Fantasy Preview: Richmond

The time has arrived! It's now time for the final race before the beginning of the Chase this weekend at the Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, VA. This track, considered a short track for its 3/4 mile distance, is actually a very quick track despite its size and racing here can be very wreck filled if things get too crazy. This track caters to only a certain few drivers, it's not a track where just anyone can waltz into victory lane. So let's see who you may want on your fantasy team for this final "regular season" race on the Sprint Cup schedule.

Fantasy Preview: Richmond

The Favorites:

Kyle Busch: He's incredibly dominant here, only finishing outside of the top-10 twice in fifteen career races at the track. He's won four out of the last seven races here including the spring race earlier this season. He's going to be hard to beat, which is something fellow driver Jeff Gordon has to do in order to make the Chase.

Denny Hamlin: Teammate to Busch, he'd probably be just as dominant as Kyle if it weren't for some late race bad luck. Still, he has two wins here and an average finish of 7th, plus he's won the last two races and is on a pretty good hot streak. There's a good chance he continues his hot streak here. Oh yeah, and it's his hometown track.

Kevin Harvick: Harvick is the defending winner of this race last fall and has one other career win here too....also in the fall. For some reason, he's on and off in the spring race at Richmond, but when it comes to the fall race, he's almost a guaranteed top-10 finisher.

The Darkhorses:

Sam Hornish Jr.: Not only is he driving the best car he's ever had in his Sprint Cup career, but Richmond has been one of the best tracks for him. In 2009, Hornish posted top-10's in both races at the track and I feel like a top-10 is a definite possibility this week.

Jeff Gordon: He has two career wins here, but the last one came in 2000. Still, he nearly won this race one year ago and this time around, he has no choice but to win if he wants to make the Chase. The only things that's slowed him down here as of late have been wrecks, so if he stays clean, he'll be a threat.

Clint Bowyer: With an average career finish of 10.7 at Richmond to go along with a win and 7 top-10's, Bowyer is a pretty safe and smart pick for your team. You just can't go wrong here, he's been consistent almost all year.

Stay Away From:

Marcos Ambrose: He admittedly said he's not very excited for this race, even though he has two top-10's here. He hasn't finished inside of the top-20 since 2010 though, and I just don't see anyting good happening, even though he has to win to make the Chase.

Martin Truex Jr.: In 13 career races here, Martin has only scored two top-10's and hasn't cracked the top-25 in the last three races here. He wants a win before the Chase begins, but he's just not going to get it here.

Greg Biffle: He had success here early in his career, but he now hasn't finished in the top-10 at Richmond since 2006. Like Truex, he'd like another win before the Chase, but he's not going to get it here either.

Good luck picking!

Follow me on Twitter for more NASCAR information: @Adam_Huth