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Save these stats: Facts to know heading to Richmond
By Staff Report | Published: April 11, 2019 9
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Saturday night's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) marks the first night race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Ahead of racing under the lights, here's a dive into some interesting stats you need to know.
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Kyle Busch leads active drivers in best average finish in night races since 2015 at 8.34. Kevin Harvick places in second with an average finish of 9.54, followed by Denny Hamlin (11.40) and Erik Jones (11.47). With that said, it's pretty safe to say that when the sun goes down and the lights comes on, Joe Gibbs Racing knows how to turn up the heat.
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But when it comes to most top-five results in night races since the 2015 season, though, it's Kevin Harvick who leads the field. Since Texas Motor Speedway in April 2015, Harvick has earned 19 top fives under the lights. Joey Logano is a close second with 18 finishes of fifth or better, followed by Kyle Busch (16), Denny Hamlin (16), Martin Truex Jr. (14) and Brad Keselowski (12). Harvick also tops the most top-10 finishes at night in the same period at 28.
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It's been Team Penske power in the laps led category at short tracks in 2019. All three drivers are at the top of the list, with Brad Keselowski leading the most at 486 circuits between Bristol and Martinsville. Ryan Blaney led 158 laps at Bristol, placing him second in this ranking ahead of Joey Logano (151 laps) and Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott (87 laps). In total, the Penske brigade has led 795 of the 1,000 short-track laps (80 percent) this season.
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The pit-road police have nabbed Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 team the past four events this season -- three of those due to speeding. But the story lies in the recovery Hamlin has been able to manage despite the misfortune. Since the trend began at Auto Club Speedway, the Daytona 500 champion hasn't finished worse than seventh place -- the most impressive performance coming at Texas where he bounced back from speeding and uncontrolled tire penalties to win the race.
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Ryan Blaney led a race-high 158 laps at Bristol last weekend, bring his total laps led to 358 -- highest among drivers without a win in 2019. In fact, he's led more circuits than the next two drivers on the list combined -- Kyle Larson (142) and Kevin Harvick (133). Unfortunately for Blaney, his chances of victory at Richmond are slim unless he can turn things around after finishes of 18th or worse in six career races at the 0.75-mile track.
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Kyle Larson's last trip to Victory Lane came at Richmond in September 2017. Currently trying to shake a 54-race winless streak, the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing driver has finished second on seven occasions. The last one occurred in the 2018 playoff opener at Las Vegas. The good news? Richmond is Larson's fifth-best track with an average finish of 9.7.
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Joey Logano has earned eight top-10 finishes at Richmond over the last nine races, the most among the active field. Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson are right behind him with seven top-10 results apiece.
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Only five drivers have recorded top-10 finishes at both short tracks --Bristol and Martinsville -- this year: Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez.