Short Track Kings: Drivers to watch this weekend

Of the five remaining tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series regular season schedule, this weekend’s Richmond Raceway is the last short track, begging the question, ‘Who has been the best on the short tracks this season and should be the ones he watch this weekend?’

The NASCAR Cup Series has competed on six short tracks this season – Martinsville, Bristol Dirt, Phoenix, Dover, New Hampshire and Richmond, and two organizations have dominated the six events winning three each, Hendrick Motorsports won at Martinsville, Phoenix and Richmond and Joe Gibbs Racing grabbed wins at Bristol Dirt, Dover and New Hampshire.

Two drivers this season have won multiple times on the short tracks, including the current NASCAR Cup Series points leader Martin Truex Jr (Dover, New Hampshire) and Richmond Raceway’s most recent winner Kyle Larson (Richmond, Martinsville). The other two short track races were won by Christopher Bell (Bristol Dirt) and William Byron (Phoenix).

The driver with the best average starting position at the six previous short track races this season is Hendrick Motorsport’s William Byron with a 6.5, followed by Tyler Reddick with a 7.0, Kyle Busch with a 7.3, Christopher Bell with a 9.2 and Kyle Larson with a 10.5.

The driver with the best average finishing position at the six previous short track races this season is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. with a 6.6, followed by Tyler Reddick with a 9.3, Christopher Bell with a 10.3, Kevin Harvick with a 10.3 and Chase Briscoe with a 11.5. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick is the defending winner of this event at Richmond.

A total of 21 different drivers have led laps at the six previous short track races this season, led by Kyle Larson with 405 laps led, followed by William Byron with 383 and Martin Truex Jr. with 378.