Cup teams compete in Virginia for the first time this season Sunday night at Richmond Raceway (7 p.m. ET on Fox).
Martin Truex Jr. leads the Cup standings after the first six races of the season. William Byron, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin all have spots in the playoffs after winning races this season.
Here is a look at the drivers to keep an eye on during Sunday’s race at the .75-mile track.
FRONTRUNNERS
Denny Hamlin
Points position: 4th
Best finish this season: 1st (Bristol I)
2024 stats: Six starts with two top-10 finishes, one top five and one win. An average finish of 12.7 with 275 laps led.
Past at Richmond: Thirty-four starts with 22 top-10 finishes, 11 top fives and four wins. Hamlin won the first Next Gen race at Richmond. He has two top-five finishes and one 20th-place finish in the three Richmond races since.
Martin Truex Jr.
Points position: 1st
Best finish this season: 2nd (Bristol I)
2024 stats: Six starts with four top-10 finishes and one top five. An average finish of 8.8 with 124 laps led.
Past at Richmond: Thirty-five starts with 17 top-10 finishes, nine top fives and three wins. Truex has three top-10 finishes and one top five in four Next Gen races at Richmond. His worst finish at the short track in a Next Gen car is 11th.
Chris Buescher
Points position: 12th
Best finish this season: 2nd (Phoenix I)
2024 stats: Six starts with four top-10 finishes and one top five. An average finish of 13.5 with 20 laps led.
Past at Richmond: Buescher has 15 starts at Richmond with two top-10 finishes, one top five and one win. Buescher’s best finish at Richmond in the Gen 6 era was 17th in 2017. Since moving to Next Gen, he has finished 15th, third, 30th and first in four races at Richmond.
Kyle Larson
Points position: 5th
Best finish this season: 1st (Las Vegas I)
2024 stats: Six starts with two top-10 finishes, two top fives and one win. An average finish of 13.3 with 224 laps led.
Past at Richmond: Larson has 18 starts at Richmond with eight top-10 finishes, four top fives and two wins. Larson won last season’s spring race at Richmond after leading 93 laps.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Kyle Busch
Points position: 13th
Best finish this season: 3rd (Atlanta I)
2024 stats: Six starts with two top-10 finishes and one top five. Busch also had three consecutive finishes of 22nd or worse this season. An average finish of 16.2 with 63 laps led.
Past at Richmond: Thirty-six starts with 28 top-10 finishes, 19 top fives and six wins. Busch has one finish better than 14th in the last eight races at short tracks. He finished third at Richmond in last summer’s race.
Chase Elliott
Points position: 9th
Best finish this season: 8th (Bristol I)
2024 stats: Six starts with one top-10 finish and an average finish of 14.0.
Past at Richmond: Fifteen starts with six top-10 finishes and five top 10s. Elliott’s best finish at Richmond is second in 2018.
William Byron
Points position: 6th
Best finish this season: 1st (Daytona 500, COTA)
2024 stats: Six starts with three top-10 finishes, two top fives and two wins. An average finish of 13.7 with 61 laps led.
Past at Richmond: Byron has 11 starts at Richmond with two top-10 finishes and one top five. His best finish at Richmond in the Next Gen era is third in the 2022 spring race. Byron only has one top-10 finish in the last six short track races.
Tyler Reddick
Points position: 10th
Best finish this season: 2nd (Las Vegas I)
2024 stats: Six starts with three top-10 finishes and two top fives. An average finish of 17.7 with 74 laps led.
Past at Richmond: Reddick has seven starts at Richmond Raceway. His best finish is 11th in 2020. His best finish at Richmond in the Next Gen era is 12th in the 2022 spring race.
