Here is my Fantasy Picks and Preview for the Sprint Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway. FOX is broadcasting the postponed race on Sunday, April 16th at 1 pm ET.
Contenders
Jeff Gordon – The funny thing about Gordon is in both short track races this season he has started off tremendously slow and then slowly inches his way to the front and puts himself in position at the end to win. I suspect he does the same tonight.
Kevin Harvick – He will be out front, he will lead laps, he will be a big threat as always to win. Harvick holds three Richmond victories to his name, the most recent being in 2013. Harvick has been so strong this season I really expect that he will be a potential race winner again tonight.
Brad Keselowski – The winner of this race back in the fall, I think at least one if not both Team Penske cars will be tough if not the race winner. I like Keselowski over Logano this weekend because of Paul Wolfe’s ability to use strategy getting the No. 2 into the front.
Dark Horse(s)
Landon Cassill – Seventh in the last practice and a top-20 starting spot – 19th. It’s exciting to see Landon Cassill do big things as such a talented driver. I suspect he has a good run Saturday night in Richmond.
Race Winner
Denny Hamlin – Won at Martinsville, was running in top-five at Bristol before Erik Jones took his seat, then Hamlin won the Xfinity Series race last night. I think it is Denny Hamlin’s race to lose tonight, as good as he has been on the short track this season. I think he and crew chief Dave Rodgers have their cars figured out in terms of balance and have a great chemistry developing with each other.
Fantasy Lineups
Although these picks are not etched in stone, here is what I have for each fantasy racing website.
Drivers |
Salary |
Denny Hamlin |
$12,300 |
Brad Keselowski |
$11,400 |
Jimmie Johnson |
$11,200 |
Kyle Larson |
$9,900 |
Chase Elliott |
$5,000 |
Remaining: |
$200 |
Fox Sports
Drivers |
Salary |
Kevin Harvick |
$28.75 |
Denny Hamlin |
$26.00 |
Jeff Gordon |
$27.25 |
Landon Cassill |
$8.25 |
Chase Elliott |
$9.00 |
Remaining |
$1.25 |
Bonus |
|
Race Winner |
Denny Hamlin |
Manufacturer |
Toyota |
Yahoo |
Starters |
Bench |
A |
Denny Hamlin |
Joey Logano |
B |
Kasey Kahne |
Martin Truex Jr |
Carl Edwards |
Kurt Busch |
|
C |
Chase Elliott |
David Ragan |