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Richmond International Raceway’s Toyota 400 Preview

Richmond International Raceway’s Toyota Owner’s 400 is set to go off on Sunday, April 24th at 1 PM, E.T. on FOX. Kevin Harvick will start on the pole position because of his fastest time in the first round of practices. The order the cars are set was by the fastest times throughout Friday’s practice due to rain that cancelled qualifying. Matt Kenseth won the last race at this venue in the fall.

Six-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson was the quickest in the second and final practice before the race on Sunday. Johnson will be starting in the third spot from his prior practice run just ahead of the #22 Pennzoil Ford Fusion driven by Joey Logano. The #48 Lowes Chevrolet has found its way to victory lane on three different occasions at Richmond International Raceway, but the last time was eight years ago.

Joey Logano will be sitting in the second spot when the green flag is waved. Logano has shown considerable speed in both of the practice runs including the second fastest behind the #4 Jimmy Johns hot-rod of Kevin Harvick. Logano tasted victory lane here in the spring race in 2014.

Previous race winner Carl Edwards is starting in the fourth spot. The #19 Xfinity Toyota was the fifth fastest in the second round of practices and fourth in the first. Edwards has been hot of late and I fully expect him to be towards the front of the field throughout the race. The talented Joe Gibbs Racing driver won this event in the fall of 2013.

Denny Hamlin, another Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, will start right behind Carl Edwards. It’s once again obvious that the dominate team that “Coach” Gibbs has put together is once again sharing info and showing similar speeds. The Daytona 500 victor has proven to be a force throughout the young season and has won at Richmond International Raceway twice before. I would not be surprised to see the #11 FEDEX Toyota Camry competing for the win in the final stages of the race on Sunday.

Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano’s teammate, is slated in the six spot for the beginning of the race. Keselowski won here at Richmond International Raceway, in the fall of 2013 and was quick in both practices that he participated in over the weekend. The #2 Thomas Built Buses Ford Fusion should be a factor if he can team up with Logano to fend off the stable of Joe Gibbs Racing studs.

Kevin Harvick’s teammate, Kurt Busch, will be charging from the seventh spot. Busch has to be considered a favorite to reach the top spot by the race’s end. Busch has recently shined at Richmond Internal Speedway. The #41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet has crossed the finish line in first two times, the most recent being last years spring race.

Jimmie Johnson’s teammate and fellow Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Kasey Kahne will look to build on his best finish of the year last week at Bristol. The short track enthusiast will be taking off in the eighth position next to Kurt Bush. Kahne has tasted victory here in the spring of 2015 and has displayed top ten speed during the two practices this weekend.

NASCAR standout and defending champion Kyle Busch is lurking around the top ten once again in ninth. Busch has won at Richmond International Raceway on four different occasions and has got to be a top choice to drive to victory circle for the fifth time. Not only has the #18 M&M Toyota been dominate at every event this year he especially has excelled at the flatter oval like Richmond. He will be in one of my four NASCAR lottery A driver slots for the contest.

A.J. Allmendinger has drove his way back in to the top ten starting spots in the tenth slot. Allmendinger is a talented road course driver that is showing signs of being competitive at all the racing venues. The Kroger/Bush Beans Chevrolet driver finished in 24th last year in the fall but has seemed to find the necessary adjustments to improve his lap times. As a “B” driver for this race race, Allmendinger is certainly an option for a top ten finish if he can keep out of trouble.

Running Order for the Toyota Owner’s 400:

1 4 Kevin
Harvick
Chevy Busch
Light
129.069
2 22 Joey
Logano
Ford Shell
Penzoil
128.694
3 48 Jimmie
Johnson
Chevy Lowe’s Pro
Services
128.187
4 19 Carl
Edwards
Toyota Xfinity 128.181
5 11 Denny
Hamlin
Toyota FedEx
Ground
128.156
6 2 Brad
Keselowski
Ford Thomas
Built Buses
128.011
7 41 Kurt
Busch
Chevy Monster Energy/
Haas Automation
127.799
8 5 Kasey
Kahne
Chevy Mountain
Dew
127.334
9 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Banfield 127.298
10 47 AJ
Allmendinger
Chevy Kroger/
Bush’s Beans
127.22
11 3 Austin
Dillon
Chevy AAA 127.208
12 17 Ricky
Stenhouse Jr
Ford Fifth Third Bank
Ford Fusion
125.517
13 20 Matt
Kenseth
Toyota Dollar
General
125.307
14 31 Ryan
Newman
Chevy Grainger 124.913
15 42 Kyle
Larson
Chevy Target 124.861
16 6 Trevor
Bayne
Ford Advocare
Ford Fusion
124.775
17 88 Dale
Earnhardt Jr.
Chevy Mountain
Dew
124.775
18 14 Tony
Stewart
Chevy Mobil 1 Advanced
Fuel Economy
124.7
19 16 Greg
Biffle
Ford Cheez-It
Ford Fusion
124.527
20 44 Brian
Scott
Ford Albertsons Co./
Shore Lodge
124.516
21 10 Danica
Patrick
Chevy Nature’s
Bakery
124.487
22 78 Martin
Truex Jr
Toyota Furniture
Row
124.481
23 24 Chase
Elliott
Chevy Mountain
Dew
124.464
24 43 Aric
Almirola
Ford Smithfield 124.064
25 13 Casey
Mears
Chevy GEICO 123.734
26 27 Paul
Menard
Chevy Duracell/
Menards
123.598
27 1 Jamie
McMurray
Chevy Credit One
Bank
123.553
28 38 Landon
Cassill
Ford The Pete
Store
123.125
29 *21 Ryan
Blaney
Ford Motorcraft/Quick Lane
Tire + Auto Center
122.566
30 23 David
Ragan
Toyota sweetFrog 122.266
31 *30 Josh
Wise
Chevy Curtis Key
Plumbing
121.995
32 95 Michael
McDowell
Chevy WRL General
Contractors
121.99
33 34 Chris
Buescher
Ford A&W All
American Food
121.891
34 7 Regan
Smith
Chevy APC
Chrevrolet
121.496
35 *55 Reed
Sorenson
Chevy Champion
Machinery.com
121.25
36 83 Matt
DiBenedetto
Toyota E.J. Wade
Construction
121.131
37 *93 Ryan
Ellis
Toyota Science
Logic
120.182
38 *98 Cole
Whitt
Chevy TBA 119.66
39 32 Jeffrey
Earnhardt
Ford Corvette
Parts.net
119.458
40 15 Clint
Bowyer
Chevy 5-Hour
Energy
117.842
41 46 Michael
Annett
Chevy Pilot
Flying J
0

The Hun’s Fantasy Line-Up:

A: Jimmie Johnson

B: Austin Dillon, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray

C: Tony Stewart

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Written by Erik the Hun

Erik's love of sports and passion for handicapping dates back over 25 years.

In fact, his handicapping angles and fantasy knowledge separates him from your common savant.

As the co-host of Get more Sport's College Football Throwdown, The Hun also brings his spirit and tenacity to the college football industry, and can fill all your Handicapping and Fantasy needs. He is currently covering the automotive and the college football sections at getmoresports.com

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