Two drivers to watch this weekend are probably the two hottest drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series right now – Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota) and Kevin Harvick.
Hamlin, a Virginia native, has been on point this season already winning two races (Martinsville and Texas), while notching three top fives in the first nine races of the season.
Hamlin has scored Driver Ratings above 100.0 in four of the last six races. Hamlin also has been towards the front – in three of the last four races he has spent 70% or more of the laps in the Top 15.
That momentum should continue this weekend at Hamlin’s hometown track, a place at which he scored a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0 last season.
At Richmond, Hamlin has a win, four top fives and five top 10s in eight starts. Hamlin is ranked first in three NASCAR Pre-Race Loop Data categories: Driver Rating (121.0), Average Running Position (4.621), and Laps Led with 28% of his laps completed being in the lead.
Then there’s Harvick, winner of last Sunday’ race at Talladega. Currently second in points, Harvick ranks 12th in Average Running Position (15.8) and sixth in Driver Rating (94.0).
At Richmond, Harvick ranks second only to Hamlin in Average Running Position (7.165) and Driver Rating (113.6). Additionally, Harvick leads the series in Laps in the Top 15 percentage with a 93.0%. Auto Racing Daily
CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR 0 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet HendrickCars.com / GoDaddy.com 6 David Ragan Ford UPS 7 Robby Gordon Toyota BAMVIP.com / James Otto - Whitney Duncan 9 Kasey Kahne Ford Budweiser 25th Anniversary 9 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Phoenix Construction / GracewayPharm- 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Ground 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge Penske Racing 13 Max Papis Toyota GEICO 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Office Depot / Old Spice 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Crown Royal 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's 19 Elliott Sadler Ford Reynolds Wrap 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 26 David Stremme Ford Air National Guard 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Reese's 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet BB&T 34 Travis Kvapil Ford Long John Silver's 36 Casey Mears Chevrolet H.D. Segur, Inc. 37 David Gilliland Ford Taco Bell 38 Kevin Conway* Ford Extenze 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet U.S. Army Medicine 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford Valvoline 46 Terry Cook* Dodge Whitney Motorsports / Autism Speaks.org 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Bush's Best Baked Beans / Kingsford 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's / Kobalt Tools 55 Michael McDowell Toyota Prism Motorsports 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 66 Dave Blaney Toyota Prism Motorsports 71 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet TRG Motorsports 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies 82 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota FrontRowJoe.com 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / Amp Energy 98 Paul Menard Ford Schrock Cabinetry / Menards 99 Carl Edwards Ford Scotts EZ Seed 132 Reed Sorenson Toyota Braun Racing 164 Tony Raines Toyota Gunselman Motorsports
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