NASCAR at Richmond 2015: Race Schedule, Live Stream Info and Drivers to Watch
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series makes its initial visit of the 2015 season to Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night. The Toyota Owners 400 marks the ninth race of the campaign and first of two at the track, which the teams will return to in September.
One year ago, Kyle Larson earned the pole and Jeff Gordon led the most laps, but it was Joey Logano who emerged with the victory. Given the fact that many of this season's early leaders, including Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson, have enjoyed success at Richmond, it should be a highly competitive race.
Let's check out all of the important details for the Saturday night race under the lights. It's followed by a closer look at some of the drivers to watch this week.
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Race Information
Where: Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia
When: Saturday, April 25, at 7 p.m. ET
Watch: Fox
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Radio: Motor Racing Network
Drivers To Watch
Kevin Harvick
Harvick is enjoying quite a run to start the season. The reigning champion has racked up six top-five finishes in the first eight races. He's also scored two victories, tied with Johnson for the most of any driver at this stage.
The result is first place in the standings with a pretty substantial 30-point lead. The No. 4 team has been on quite a roll since the latter portion of last year. NASCAR Stats highlighted exactly how much better the team has been than anybody else in 2015:
All of the drivers hoping Harvick will have a bad showing to let them make up some ground probably won't get their wish this week. He's usually rock solid at Richmond. He owns three wins, tied for his second-most at any track, and 17 top-10 results in 28 appearances.
While there's always an element of luck involved, being able to sustain a run of success like the No. 4 team has is impressive to watch. Harvick has been in contention just about every week this season. Expect that to continue Saturday.
Jeff Gordon
There are really two ways to view Gordon's season so far. An optimist will say it's a positive sign that he's in ninth place despite not catching many breaks. A pessimist would counter that one top-five finish in eight races doesn't point toward championship contention.
Ultimately, it's going to take a couple of more months to determine where the truth lies. Having the fan favorite in the title mix in his last full-time season would obviously be a great story. Jeff Hammond of Fox Sports believes it's still possible:
"I think Jeff Gordon is getting ready to contend for a fifth championship. After such a poor start, we were trying to grade him on NASCAR Race Hub and I pretty much said, "NL. No luck."
That's what I saw. Not that he didn't have a fast race car, or that he and crew chief Alan Gustafson weren't communicating. He just seemed like he always found himself in a bad way. And when the bad luck continues, it's almost self-induced.
"
That's certainly a fair assessment. Gordon was in the mix in the Daytona 500 before a late crash relegated him to 33rd. He earned the pole at Las Vegas with a tremendous car, but an accident in practice sent him to a backup car and the back of the field.
In other words, things just haven't broken his way. There's still plenty of time to change that, however, and it could begin this week. He's got plenty of experience on this track with 44 starts, and 28 times he's finished in the top 10. A strong showing could provide the boost his season needs.
Joey Logano
Slowly but surely, Logano is starting to showcase his potential. He arrived in the Sprint Cup Series with a lot of hype. While there have certainly been some growing pains along the way, he's made steady strides and looks ready to establish himself as a top-tier driver.
He currently sits in second place behind Harvick with seven top-10 finishes in eight starts. It's exactly the type of consistency a team needs to make a deep Chase run. Mike Hembree of USA Today notes the Penske driver is happy but still wants more.
"We've had a solid season so far," Logano said. "I think we need a little bit more speed. We've consistently been in the top three or four (during races), but we want to win races. That's all that matters for us at this point of the season."
The No. 22 car is coming off a lackluster result at Bristol, finishing 40th. That leads to another factor in becoming an annual contender: bouncing back from bad days to get right back on track the next week. Avoid slumps that can ruin a season.
His results at Richmond have been mixed, with just four top-10s in 12 tries. He does have the aforementioned victory last year in this race under his belt, though. Going back-to-back is tough, but it would be a major statement from the 24-year-old driver if he can pull it off.
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