Pre-Race Predictions: Richmond 2

 

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    The second race at Richmond Raceway for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, will fall between the first race of the playoffs, and the Round of 16 cutoff race at Bristol. 

The winner of the spring race at Richmond, Alex Bowman, is currently under the cutline for the next round of playoffs. If Bowman could pull of at two-for-two at Richmond, he would win his way into the Round of 12.

Here are some drivers to watch for the win:

• Martin Truex, Jr. [No. 19 Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing] - Truex swept the 2019 races at Richmond, but has not won there before or since those two events. With a current top 5 finish streak going back to the 2018 fall race, could that streak continue for Truex this weekend?
• Brad Keselowski [No. 2 Ford / Team Penske] - With a Cup win and 5 Xfinity wins at Richmond, does that qualify Keselowski a chance for the win this weekend?
• Denny Hamlin [No. 11 Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing] - Hamlin has the 6th most laps led, a whopping 1,911 laps led at Richmond, and is the highest, current driver to be on the top-10 lap leader list. Adding 3 Richmond wins to that, could mean Denny is on a roll after his Darlington win last week.
• Kyle Busch [No. 18 Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing] - In current danger of being eliminated from moving on to the Round of 12, Busch is going to have to fight to advance any farther.
• Kyle Larson [No. 5 Chevrolet / Hendrick Motorsports] - In a fairly safe position in playoffs points, Larson can take it easy or keep doing what he's been doing; Win.

And a few others to watch:

• Alex Bowman [No. 48 Chevrolet / Hendrick Motorsports]
• Kevin Harvick [No. 4 Ford / Stewart-Haas Racing]
• Aric Almirola [No. 10 Ford / Stewart-Haas Racing]