Fantasy NASCAR Racing

Fantasy NASCAR practice recap: Wonderful Pistachios 400

September 9, 2011 @ 19:26:07

Last weekend at Atlanta, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson finished first and second. They picked up where they left off at Richmond this weekend, ranking first and second in the opening practice session Friday. Gordon and Johnson have a combined nine championships in their careers, and both are clearly in championship form. While Gordon and Johnson focus their attention on the Sprint Cup title, fantasy owners may want to ride both drivers to titles of their own.

Casey Mears surprised in the first practice, posting the third fastest time. He was followed by Clint Bowyer and A.J. Allmendinger. Bowyer is a stud at Richmond, and he finished 12th or better in all but one of his starts. He is a former winner at the track as well, and he needs to win this weekend to keep any hope of making the Chase alive. Meanwhile, Allmendinger continued a recent roll that started when he changed crew chiefs. He has back-to-back top-10 finishes at RIR, and he could make a strong sleeper option for fantasy owners.

In terms of 10-lap average speed, Joey Logano led the way. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has never finished outside the top 20 at Richmond, and he finished fourth at the track last fall. JGR is currently riding a five-race winning streak at RIR, and Logano could extend it this weekend. At the very least, he should make a solid addition to fantasy lineups.

Three-time Richmond winner Tony Stewart recorded the second best average speed, and he will be looking for a solid finish to seal his spot in the Chase. Meanwhile, Martin Truex Jr., Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five, and Busch is the driver fantasy owners want to target. He is a three-time winner at RIR, and his 4.9 average finish leads all active drivers. In 13 career starts, he has 11 top-five finishes.

In Happy Hour, Carl Edwards climbed to the top of the chart. He has never won at Richmond, but he has finished in the top 10 in three straight starts, notching a pair of fifth-place finishes during the stretch. Of the big names, Edwards could be the most underrated option.

The other Hendrick Motorsports teammates impressed in the final session as well, with Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. ranking second and third. Junior and Martin have both struggled at Richmond lately, but their career numbers remain solid. Kyle Busch and Bowyer rounded out the top five, and both should draw strong consideration from fantasy owners.

Hendrick Motorsports dominated in the average speed category. Gordon, Johnson and Martin swept the top-three spots. After an impressive performance last weekend, the HMS organization appears headed to a repeat performance. Martin Truex Jr. and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top five, and after a third-place run at Richmond in April, Kahne could make a nice wild card pick.

One driver missing from the top of the charts was defending race winner Denny Hamlin. He is a two-time Richmond winner, and his 7.5 average finish is the second best in the series. Despite the slow times, Hamlin remained confident during interviews. Considering his outstanding record, fantasy owners may want to make an exception for Hamlin this weekend.

Happy Hour Speeds (sorted by Avg. Speed)

