Bump & Grind
Heading into Richmond this weekend, here are the top stories from NASCAR.com:
There He Goes: Kyle Busch On A Victory Roll
Soon-to-be 23-year-old Kyle Busch (No. 18 Pedigree Toyota) -- his birthday is Friday -- approaches Saturday night's Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway seeking the capstone to a personal puzzle.
Fresh off last Sunday's victory at 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway, Busch needs only a short-track win to complete a "series circuit" -- a victory at each size track on NASCAR's national series schedules.
Busch leads all active drivers with seven wins spread across the three national series -- the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (two), the NASCAR Nationwide Series (three) and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (two). With NASCAR Sprint Cup his primary focus, he's also competing on an as-can basis in the other national series.
Last week's victory took place on a restrictor-plate track. Busch won two weeks ago on a road course (the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Mexico City). He's also won at a 1.5-mile track (Texas Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway), a two-mile track (Auto Club Speedway) and a one-mile track (Phoenix International Raceway) so far this year.
Hamlin Hoping For A Hometown Win At Richmond
Kyle Busch and two-time series champion Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota) may have grabbed bigger headlines last week at Talladega, but their Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota) could usurp them at Richmond.
The .75-mile oval is Hamlin's home track -- he hails from nearby Chesterfield, Va. -- and a victory there would punctuate a successful early season.
Currently fourth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, Hamlin trails leader Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet) by 99 points and the second-place Busch by 77 points. He's 20 points behind third-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet), plus riding momentum from last Sunday's third-place finish at Talladega.
Already a 2008 Virginia winner, Hamlin won last month at Martinsville Speedway.
But, like Stewart, an Indiana native whose Holy Grail was winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (he's done it twice in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series), Hamlin yearns for a Richmond victory. He was runner-up in the May 2006 event there, and is second in pre-race Driver Rating for Richmond (111.3).
"When I do have a good run at Richmond it means just a little bit more there than it does anywhere else," Hamlin said.
In The Loop: RIR Stats Spotlight Johnson, Harvick
Attention will be divvied among a number of storylines this weekend at Richmond.
There's the Denny-Hamlin-returning-home angle. There's the Dale Earnhardt Jr. returning to the scene of his last victory, two years ago this weekend. There's the Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet) Richmond sweep in 2007. And, of course, there's the special year Kyle Busch is having.
One driver under the radar, though, is Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet). Harvick, who very quietly is in sixth-place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, is phenomenal at Richmond – and may be the one favorite who few are talking about.
Harvick certainly has the stats to warrant a discussion. He won the fall Richmond race in 2006, and has finished in the top 10 in each of the past six Richmond races.
His numbers during that run are tops in the series. He leads in the following categories:
Driver Rating: 121.2; Average Running Position: 5.6; Fastest Laps Run: 259; Average Green Flag Speed: 118.997 mph; Laps in the Top 15: 2,267 (94.5 percent); and Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green): 166.
But if not Harvick, look for Hamlin to make a run at winning his hometown race.
Hamlin, has come close a few times at Richmond. He finished second in the spring of 2006, and third in last year's spring race. Hamlin trails only Harvick in Driver Rating (111.3) and Average Running Position (6.0).
Two other numbers are particularly strong. Hamlin has run 98.1percent of the Richmond Laps in the Top 15. He also has 58 Fastest Laps Run, which is tied for 10th most since the inception of Loop Data in 2005 -- he's run only four races compared to six for most other drivers during that span.
One other driver to watch is Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge), who sorely needs a strong finish. Busch, currently 20th in the series standings, won at Richmond in the fall of 2005 and finished in the top 10 in each of the 2007 races. He has a Richmond Driver Rating of 100.8 (fifth-best) and an Average Running Position of 13.3 (eighth).
Earnhardt Jr. Hopes Victory Drought Will End At Richmond
Two years between victories, Dale Earnhardt Jr. arrives at Saturday's Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway four days shy of the exact anniversary -- May 7, 2006.
That's when Earnhardt last hoisted a NASCAR Sprint Cup race trophy -- a 71-event drought.
But the breakthrough could occur this week. In third place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, Earnhardt trails leader Jeff Burton by 79 points. He's 57 points behind second-place Kyle Busch. Earnhardt also has a series-high seven top-10 finishes in nine events thus far.
And he and Tony Stewart lead all active drivers with three series wins each at Richmond.
