bowyer, 300/1: The good news is he finished eighth Sunday at Bristol. That bad news is he likely knows he has no shot of winning this week in the putt-putting No. 15 HScott Motorsports Chevrolet. That has to pain him because, in all 20 of his previous Cup starts at Richmond, he felt he could win. On two occasions he did win. His 11.3 average finish is respected enough by the Westgate, coupled with Bristol results, that his odds have been reduced from their normal weekly number of 500-to-1 even though he has averaged a 26.2 finish in eight 2016 starts. NASCAR is just better when Bowyer is good. He races hard and is always saying funny stuff on TV. This season, he's quiet. It's good to know we'll get the real version back in 2017 when he pilots the No. 14 SHR Chevy.

AJ Allmendinger, 300/1: In 17 starts he's averaged a 19th-place finish, with a best of sixth in 2014.

Trevor Bayne, 300/1: He was 24th in the spring race last season and 24th in the fall in his only two Richmond starts.

Casey Mears, 500/1: He has one top 10 in 26 starts with a 24.4 average finish.

Danica Patrick, 500/1: She has a 25.5 average finish in six Cup starts. During her IndyCar Series career, she was fifth once and sixth twice.

Chris Buescher, 1,000/1: He'll make his Richmond Cup debut this weekend.

Field, 500/1: It must have been pretty fun last week for you bettors who continually play this option with Landon Cassill leading 20 laps and Matt DiBendetto finishing sixth, but the terrible option eventually lost again. The best option for your hard-earned $5 instead: The JGR drivers are going to be hard to beat again, but Harvick or Earnhardt Jr. would be good bets to derail them.

Drivers to Watch - Richmond
By Sportsbook.ag

Kyle Busch will be looking to win his fifth Toyota Owners 400 when the drivers compete at Richmond International Speedway on Sunday.

Busch will be looking forward to this one, as he was unable to finish after crashing into the wall at Bristol last race.

This race won’t be as cluttered, though. Richmond International Speedway is .75 miles long and that’s a lot bigger than the .53-mile Bristol Motor Speedway.

Busch will have a lot of incentive to win this one on Sunday. Not only is he coming off of a terrible outing, but he is also just two wins away from tying Richard Petty for most wins in this race.

With that information out of the way, let’s now take a look at who could be entering victory lane on Sunday:

Drivers to Watch

Joey Logano (7/1) - Logano has had a bit of a disappointing season, as he has not yet won a race. That should, however, change soon. Logano is one of the most talented drivers in the world and it’s very hard to believe that he won’t be winning sometime soon. This Sunday marks as good of a time as any for him, as Logano loves racing at Richmond. He has finished top-five in three straight races here and also came away victorious in this race in 2014. If you want one of the favorites other than Busch to back then Logano would be the guy.

Kyle Busch (9/2) - As previously mentioned, Bristol was not kind to Kyle Busch in last week’s race. He was not able to finish the race and will now be looking for redemption on Sunday. With that being the case, it’s going to be difficult not to play Busch this weekend. Not only does he have extra incentive to win, but he also is the best active driver at Richmond International. Busch has won this race four times in his career and he’ll be near the front of the pack all day on Sunday.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (20/1) - Like Logano, Earnhardt Jr. has not been able to buy a victory this season. He has, however, had a few very good races and should be due for one soon. Earnhardt Jr. had a rough start at last week’s Food City 500, but he ended up coming in second place in the race. That was Earnhardt Jr.’s second consecutive second place finish and fourth top-five of the season. He’ll now head to a track that he has come close to winning on numerous times over the years. He came in second here in 2012 and he knows how badly he needs a victory soon. He’s a good person to take a chance on at 20/1.

Chase Elliott (20/1) - Chase Elliott is another guy that is worth taking a chance on at 20/1. There are not many good dark horse options in this race, so perhaps putting more than a unit on Elliott would be the way to go for a big payout. This young driver came into the year with a ton of hype, but he has certainly lived up to it. Elliott has battled his way to top-five finishes in each of the past two races. He also has a total of five top-10 finishes on the season. He is a natural on the track and his first Sprint Cup victory is going to come soon. It’s worth playing him with these types of odds, as they won’t be as favorable once he notches his first win.

Richmond Fantasy Racing Preview
By: Jeff Wackerlin
Racingone.com

To assist in making your fantasy racing picks, MRN.com's Jeff Wackerlin takes a look at some notes and statistics for Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

Who's HOT at Richmond

• Joey Logano has finished sixth or better in his last four starts, including a win in the 2014 spring race.
• Kurt Busch led 291 laps en route to the win in this event last season.
• Kyle Busch leads all drivers in wins (4) and average finish (7.1).
• Matt Kenseth has finished seventh or better in six of the last seven races, including a win last September.
• Brad Keselowski has combined to lead 648 laps in the last five races and has posted three top 10s in that span, including a win in the 2014 September race.
• Kevin Harvick has posted a 7.3 average finish in the last six races, including a win in the 2013 spring race.