Rk indicates Best Lap standing

Rk	Car	Driver	Team	Best Lap	Best Time	Avg. Speed	Laps
1	99	Carl Edwards	Cheez-It/Kellogg's Ford	122.755	21.995	122.186	6
26	66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing Toyota	120.741	22.362	120.577	5
29	87	Joe Nemechek	AM FM Energy Toyota	120.719	22.366	119.898	8
18	46	Scott Speed	T&T Performance Ford	121.109	22.294	119.814	7
19	60	Mike Skinner	Big Red Chevrolet	121.049	22.305	119.720	11
39	38	Travis Kvapil	Long John Silver's Ford	120.326	22.439	119.700	14
25	35	Dave Blaney	Pepsi Max Chevrolet	120.751	22.360	119.609	10
23	30	David Stremme	Inception Motorsports Chevrolet	120.795	22.352	119.481	5
14	16	Greg Biffle	3M Honoring Our Heroes Ford	121.327	22.254	119.468	19
38	37	Erik Darnell	Max Q Motorsports Ford	120.391	22.427	119.426	8
16	29	Kevin Harvick	Budweiser Chevrolet	121.283	22.262	119.176	40
44	7	Robby Gordon	SPEED Energy Dodge	119.427	22.608	119.111	7
21	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Best Buy Ford	120.897	22.333	119.090	47
2	5	Mark Martin	Quaker State/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet	122.366	22.065	119.023	27
4	18	Kyle Busch	M&M's Toyota	121.814	22.165	119.015	32
8	24	Jeff Gordon	Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet	121.676	22.190	119.004	43
7	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Power of Pride Chevrolet	121.737	22.179	118.956	32
3	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet	122.166	22.101	118.941	25
17	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Brakes Toyota	121.125	22.291	118.904	51
15	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Toyota	121.294	22.260	118.849	29
5	33	Clint Bowyer	Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet	121.797	22.168	118.798	30
32	31	Jeff Burton	Caterpillar Chevrolet	120.600	22.388	118.796	27
11	1	Jamie McMurray	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet	121.457	22.230	118.788	33
30	20	Joey Logano	Home Depot/Celebration of Service Toyota	120.633	22.382	118.747	44
37	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet	120.401	22.425	118.707	27
41	55	J.J. Yeley	Front Row Motorsports Ford	120.053	22.490	118.694	11
10	4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Toyota	121.550	22.213	118.685	39
31	39	Ryan Newman	U.S. ARMY Chevrolet	120.616	22.385	118.679	38
40	22	Kurt Busch	Shell/Pennzoil Dodge	120.117	22.478	118.676	35
36	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Express Toyota	120.460	22.414	118.663	48
33	27	Paul Menard	Moen/Menards Chevrolet	120.525	22.402	118.523	41
35	17	Matt Kenseth	Ollie's Ford	120.487	22.409	118.370	23
22	9	Marcos Ambrose	Stanley Ford	120.849	22.342	118.277	43
12	51	Landon Cassill	SecurityBenefit/ThankATchrToday Chev	121.403	22.240	118.260	17
34	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Chevrolet	120.520	22.403	118.238	44
43	34	David Gilliland	Honoring Our Heroes Ford	119.665	22.563	118.044	23
20	6	David Ragan	UPS Ford	121.017	22.311	118.034	51
9	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	121.594	22.205	118.030	54
28	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Toyota	120.719	22.366	118.020	33
24	36	Stephen Leicht	Golden Corral Chevrolet	120.762	22.358	117.966	31
27	14	Tony Stewart	Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet	120.730	22.364	117.964	56
6	32	Mike Bliss	Safe Skies TSA Luggage Locks Ford	121.742	22.178	117.886	19
13	47	Bobby Labonte	Scott Brand Toyota	121.348	22.250	117.859	51
42	00	David Reutimann	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	119.947	22.510	117.722	52
45	50	T.J. Bell	Green Smoke Chevrolet	118.504	22.784	117.287	14
46	71	Andy Lally	Interstate Moving Services Ford	118.105	22.861	116.508	30

10-Lap Average Speeds (must run 10 consecutive laps)

Rk	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg. Speed
1	24	Jeff Gordon	1	10	120.550
2	48	Jimmie Johnson	1	10	120.232
3	5	Mark Martin	1	10	120.214
4	56	Martin Truex Jr.	13	22	120.174
5	4	Kasey Kahne	1	10	120.056
6	1	Jamie McMurray	1	10	120.021
7	29	Kevin Harvick	26	35	120.009
8	14	Tony Stewart	1	10	119.956
9	18	Kyle Busch	1	10	119.929
10	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	1	10	119.764
11	11	Denny Hamlin	29	38	119.704
12	2	Brad Keselowski	1	10	119.637
13	20	Joey Logano	1	10	119.573
14	83	Brian Vickers	6	15	119.497
15	47	Bobby Labonte	1	10	119.453
16	43	A.J. Allmendinger	31	40	119.415
17	27	Paul Menard	1	10	119.351
18	22	Kurt Busch	18	27	119.350
19	39	Ryan Newman	20	29	119.296
20	78	Regan Smith	1	10	119.248
21	13	Casey Mears	1	10	119.212
22	34	David Gilliland	1	10	118.989
23	00	David Reutimann	29	38	118.907
24	33	Clint Bowyer	17	26	118.867
25	6	David Ragan	32	41	118.737
26	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	18	27	118.652
27	9	Marcos Ambrose	11	20	118.213
28	71	Andy Lally	1	10	117.311

First Practice Speeds (sorted by Avg. Speed)