Aside from those three wins, Earnhardt has seven top fives, nine top 10s and one DNF (did not finish) in 17 career starts there, with an average finish of 11.3
He has a series-high 334 Green Flag Passes there, according to pre-race Loop Data statistics.
Earnhardt also ranks in the top 10 of five other pre-race Richmond Loop Data statistics: Average Running Position (12.9, sixth-best); Driver Rating (89.9, 10th-best); Fastest Laps Run (96, seventh-best); Laps in the Top 15 (1,401, 10th-best); and Quality Passes (124, eighth-best).
"Seems like forever ago but I try not to think about it," Earnhardt said. "I don't want to be thinking of how long it's been since a win, but knowing we have a shot at it every week and something or other happens is a little frustrating."
Lots of Virginia Natives In The NASCAR Sprint Cup Garage
The state of Virginia contributes a wealth of talent to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage.
Drivers Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield), Jeff Burton (South Boston) are Virginians, as is Elliott Sadler (No. 19 Stanley Tools Dodge), who hails from Emporia and works with jack man Ed Watkins (Richmond) and engineer Kevin Kidd (Tazewell).
Burton's team boasts four Virginians -- engineer Jeff "Jazzy" Curtis (Fairfax), tire specialist Tracey Ramsey (Fredericksburg), transporter driver Franky Nester (Ridgeway) and gas man Curt Bowman (Meadows of Dan).
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 team has car chief David Bryant (Farmville), engineers Darian Grubb (Floyd) and Tom Stewart (Hampton) and mechanic Jim Jenkins (Hampton).
A Kansan, Clint Bowyer (No. 07 BB&T Chevrolet) works with three Virginians — mechanic Tommy Wallace (Richmond), tire specialist Charles Moles (Floyd) and transporter driver Barry Sheppard (Stuart).
Reigning and two-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, who swept both 2007 events at Richmond, has two Virginians on his No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet team -- engineer Brandon Evans (South Hill) and shock specialist Todd Bosserman (Waynesboro).
J.J. Yeley's No. 96 DLP HDTV Chevrolet has three Virginians -- car chief Todd Brewer (Manassas), rear tire carrier Ben Surface (Pulaski) and engineer Rick McGowan (Reston).
Jeff Gordon's No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet has transporter driver George Kirk (Ararat) and gas man Caleb Hurd (Pulaski).
Others include the No. 2's front tire changer Jay Hackney (Haysi), the No. 10's gas man Rodney Rhodes (Hickory), the No. 20's spotter, Mark Robertston (Richmond) and the No. 42's pit support person Ryan Quann (Richmond).
Three Points Separate Top Three In Manufacturers Standings
It's quite a battle in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Manufacturers Standings, where the top three manufacturers are separated by a total of three points.
For now, Chevrolet is first, leading second-place Toyota by one point -- 55 to 54 -- and third-place Ford (52) by three points.
Fourth-place Dodge needs only 15 points to catch Ford, and only 18 to catch the front-running Chevrolet.
It's all a reflection of this year 's mix of winners and close competition.
In the win column, Toyota and Ford are tied for first with three each. Through nine events, Carl Edwards' (No. 99 Office Depot Ford) has Ford's three wins while Kyle Busch has Toyota's three wins. Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge) has Dodge's one win. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Burton each have one win, giving Chevrolet two for the season.
Chevrolet drivers have won six of the last 10 races at Richmond International Raceway, including the last four in a row.
Johnson swept both 2007 events, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the spring 2006 event and Kevin Harvick won the fall event that year.
Petty Enterprises, which runs Dodges, leads all teams with 15 wins at Richmond. Hendrick Motorsports, which runs Chevrolets, is second with nine Richmond victories.
NASCAR's 60th Anniversary: The King Leads The Way At Richmond
Rich with NASCAR history, the state of Virginia has long factored in the twists and turns of stock-car racing.
The current venue, Richmond International Raceway, has hosted the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series since 1953.
There have been 107 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in Richmond, 103 at what is now known as Richmond International Raceway and four at Southside Speedway (1961-1963).
Kyle Petty became the first third-generation NASCAR race winner when he won his first race – at Richmond – on February 23, 1986. Richard posted his first Richmond victory in 1961 and Lee won the very first Richmond race in 1953.
The best were their best at Richmond. Each member of the "70 Wins Club" has multiple wins at Richmond. Richard Petty leads all drivers in Richmond wins with 13. Bobby Allison has seven; David Pearson and Darrell Waltrip have six; Dale Earnhardt has five; Cale Yarborough has three; and Jeff Gordon has two.
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