The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Sep. 9, 2016
What to Watch: Friday
by The Frontstretch Staff
Records and facts
Last year saw Matt Kenseth dominate the proceedings. Kenseth led 352 of the 400 laps, including the final 103 on the way to an easy win. Teammate Kyle Busch was second, followed by Joey Logano, Aric Almirola and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
All-time, Richard Petty is the winningest driver at Richmond with 13 career victories. Of those 13, three came on the dirt while the other ten came on the old, .542-mile paved oval prior to the track's 1988 renovation. Petty's count also includes seven in a row from 1970-73, a NASCAR record for this track. Bobby Allison is second with seven wins while Rusty Wallace, Darrell Waltrip and David Pearson have six apiece. Wallace's wins all came on the present three-quarters of a mile configuration.
Among active drivers, Kyle Busch is the winningest driver at Richmond with four triumphs. Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (not racing due to concussion protocol) and Kevin Harvick have three wins apiece while Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin all have two.
Track Facts
Track / Race Length: .750-mile D-shaped oval, 400 laps (300 miles)
Banking: 14 degrees
Frontstretch: 1,290 feet, banked 8 degrees
Backstretch: 860 feet, banked 5 degrees
Grandstand Seating: 59,000
Pit Road Speed: 40 mph
Pace Car Speed: 45 mph
Opened: 1946 (first Cup race in 1953)
Website: http://www.rir.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook
Twitter: http://twitter.com/RI
Remaining Pre-Race Schedule:
Qualifying: Friday, September 9 at 5:45 p.m. on NBCSN
Say What?!
"I've always liked Richmond. I have been able to win here in the past and I look forward to the challenge. I think you can bring a lot back from the day race, but the bigger thing is the cars have changed since then. Even though it will be the same package, the teams have built better cars. We were really competitive in the first race, and I think we'll bring back a similar setup, but a better car, and work from there in practice." - Kasey Kahne
"The second Richmond race each year is especially intense just because you know there's a lot on the line. There are a lot of people racing for different things. It's the end of our regular season. If you're not in the Chase, it's your last chance to win a race. There are some guys who will probably be fighting for points spots as you go in there, but Richmond is kind of your perfect short track. It has good speed, a short-track feel to it, and the tires wear out. That's kind of what we all grew up racing on. It's got a little bit of everything and that makes it a fun place to race." - Kevin Harvick
"I've always felt like Richmond was the ultimate drivers' track. When we didn't have all the downforce like we do now, you used to literally move around the racetrack. You didn't get stuck in one groove. You could be fast there running two or three different ways, using three different lines. You could do what you needed to do to complement your car or not hurt it. That's what I have always liked about it. It's always going to be my favorite track." - Tony Stewart
"Obviously this is a big weekend for us. We have a spot in the Chase right now, and we want to keep it that way. So, we need to keep with our strategy of being aggressive where it makes sense while being cautious and playing a little defense at the same time. We feel pretty good about where we're at, though, and look forward to Saturday night in our CSX 'Play It Safe' Ford.
"Richmond is one of those places that changes on you pretty quick. It puts down a ton of rubber throughout the course of a race. This was probably the one track in this final stretch that we knew we needed to focus on to be better. The good thing is the last couple months have been pretty good for us. We had several packages that we ran at different racetracks that we talked about a lot, and I feel like we'll be good for Richmond. We'll have something we can run better with and get more speed and be more consistent through a run." - Chris Buescher
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at ashland10@mail.com.
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TODAY ON FRONTSTRETCH:
by the Frontstretch Staff
by Kevin Rutherford
Q: In the 1987 Wrangler Jeans Indigo 400 at Richmond, current XFINITY Series car owner Jimmy Means earned his 17th and final top-10 finish in Cup by placing ninth. It could have been much better than that, too had Means not run into a problem late in the race. What happened?
Thursday's Answer:
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