Edwards considers the penalty on Newman as a cautionary tale leading into the Chase.
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These… are the must-win drivers.
“We’ve definitely learned a ton over the past couple of weeks”, said Buescher, who has four top-20s in his last six starts. In last year’s event, Almirola nearly got it done, driving from 24th to burst into the top 3 by the race’s final restart.
The penalty has given McMurray some breathing room as he tries to make the Chase for a second straight year. Ryan Blaney and AJ Allmendinger really need a win as the highest priority.
BK Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto ($5,400) has a pair of Top 10 finishes this season in 26 races, posting an AFP of 29.3 while racking up 15.2 Fantasy Points per race. The main downfall to Kevin Harvick and the #4 team continues to be pit road problems that have traditionally plagued this team over the last few seasons.
Buescher is 30th in the standings, 11 points ahead of David Ragan.
In fact, the odds favor the four drivers now in Chase-eligible positions – Buescher, Elliott, Dillon and McMurray. “I wish it was a little cooler so we knew what we would have when it comes around to race time, but at the end of the day, we’re all in the same boat and we will all figure it out together”. Perhaps it is the lack of a dominant teammate, with Dale Jr. on the sidelines, rookie Chase Elliott ($8,400) still learning and Kasey Kahne ($7,600) toiling in constant mediocrity.
“I didn’t want to retire, and I don’t want to retire”, he said.
NASCAR also penalized Ryan Newman 15 points for also failing a Darlington post-race inspection.
So the question stands: Can the Rocket Man stick the landing when it counts? A lot of guys that we were challenging only had one lap per session.
Whether it’s a door bang or an outside pass, Newman can deliver. Both Newman and Kahne could solidify their Chase hopes with a win. If you are not familiar with the series, the driver’s champion is determined by a point system with points given to finishing placement and laps led.
The Richmond-area native’s fast lap in the third round survived two challenges by Kyle Larson over the final seconds of the last round. Kahne did win at Richmond back in 2005 and has had two top-10s in his past three starts at the track. Either way, keep an eye on the Hoosier come Saturday night. Elliott Sadler (815 points) remains No. 1 in the Xfinity Series points standings.
Don’t forget the XFINITY Series! But he’s not gone through the Sprint Cup Series Chase and will have that opportunity if everything goes his way on Saturday. I played too many sports … growing up to compete to win, and I’m not going to just go back to Cup to say I’m a Cup driver and just ride around.
Blake Koch changed goals in a hurry. He has 12 Top 10s in 28 races, and in five career Richmond starts he has never finished lower than 16th, posting an AFP of 13.2. He’s in with an eighth-place finish or better. But with the heat and humidity will we see storms that usually follow? It’s not a surprise that Elliott is in this position considering how hyped he’s been. If he falls out of the top 30 and a driver who already has won a race this year wins at Richmond, there would be a fourth spot available by points. “We were running away from everybody else”. Front Row’s short-track program was not good at the time. Jones has failed to finish three races, while Sadler, the series leader, has run every event clean. “It won’t be an easy walk from where we are at right now but we will be able to work our way up”.
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Race distance: 300 miles, or 400 laps. In spring 2015, Kurt Busch led 291 laps while Brad Keselowski led 383 laps to Victory Lane in 2014. And that’s a great thing. “And this place is so much fun with the tire, this downforce package and the surface”.
