Shop Talk: Richmond

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Thus far this season, Hendrick Motorsports has won six of the nine races run. Jimmie Johnson has three wins, Nextel Cup Series points leader Jeff Gordon has two and Kyle Busch has one.

The dominance could come to halt this weekend.

Only Busch has excelled in recent trips to Richmond. In four visits to the .75-mile track, Busch has four top-five finishes (including a runner-up finish in the last Richmond race).

Though Busch has not won a race at Richmond, he has all the statistics that would suggest a trip to Victory Lane would come sooner than later:

• Second-best Driver Rating (116.2)
• Second-best Average Running Position (5.799)
• Fourth-most Fastest Laps Run (138)
• Third Fastest Green Flag Speed
• Second-most Laps in the Top 15 (1,567)

But Busch's Hendrick teammates haven't fared nearly as well at the Virginia track. Gordon has a Driver Rating of 65.9, which is his lowest Driver Rating at any track on the series schedule. Johnson also has struggled recently at Richmond, as his 60.3 Driver Rating would attest.

Actually, a number of the 2007 frontrunners have had uncharacteristic troubles at Richmond. Check out the top 12 drivers in the series standings and their pre-race Driver Rating for Richmond.

Presumably, these Driver Ratings mean there's a good chance a driver who has yet to win in 2007 could visit Victory Lane and earn the coveted potential 10 bonus points if he makes the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Richmond could be a slump-buster for some drivers.

Below are a few drivers who have performed well at Richmond and could end their win drought.