Richmond International Raceway Countdown: Who Are Matthew And Daniel Hansen?

Twin brothers Matthew and Daniel Hansen will be feted Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway, showered with praise for their courageous military service and treated like celebrities by Crown Royal, which has given up its Sprint Cup Series race name to the two Marines.

The “Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400” will shine the spotlight directly on the twins – and rightfully so. But only one of them will be in attendance on Saturday night.

Like many other things related to Kyle Busch, you don’t have to like the fact Busch is No. 1 in our Best Richmond International Raceway Drivers Countdown; you just have to accept it.

Though he has just two victories so far in his RIR career, Busch has been nothing short of incredible at Richmond. Busch called the three-quarter mile track “one of my best places,” but it’s statistically the best track for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, with an average finish of 5.2.

Because of his success at the 3/4-mile short track, Hamlin is the No. 2-ranked driver in our Richmond International Raceway countdown. For those Hamlin fans upset that he’s not No. 1 – despite being tops in NASCAR’s driver rating statistic at the track – we can assure you it was a close call.

But even if he’s not in the top spot among current drivers, Hamlin is still already among the best Richmond drivers ever. And to think: Hamlin was once a little kid sitting in the stands, just fascinated by it all.

NASCAR drivers get asked the “What’s your favorite track?” question seemingly every race weekend. For many, the response isn’t very specific.

Some drivers answer, “The next one.” Others say, “I like all of them” or “The place where I got my last win.”

There are only two tracks on the entire NASCAR circuit where five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson has a worse average finish than Richmond International Raceway.

The result of the 18 times Johnson has visited the 0.75-mile short track is an unimpressive 16.9 average finish, and he’s also well behind other top drivers in NASCAR’s driver rating stat.