NASCAR- Richmond 400 Preview
Will The Hendrick Motorsports Supremacy Come To An End?
The NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit heads to the Richmond International Raceway for this weekend's Crown Royal/Jim Stewart 400.
The Richmond International Raceway is a 0.75-mile D-shaped oval, and is considered a short-track with a super speedway feel. It is the fourth Car of Tomorrow race of the season.
Hendrick Motorsports has won the first three Car of Tomorrow races- Kyle Busch at Bristol, Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville, and Jeff Gordon at Phoenix. However, nobody has led more laps than the pair of Joe Gibbs Racing drivers, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. Therefore, they will be likely of drivers that end the Hendrick Motorsports supremacy.
Who will win the Crown Royal/Jim Stewart 400? Denny Hamlin. Hamlin was picked to win the race at Phoenix two weeks ago, and a speeding penalty may have been the only reason why the prediction did not come to fruition. Joe Gibbs Racing has yet to win a race in Nextel Cup competition, but they seem to be the only operation that can hang with the Hendrick boys.
Dodge is catching up while Ford is lagging behind. Some of the Dodge drivers have picked up the pace recently, specifically Chip Ganassi Racing and Penske Racing. While David Stremme, Reed Sorenson, and Juan Pablo Montoya have yet to really click with the Car of Tomorrow, they have been stout in the current models. Stremme has two top tens in the past three races; nevertheless, he seemed to have his hands full at Phoenix two weeks ago.
Penske Racing drivers Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman have started to show signs of improvement. Kurt Busch may have won at Texas last month, and scored a top ten at Phoenix, but fuel mileage was a hindrance. Busch was third at Talladega last week. Newman was running in the top five and gaining on the leaders at Phoenix before the wheels fell off, literally, during his final pit stop. He also finished 9th at Talladega despite a damaged right front fender. Bobby Labonte has been solid in his Petty Enterprises prepared Dodge, however, Evernham Motorsports has surprisingly struggled in 2007 after being the chief Dodge operation in 2006.
Other than Matt Kenseth, Ford drivers have enjoyed moderate success thus far in 2007. Jamie McMurray is finally beginning to live up to the lofty expectations that were place before him when he joined Roush Racing in 2006. Carl Edwards, Ricky Rudd and Greg Biffle have underachieved, while newcomers David Gilliland and David Ragan have been wildly inconsistent. The single-car operations of Robby Gordon and the Wood Brothers (Ken Schrader and Jon Wood) can only go so far with limited resources.
Projected Top Ten at Richmond
1. Denny Hamlin
2. Mark Martin
3. Tony Stewart
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Matt Kenseth
6. Kyle Busch
7. Ryan Newman
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr
9. Kurt Busch
10. Jamie McMurray
Note: I did not forget about Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. I just believe in the law of averages.
Darkhorse picks- David Stremme, Martin Truex Jr, Jeff Green, Johnny Sauter
Who could use a good finish? Casey Mears, David Reutimann, Ken Schrader, Greg Biffle
Friday March 4-
11:00 AM ET NASCAR Nextel Cup Practice, SPEED
6:00 PM ET NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying, SPEED
Saturday March 5-
7:00 PM Crown Royal/Jim Stewart 400 at Richmond International Raceway, FOX
