Saturday Night’s All Right - The Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal 400 Race Primer
To both the fans and race teams, Richmond is the perfect track.
It’s an ideal blend between short track and intermediate speedway due to its high-speed corners and banked front-stretch. Getting the car to turn in the center is going to be paramount and minimizing break use is the key to going fast.
Drivers are fond of Richmond because it’s one of the few circuits where they have high input in determining who wins. Aero and engine packages still matter but entry points and brakes matter even more.
It’s easy to see why JGR teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin run so well here.
In 12 starts, Busch has two wins, 10 Top-5s and one pole. His driver rating (113.8) is second amongst all active drivers while his average finish (5.2) is the best in Sprint Cup.
Hamlin has 10 starts at Richmond. Over that span, he has two wins, six Top-10s and five Top-5s. His 8.0 average finish is second-best in Sprint Cup and his driver rating (119.8) leads all active drivers.
In other words, Busch and Hamlin mirror each other at Richmond.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. raves about Richmond and why shouldn’t he? In 23 starts, Junior has three wins, eight Top-5s and 10 Top-10s. He averages a finish of 14.1 and has a driver rating of 85.6, 13th-best in Sprint Cup.
Could this be the weekend that Earnhardt snaps his 101-race winless streak and takes over the points lead?
These questions and others will be answered under the lights on Saturday night. The Crown Royal Presents The Matthew & Daniel Hansen 400 from Richmond International Speedway in Richmond, Vir. airs at 7 p.m. EST and will be televised live on FOX.