Who to Keep an Eye On at Richmond

• Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has two top 10s in his last four starts at Richmond, is coming off consecutive runner-up finishes on the season. He also is tied for second in average finish (8.0) among drivers that have competed in the two short-track races in 2016.
• Logano, Hamlin, Greg Biffle and Danica Patrick participated in the Goodyear Tire test at Richmond last month.
• Hamlin, who is a two-time winner at Richmond, is coming off his first top 10 at the track in his last six starts. He dominated the RIR XFINITY race last spring with his current Cup crew chief Mike Wheeler.
• Jamie McMurray has finished fourth in three of the last five Richmond races.
• Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer each have finished in the top 10 in each of the last three Richmond races. Bowyer is coming off his first top 10 at Bristol since joining HScott Motorsports.
• Carl Edwards (last week's winner) and Ryan Newman are the only drivers that have finished in the top 10 in each of the two short-track races in 2016.
• AJ Allmendinger (10.5) and Paul Menard (11.5) each rank in the top eight in average finish in the two short-track races in 2016.
• Kyle Larson was seeking his second consecutive top 10 at a short track this season at Bristol until a track bar broke while running in the top five.
• Chase Elliott has finished in the top five in the last two races this season - Earnhardt Jr. is the only other driver to do so.

MRN.com Staff Picks

Jeff Wackerlin: Denny Hamlin
Pete Pistone: Kurt Busch
Robbie Mays: Kevin Harvick
John Singler: Joey Logano

Driver Notes - Ordered by Top 20 in Average Finish in the Last Five Races at Richmond

Joey Logano is the only driver entered in the race that has finished in the top 10 in all of the last four races at Richmond. His average finish in that span is 3.8, which leads all drivers. Logano won this event in 2014 and has combined to lead 165 laps in the last four races. Logano participated in last month's Goodyear tire test.

Jamie McMurray finished fourth last year in this event for his third top five in the last five Richmond races.

Brad Keselowski has combined to lead 648 laps in the last five races at Richmond, but only led nine in the two races last season. Keselowski, who won the 2014 September race with a dominating performance, finished eighth last fall for his third top 10 in the last four races.

Kevin Harvick has posted an 8.0 average finish in his four Richmond starts with Stewart-Haas Racing. He finished second in this event last year for his ninth top five in 30 overall starts. Harvick, who won three times at Richmond with Richard Childress Racing, will return in the same car (chassis No. 899) that he last led 131 laps and finished sixth with at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Kurt Busch dominated this event last year - which was a daytime race - leading 291 laps en route to the win. It was his second top 10 in four Richmond starts with Stewart-Haas Racing and fourth in the last six races. This season, Busch is tied for second in average finish (8.0) among all drivers that have competed in the two races at short tracks. This weekend, Busch will pilot the same car (chassis No. 977) that he finished sixth with at Phoenix International Raceway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is coming off his third top five, and fifth top 10, in 16 Richmond starts with Hendrick Motorsports. He holds the best average finish (6.3) this season in the seven races with the lower-downforce rules package. Earnhardt is also tied for second in average finish (8.0) among all drivers that have competed in the two races this season at short tracks.

Ryan Newman has posted two top 10s and a 12.0 average finish in four Richmond starts with Stewart-Haas Racing.

Matt Kenseth dominated last year's September race, leading 352 laps en route to the win. It marked his fifth top 10 in six Richmond starts with Joe Gibbs Racing. This year, Kenseth ranks third in laps led (187) in the two short-track races.

Carl Edwards posted a 15.0 average finish in his two Richmond starts last season with Joe Gibbs Racing. In his previous 21 starts with Roush Fenway Racing, Edwards captured 11 top 10s, including a win in the 2013 September race.

Kasey Kahne finished sixth in this event last year for his second top 10 in eight Richmond starts with Hendrick Motorsports.

Aric Almirola has finished in the top 10 in three of his last six Richmond starts, including a fourth-place run last September.

Kyle Busch scored his last of four wins at Richmond in the 2012 spring race. Busch did not compete in this event last year due to an injury, but did finish second in September. This season, Busch has led the most laps (501 overall - 352 on short tracks) in the seven races with the lower-downforce rules package.

AJ Allmendinger has posted one top 10 (sixth) and an average finish of 16.2 in five Richmond starts with JTG Daugherty Racing. This season, Allmendinger has posted a 10.5 average finish in the two short-track races.

Paul Menard's fifth-place finish in the 2013 September race is his only top 10 in 18 Richmond starts. This season, Menard has posted one top 10 and an 11.5 average finish in the two short-track races.

Denny Hamlin finished sixth last September for his only top 10 in the last six Richmond races. He is a two-time Cup winner at the track and dominated the spring XFINITY race with his current Cup crew chief Mike Wheeler. He also participated in the Goodyear tire test last month.

Jimmie Johnson has finished ninth or better in his last three Richmond starts, including a third-place run in this event last season.

Kyle Larson has posted a 12.8 average finish in four starts at Richmond and finished 12th in his last two starts.

Greg Biffle scored his last of six top 10s at Richmond in the 2012 September race. He did participate in last month's Goodyear tire test.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has finished in the top 10 once in six starts at Richmond.

Danica Patrick scored her best finish (16th) in six starts at Richmond in the 2014 September race. She did participate in last month's Goodyear tire test.

Casey Mears recorded his only top 10 (ninth) in 26 starts at Richmond in this event in 2009.