My Fantasy NASCAR Team Got Throttled!

For the second time this season my fantasy NASCAR team was throttled at a restrictor plate track. I feel like Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards flipping end over end at these tracks. I would settle for finishing the race on my roof like Clint Bowyer instead.

The series was off for the Easter weekend and now returns to Richmond International Raceway for a 400-mile race on a 3/4-mile D-shaped oval track. Another of the exciting races on the schedule. Can it get anymore exciting than the finish of the race at Talladega last week?

Crown Royal Presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400

Kyle Busch: Kyle is my pick to win the race at Richmond. Kyle has won the past 2 spring races here and likes this place almost as much as Bristol. He also finished 2nd here last fall in the last race before the Chase started.

Denny Hamlin: Denny has won the past 2 fall races at Richmond and likes the flatter tracks a lot. The Joe Gibbs teams seem to have their engine package figured out so the drivers don’t need to worry about that right now.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff hasn’t won here in 10-years. He has a chance to do it again this year because he and crew chief Alan Gustafson have a handle on the short, flat tracks as they have proven with their win at Phoenix earlier this season.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie swept the races here in 2007 and added another victory in the fall of 2008. He won the race at Talladega and that gives this team a lot of confidence heading into the race at Richmond.

Tony Stewart: Tony hasn’t won here since 2002 but he has finished 2nd there four times since then. Tony has never been one to run well early in the season but, it looks like they could break out any weekend now.

Mark Martin: Mark has finished in the top 5 in 4 of the past 6 races run at Richmond. It seems that Mark always runs very well here and if he can get a decent qualifying run and good pit stall he could have a chance to win this race.

Ryan Newman: Ryan has been having a very good year while staying out of the spotlight for the most part. A teammate of Tony Stewart, Ryan has the same package as his boss and could be a factor at Richmond.

Jeff Burton: On the other side of the coin, Jeff has not had a good season as far as results go. He seems to have a good enough car to compete with the best and then seems to have something bad happen to him on the track. If he can shake the bad luck he can be a player once again.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin is one of the most consistent drivers at Richmond. He has 9 top 10 finishes in his last 10 starts at this track. Look for Kevin to run up front with the rest of the big dogs in this race.

Carl Edwards: Carl is the points leader at this moment and would like to stay there. He ran his first ever Sprint Cup race at Richmond and finished 6th. He has struggled a little bit at Richmond since that time but came away with 2 top 10 finishes last season.

Yahoo Picks for Richmond

Group A

• Kyle Busch
• Denny Hamlin

Group B

• Ryan Newman
• Mark Martin
• Jeff Burton
• Clint Bowyer

Group C

• Bobby Labonte
• Paul Menard

Top 5 Overall at Richmond

1. Kyle Busch
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Jimmie Johnson

Dark Horse: Juan Pablo Montoya

Stay Away From: Dale Earnhardt Jr.