Rk indicates Best Lap standing

Rk	Car	Driver	Team	Best Lap	Best Time	Avg. Speed	Laps
32	30	David Stremme	Inception Motorsports Chevrolet	122.962	21.958	121.258	10
34	17	Matt Kenseth	Ollie's Ford	122.889	21.971	121.253	34
36	7	Robby Gordon	SPEED Energy Dodge	122.443	22.051	120.996	7
19	46	Scott Speed	T&T Performance Ford	124.401	21.704	120.980	11
21	87	Joe Nemechek	AM FM Energy Toyota	124.024	21.770	120.935	11
39	37	Erik Darnell	Max Q Motorsports Ford	122.177	22.099	120.836	17
26	29	Kevin Harvick	Budweiser Chevrolet	123.643	21.837	120.789	43
29	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Brakes Toyota	123.406	21.879	120.633	44
12	18	Kyle Busch	M&M's Toyota	125.139	21.576	120.087	56
37	35	Dave Blaney	Pepsi Max Chevrolet	122.299	22.077	120.065	29
30	14	Tony Stewart	Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet	123.361	21.887	120.059	49
6	99	Carl Edwards	Cheez-It/Kellogg's Ford	125.570	21.502	120.050	50
31	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Toyota	123.198	21.916	119.944	60
35	55	J.J. Yeley	Front Row Motorsports Ford	122.644	22.015	119.932	23
23	20	Joey Logano	Home Depot/Celebration of Service Toyota	123.819	21.806	119.927	64
40	60	Mike Skinner	Big Red Chevrolet	121.913	22.147	119.871	12
28	27	Paul Menard	Moen/Menards Chevrolet	123.609	21.843	119.771	55
14	1	Jamie McMurray	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet	124.867	21.623	119.690	41
17	4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Toyota	124.694	21.653	119.687	59
4	33	Clint Bowyer	Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet	125.921	21.442	119.678	57
38	66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing Toyota	122.205	22.094	119.668	7
2	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Power of Pride Chevrolet	125.962	21.435	119.654	59
27	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet	123.638	21.838	119.547	30
10	5	Mark Martin	Quaker State/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet	125.261	21.555	119.509	62
1	24	Jeff Gordon	Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet	126.292	21.379	119.444	63
42	34	David Gilliland	Honoring Our Heroes Ford	121.337	22.252	119.322	46
18	39	Ryan Newman	U.S. ARMY Chevrolet	124.636	21.663	119.260	51
5	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Best Buy Ford	125.611	21.495	119.256	70
25	22	Kurt Busch	Shell/Pennzoil Dodge	123.711	21.825	119.231	60
20	16	Greg Biffle	3M Honoring Our Heroes Ford	124.184	21.742	119.142	66
44	38	Travis Kvapil	Long John Silver's Ford	121.185	22.280	119.061	36
8	31	Jeff Burton	Caterpillar Chevrolet	125.290	21.550	119.005	66
13	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Express Toyota	125.058	21.590	118.982	68
24	6	David Ragan	UPS Ford	123.757	21.817	118.947	65
43	32	Mike Bliss	Safe Skies TSA Luggage Locks Ford	121.332	22.253	118.894	41
16	9	Marcos Ambrose	Stanley Ford	124.723	21.648	118.831	69
11	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Chevrolet	125.214	21.563	118.824	67
7	00	David Reutimann	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	125.523	21.510	118.802	62
9	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	125.273	21.553	118.677	70
22	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet	123.933	21.786	118.596	60
45	50	T.J. Bell	Green Smoke Chevrolet	120.795	22.352	118.511	24
41	51	Landon Cassill	SecurityBenefit/ThnkATchrToday Chev	121.507	22.221	118.474	25
3	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Toyota	125.927	21.441	118.335	66
15	47	Bobby Labonte	Scott Brand Toyota	124.861	21.624	118.197	64
46	36	Stephen Leicht	Golden Corral Chevrolet	120.552	22.397	117.449	48
33	71	Andy Lally	Interstate Moving Services Ford	122.900	21.969	116.643	44

10-Lap Average Speeds (must run 10 consecutive laps)

Rk	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg. Speed
1	20	Joey Logano	1	10	122.283
2	14	Tony Stewart	1	10	122.196
3	56	Martin Truex Jr.	1	10	122.001
4	83	Brian Vickers	1	10	121.918
5	18	Kyle Busch	6	15	121.557
6	78	Regan Smith	4	13	121.162
7	13	Casey Mears	4	13	120.772
8	34	David Gilliland	1	10	120.744
9	27	Paul Menard	38	47	120.472
10	00	David Reutimann	10	19	120.144
11	99	Carl Edwards	33	42	120.045
12	43	A.J. Allmendinger	7	16	120.028
13	2	Brad Keselowski	11	20	119.979
14	24	Jeff Gordon	42	51	119.957
15	9	Marcos Ambrose	10	19	119.813
16	33	Clint Bowyer	15	24	119.793
17	5	Mark Martin	39	48	119.583
18	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	41	50	119.525
19	6	David Ragan	14	23	119.507
20	39	Ryan Newman	10	19	119.432
21	11	Denny Hamlin	43	52	119.183
22	31	Jeff Burton	51	60	119.016
23	47	Bobby Labonte	12	21	118.733
24	22	Kurt Busch	40	49	118.656
25	16	Greg Biffle	53	62	118.002
26	71	Andy Lally	17	26	117.059

