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Ryan Newman has gone from 32nd in points to 13th in just five races.By the Numbers: Richmond
Spring race a precursor as to who will make Chase
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Not to put any pressure on Ryan Newman, but if he hopes to make the Chase, he's going to have to keep his streak of good runs going and finish up front at Richmond.
The Cup Series moves into May with Saturday night's Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway, and if you happen to be in the top 12 in points after 400 laps in Virginia's capital -- you most likely will be there when the Chase starts in September.
Nearly 80 percent of the Chase participants were in the top 10 or 12 in points following Richmond since the Chase's inception in 2004. For Newman, who is currently 13th, 30 points behind 12th-place Matt Kenseth, his streak of five consecutive top-16 finishes may need to stretch to six if he has any postseason aspirations.
And Richmond has been a roller coaster for Newman.
He has an average finish of 12.1 at the .75-mile short track, but it's been feast or famine throughout his career. Newman has one win, four top-fives and eight top-10s in 14 starts, but he also has four finishes of 20th or worse -- two of them coming in the last five races.
That being said, the good outweighs the bad for Newman at RIR, and the current hot streak he is on could be a precursor of what's to come as the season heads into the summer.
Inside the Data
Year-by-year look at the top 10 and top 12 following Richmond
2004Eight of the 10 Chase drivers were in the top 10 following the spring Richmond race. Kevin Harvick and Bobby Labonte did not make the Chase while Mark Martin and Jeremy Mayfield worked their way in.
2005Six of the 10 Chase drivers were in the top 10 following the spring Richmond race. Jeff Gordon, Elliott Sadler, Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick did not make the Chase while Rusty Wallace, Jeremy Mayfield, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth worked their way in.
2006Eight of the 10 Chase drivers were in the top 10 following the spring Richmond race. Tony Stewart and Casey Mears did not make the Chase while Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin worked their way in.
2007Eleven of the 12 Chase drivers were in the top 12 following the spring Richmond race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. did not make the Chase while Martin Truex Jr. worked his way in.
2008Ten of the 12 Chase drivers were in the top 10 following the spring Richmond race. Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne did not make the Chase while Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth worked their way in.
Did you know?
106Saturday night's race will be the 106th points-paying Cup race at Richmond. Only three tracks have hosted more point-paying races than Richmond: Daytona (124), Martinsville (120) and Darlington (108).
Necessitous Numbers
3Number of drivers entered in Saturday's race with an average finish inside the top 10 at the track: Kyle Busch (6.8), Denny Hamlin (8.8) and Clint Bowyer (9.3).
4There were only four leaders in last year's spring race at Richmond -- a rarity at the track. Denny Hamlin dominated the race leading 381 of the 410 laps run. A.J. Allmendinger led a lap, Dale Earnhardt Jr. led 15 and race winner Clint Bowyer led 13. In the last 12 races at Richmond, there have been an average of 18 leaders.
6Chevrolet has won the last six races at Richmond and seven of the last 10. Toyota is the only manufacturer without a Cup win at the track. Toyota does have one Nationwide Series victory at Richmond (Denny Hamlin, 2008) and one Truck Series victory (Mike Skinner, 2005).
7.1Average starting position of the winner at Richmond in the last 10 Cup races. Nine of those races have been won by a starting position inside the top 10. Clint Bowyer won last year's race from the 31st starting position, the furthest a driver has started and gone on to win.
8Jimmie Johnson has been unbeatable in the state of Virginia recently. Of the last 10 races run in the state, Johnson has won eight of them (Martinsville, 5; Richmond, 3).
452Number of laps Denny Hamlin has led at Richmond, tops among active drivers without a win. In six races, Hamlin has started from the pole twice and has led laps in each race, but hasn't been able to get over the hump. He has two seconds, a third and a sixth.
657Number of points Tony Stewart has earned at Richmond in the last four races, tops among all drivers. In those four races, Stewart has two second-place finishes, a fourth and an eighth. Jimmie Johnson has the second-most points in that stretch with three wins but a 30th-place finish in last year's spring race.
Also
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Richmond International Raceway
Drivers with multiple wins at the track
| Driver | Races | Wins | Top-fives | Top-10s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Petty | 63 | 13 | 34 | 41 |
| Bobby Allison | 38 | 7 | 23 | 28 |
| David Pearson | 13 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
| Rusty Wallace | 44 | 6 | 22 | 30 |
| Darrell Waltrip | 51 | 6 | 22 | 33 |
| Dale Earnhardt | 44 | 5 | 25 | 33 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 14 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Joe Weatherly | 9 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 19 | 3 | 8 | 10 |
| Tony Stewart | 20 | 3 | 8 | 14 |
| Cale Yarborough | 22 | 3 | 12 | 12 |
| Terry Labonte | 54 | 3 | 13 | 28 |
| Ernie Irvan | 20 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Ricky Rudd | 55 | 2 | 20 | 28 |
| Speedy Thompson | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Neil Bonnett | 21 | 2 | 7 | 17 |
| Davey Allison | 13 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Benny Parsons | 29 | 2 | 11 | 19 |
| Dale Jarrett | 39 | 2 | 11 | 12 |
| Lee Petty | 7 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Cotton Owens | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Jeff Gordon | 32 | 2 | 12 | 20 |
| Dave Marcis | 53 | 2 | 9 | 21 |
• Bold: Active drivers
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