Jeff Gordon
He didn't finish outside of the top five the entire month of April. Coming off of two straight wins there isn't a hotter driver on the circuit right now, and Gordon and his team appear to have the stuff to be dominant this season. This Saturday will provide an interesting test. He's got two wins and 16 top 10s at Richmond in his career, but he hasn't done so hot there lately -- he hasn't finished inside the top 30 since 2004. Hmmm.
Jeff Burton
After a remarkable start, Burton has finally had to deal with some adversity, getting wrecked all the way down to 34thplace at Talladega. It was his second straight finish outside of the top 10. Still, he was doing just fine until his crash, and I don't think anybody involved with the No. 31 car is panicking just yet. Burton won at Richmond in 1998, and he notched a top 10 there last year. I'm looking for him to rebound this Saturday.
Jimmie Johnson
Talk about a mixed bag. He wrecked teammate Casey Mears out of the race last weekend, then went on to finish second behind teammate Jeff Gordon, Johnson's sixth top-five finish of the season. I know he's fourth in the power rankings that shall not be named, but I'm bumping him up a spot because he still leads the Cup with three victories. It's been a feast-or-famine type of season for him, with a couple of clunkers among all those glittering performances. And Richmond might be where we see another dud. He's got just one top five there in his career, and his average finish is a dismal 21.2.
Matt Kenseth
Kenseth, Kevin Harvick and Burton are the only non-Hendrick drivers to win races so far this year, and Kenseth has the consistency to be in the top five of the standings all season. His 14th-place run at Talladega was his only run out of the top 10 in the month of April. He's typically solid at Richmond in his career, with a win and eight top 10s in his career. He may not make victory lane on Saturday, but I don't expect him to be parking very far away, either.
Denny Hamlin
Hamlin was on a nice run until his 21st-place run at Talladega. But he's done well so far following up poor races with strong ones, and he should run well at Richmond on Saturday. He finished second in his first run there last year.
Kyle Busch
He must have been glad to get out of Alabama after last weekend. His crash in the Busch race on Saturday was a doozy. I'm a bit surprised it took this long for him to have one -- nobody drives with more abandon. His 37th-place finish was a disappointment, but we should expect better on Saturday. He's never finished outside the top five at Richmond in four career starts.
Tony Stewart
Boy is this guy having a funky season. Considering the wrecks and controversy he's had to deal with, the fact that he's sixth overall in the power rankings that shall not be named is actually pretty impressive. At some point, you have to think that the man is going to break through. Will it be this week? Maybe. He's got three career wins at Richmond, though the last came in '02.
Mark Martin
As promised, he sat out Talladega ... and fell all the way from 10th to 17th in the standings. But the fact remains that he's one of the top 10 drivers in the field whenever he's behind the wheel. He's only got one victory at Richmond in his long career, but he has made a habit of running up front. His average finish at the track is 10.9.
Kevin Harvick
After a rather prolonged early-season slump, he's worked his way back into the top 10 by virtue of his two straight strong races at Phoenix and Talladega. Look for this trend to continue. He was terrific at Richmond last season, with a third and a first-place finish. He hasn't been out of the top 10 there since '04.
Kurt Busch
I am puzzled by his struggles this season. He began the year strong, leading a race-high 95 laps at Daytona and following that up with a strong top-10 finish at California. Then he went in the tank, with a string of races where he just didn't seem close to contending. That changed last week at Talladega, where he finished a strong third. Can he keep it going at Richmond? Danged if I know, at this point, but his Dodge didn't run particularly well there last year.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
He's been inching closer to the top 10 for a couple of weeks now. For a while late in the race, he seemed to have the car for the course. Then, as so often happens to him, he ran into trouble. Still, he finished a fairly strong seventh, and appears in position to challenge for the Chase all season. I expect another good showing on Saturday. He won at Richmond in '06, his third career victory on the track.
He didn't finish outside of the top five the entire month of April. Coming off of two straight wins there isn't a hotter driver on the circuit right now, and Gordon and his team appear to have the stuff to be dominant this season. This Saturday will provide an interesting test. He's got two wins and 16 top 10s at Richmond in his career, but he hasn't done so hot there lately -- he hasn't finished inside the top 30 since 2004. Hmmm.
Jeff Burton
After a remarkable start, Burton has finally had to deal with some adversity, getting wrecked all the way down to 34thplace at Talladega. It was his second straight finish outside of the top 10. Still, he was doing just fine until his crash, and I don't think anybody involved with the No. 31 car is panicking just yet. Burton won at Richmond in 1998, and he notched a top 10 there last year. I'm looking for him to rebound this Saturday.
Jimmie Johnson
Talk about a mixed bag. He wrecked teammate Casey Mears out of the race last weekend, then went on to finish second behind teammate Jeff Gordon, Johnson's sixth top-five finish of the season. I know he's fourth in the power rankings that shall not be named, but I'm bumping him up a spot because he still leads the Cup with three victories. It's been a feast-or-famine type of season for him, with a couple of clunkers among all those glittering performances. And Richmond might be where we see another dud. He's got just one top five there in his career, and his average finish is a dismal 21.2.
Matt Kenseth
Kenseth, Kevin Harvick and Burton are the only non-Hendrick drivers to win races so far this year, and Kenseth has the consistency to be in the top five of the standings all season. His 14th-place run at Talladega was his only run out of the top 10 in the month of April. He's typically solid at Richmond in his career, with a win and eight top 10s in his career. He may not make victory lane on Saturday, but I don't expect him to be parking very far away, either.
Denny Hamlin
Hamlin was on a nice run until his 21st-place run at Talladega. But he's done well so far following up poor races with strong ones, and he should run well at Richmond on Saturday. He finished second in his first run there last year.
Kyle Busch
He must have been glad to get out of Alabama after last weekend. His crash in the Busch race on Saturday was a doozy. I'm a bit surprised it took this long for him to have one -- nobody drives with more abandon. His 37th-place finish was a disappointment, but we should expect better on Saturday. He's never finished outside the top five at Richmond in four career starts.
Tony Stewart
Boy is this guy having a funky season. Considering the wrecks and controversy he's had to deal with, the fact that he's sixth overall in the power rankings that shall not be named is actually pretty impressive. At some point, you have to think that the man is going to break through. Will it be this week? Maybe. He's got three career wins at Richmond, though the last came in '02.
Mark Martin
As promised, he sat out Talladega ... and fell all the way from 10th to 17th in the standings. But the fact remains that he's one of the top 10 drivers in the field whenever he's behind the wheel. He's only got one victory at Richmond in his long career, but he has made a habit of running up front. His average finish at the track is 10.9.
Kevin Harvick
After a rather prolonged early-season slump, he's worked his way back into the top 10 by virtue of his two straight strong races at Phoenix and Talladega. Look for this trend to continue. He was terrific at Richmond last season, with a third and a first-place finish. He hasn't been out of the top 10 there since '04.
Kurt Busch
I am puzzled by his struggles this season. He began the year strong, leading a race-high 95 laps at Daytona and following that up with a strong top-10 finish at California. Then he went in the tank, with a string of races where he just didn't seem close to contending. That changed last week at Talladega, where he finished a strong third. Can he keep it going at Richmond? Danged if I know, at this point, but his Dodge didn't run particularly well there last year.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
He's been inching closer to the top 10 for a couple of weeks now. For a while late in the race, he seemed to have the car for the course. Then, as so often happens to him, he ran into trouble. Still, he finished a fairly strong seventh, and appears in position to challenge for the Chase all season. I expect another good showing on Saturday. He won at Richmond in '06, his third career victory on the track.