Combined Average Speeds (weighted by # of laps run in each session)

Rk	Car	Driver	Team	Average Speed	Total Laps
23	30	David Stremme	Inception Motorsports Chevy	120.666	15
18	46	Scott Speed	T&T Performance Ford	120.527	18
29	87	Joe Nemechek	AM FM Energy Toyota	120.498	19
38	37	Erik Darnell	Max Q Motorsports Ford	120.385	25
1	99	Carl Edwards	Cheez-It/Kellogg's Ford	120.279	56
35	17	Matt Kenseth	Ollie's Ford	120.090	57
44	7	Robby Gordon	SPEED Energy Dodge	120.054	14
26	66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing Toyota	120.047	12
16	29	Kevin Harvick	Budweiser Chevy	120.012	83
25	35	Dave Blaney	Pepsi Max Chevy	119.948	39
19	60	Mike Skinner	Big Red Chevy	119.799	23
17	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Brakes Toyota	119.705	95
4	18	Kyle Busch	M&M's Toyota	119.697	88
15	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Toyota	119.587	89
41	55	J.J. Yeley	Front Row Motorsports Ford	119.531	34
30	20	Joey Logano	Home Depot/Celebration of Service Toyota	119.446	108
7	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Power of Pride Chevy	119.409	91
5	33	Clint Bowyer	Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevy	119.375	87
2	5	Mark Martin	Quaker State/GoDaddy.com Chevy	119.362	89
10	4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Toyota	119.288	98
11	1	Jamie McMurray	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevy	119.288	74
8	24	Jeff Gordon	Drive to End Hunger Chevy	119.266	106
39	38	Travis Kvapil	Long John Silver's Ford	119.240	50
33	27	Paul Menard	Moen/Menards Chevy	119.238	96
14	16	Greg Biffle	3M Honoring Our Heroes Ford	119.215	85
21	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Best Buy Ford	119.189	117
37	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevy	119.149	57
40	22	Kurt Busch	Shell/Pennzoil Dodge	119.027	95
31	39	Ryan Newman	U.S. ARMY Chevy	119.012	89
32	31	Jeff Burton	Caterpillar Chevy	118.944	93
27	14	Tony Stewart	Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy	118.942	105
43	34	David Gilliland	Honoring Our Heroes Ford	118.896	69
36	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Express Toyota	118.850	116
3	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	AMP Energy/National Guard Chevy	118.697	85
22	9	Marcos Ambrose	Stanley Ford	118.618	112
34	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Chevy	118.592	111
6	32	Mike Bliss	Safe Skies TSA Luggage Locks Ford	118.575	60
20	6	David Ragan	UPS Ford	118.546	116
9	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	118.395	124
12	51	Landon Cassill	SecurityBenefit/ThankATchrToday Chev	118.387	42
42	00	David Reutimann	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	118.309	114
28	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Toyota	118.230	99
45	50	T.J. Bell	Green Smoke Chevy	118.060	38
13	47	Bobby Labonte	Scott Brand Toyota	118.047	115
24	36	Stephen Leicht	Golden Corral Chevy	117.652	79
46	71	Andy Lally	Interstate Moving Services Ford	116.588	74

Author Bio

Brian Polking

Racing has been part of Brian's life ever since he can remember, and he spent his childhood at dirt tracks throughout Ohio and Kentucky watching his father race. NASCAR naturally became his favorite sport, and he has been following the Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series for most of his life. Brian majored in journalism and economics at Ohio State University and becoming a sports writer has always been his dream. Although he has covered everything from minor league baseball to the NCAA tournament, his passion has always been NASCAR. Brian has served as a NASCAR writer for a variety of sites, eventually becoming head editor of the NASCAR section for Fanball.com. His knowledge of NASCAR comes from his life-long love of racing, and he tries to add a personal touch to every article he writes. Brian is always up for talking NASCAR with anyone that wants to. Brian joined KFFL's team in 2011.