NASCAR: Looking back at the last five Richmond races

The NASCAR Cup Series makes its first trip of the year to Richmond Raceway. What do the last five races at the track tell us about this year’s edition?

On Saturday night, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series makes its first visit of the 2018 season to Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. The 0.75-mile oval has been hosting races on NASCAR‘s premier circuit since 1953, when Lee Petty won the inaugural race at the track.

The track, which originally was a 0.5-mile oval, was reconfigured to its current size in 1988. Davey Allison won the first race on the current version of the track.

What about the recent races at the track? Can they tell us anything about this weekend’s race? Maybe! Probably! Let’s look at them and find out.

Fall 2015

Matt Kenseth had a dominant run in the Federated Auto Parts 400, leading 352 of 400 laps on his way to the victory. Aric Almirola tried his best to win the race and get into the Chase, but he ended up fourth. Other notables: Kyle Busch finished in second and pole sitter Joey Logano finished in third.

Spring 2016

Carl Edwards got around teammate Kyle Busch on the final lap to win, but this race is notable for having five drivers lead at least 40 laps: Edwards and Busch, as well as Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, and Kurt Busch. Those first four names all finished in the top five, along with Kasey Kahne, who didn’t lead. Kurt Busch finished in 10th.

Fall 2016

The race was a two-driver show up front for most of the day, as Denny Hamlin (189) and Martin Truex Jr. (193) led the majority of the laps. Hamlin won, Truex Jr. finished third, and Kyle Larson snuck in right between the two in second. Kasey Kahne — looking for a playoff berth — tried to make it interesting on the final restart, but he faded back to sixth.

Spring 2017

It was a Team Penske show up front, with Joey Logano winning and teammate Brad Keselowski finishing second. The pair combined to lead 135 laps. The other dominant driver was Matt Kenseth, who led 164 laps after winning the pole but blew a tire en route to a disappointing 23rd place finish.

Fall 2017

Kyle Larson won the most recent race at Richmond, though another pole for Matt Kenseth was ruined by another wreck. Martin Truex Jr. also led for a long time — 198 laps — but crashed out as well. On a day full of carnage, Ryan Newman, Erik Jones, and Daniel Suarez all finished in the top 10.

2018?

The Gibbs cars have looked strong here in the past, especially the #20 car. Erik Jones is a great sleeper pick to break through and win his first career Cup Series race driving for a team that has shown huge amounts of speed at the track lately. Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch, and Joey Logano are my non-Gibbs picks, but I’m really expecting a strong run from the four JGR cars and Martin Truex Jr. at Furniture Row Racing.

Next: Top 10 NASCAR drivers of all-time

Tune in to Saturday’s race, the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. It airs on April 21st at 6:30 pm ET on Fox. Then check back with Beyond The Flag for all your post-race coverage.

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