Veterans hope to shine in Richmond

Matt Kenseth, who will start from the pole and has two wins at RIR, won the fall race in 2015. He was fourth quick during his 10-lap run in final practice. 

Denny Hamlin won here last fall and posted the second-fastest 10-consecutive lap speed. 

“This racetrack for whatever reason, it's been good to me,” said Hamlin, who is looking for his fourth win at the half-miler he considers his home track. “Obviously, very similar to Martinsville in the sense of no matter how good or bad our cars are at, at the certain time, we always can be competitive at a race track like this. 

“We hope that's the same case this weekend. We look to try to get our first win of the season here.”

The defending winner of this race, Carl Edwards, is currently on sabbatical, but Martin Truex Jr., whose average speed of 117.521mph over 10 laps was the best in Happy Hour, picked up where his former Toyota teammate left off. 

Truex, who qualified third for Sunday’s race, felt good about his car on Saturday. 

“Third is a great starting spot here,” Truex said. “Up front where we need be. Hopefully, we can keep her up front all day.”

Richmond is a track that generally favors veteran racers. Kyle Busch leads the tour with four wins and enjoys a remarkable average finish of seventh — three positions better than his closest competitor, Hamlin (10.1). And throughout Happy Hour, Busch’s peers pointed to the No. 18 car as the fastest in the field even if his speed registered just eighth in the Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average category. 

1. Jimmie Johnson — Johnson looks to make it three in a row on Sunday after posting wins at Texas and Bristol. Johnson, who has three wins at RIR, starts 17th. Last year Johnson led 44 laps at Richmond — the only time he’s spent at the point at the half-mile track since 2012. However, he was 11th in Best Consecutive Lap Averages.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. — Junior owned the news cycle this week with news of his retirement from full-time Cup competition. The cycle would continue if he could pick up win No. 4 at Richmond on Sunday. Richmond has been one of Earnhardt’s favorite tracks over the years. His average finish in his last 10 starts is 10.6. He was 13th in Best 10 Consecutive Lap Averages in Happy Hour.
3. Kevin Harvick — Harvick is another three-time winner at Richmond — but has yet to win here since moving to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014. However, since establishing himself as the driver of the No. 4 car, Harvick’s average finish at Richmond is seventh. He qualified fourth for Sunday’s race — his fifth qualifying effort of sixth or better in the last six races. 
4. Kurt Busch — In the last two day races at Richmond, Busch won in 2015 and finished 10th last spring. Like Harvick, he’s had a solid string of results at RIR. He’s qualified ninth or better in six of his last six starts and has an average finish of 10.6. The winner of this year’s Daytona 500 rolls off ninth on Sunday. 
5. Kyle Larson — This season Larson has been a threat at every track. He won the pole in his first start (2014-1) and finished second last fall. Larson, who leads the Cup standings, posted the third highest Best Consecutive Average in Happy Hour. Although Larson did not qualify (18th) well, after his first Richmond Xfinity victory on Saturday, Larson said, “I’m not good at this place. So a win is pretty neat.” His biggest takeaway from the win? “Just being patient.”