Fantasy recap: J.J. wins fourth of the year
Top 5 Fantasy Plays
1. Jimmie Johnson: His fourth win of the year came in fairly impressive fashion, leading 104 of the 400 laps and running in the Top 10 for all but four of them. He remains second in the points standings, behind only Jeff Gordon.
2. Kyle Busch: He's been as hit or miss as any driver on the circuit this season. In the last seven weeks, he's placed 32nd, first, fourth, 37th, seventh, 37th and now second.
3. Denny Hamlin: One of the favorites coming into the day captured his fourth third-place run of the season and fourth Top 10 in the last five weekends.
4. Jeff Gordon: It's almost getting old how often I have to talk about the Rainbow Warrior finishing in the Top 5 this season. He's as close to a favorite driver I have, so I don't have much problem with it, but his consistency is getting to freakshow levels.
5. Kurt Busch: Just outlasted teammate Ryan Newman for a Top 5 finish.
Top Surprises
1. Ryan Newman: He's always been strong at Richmond, and this finish justifies that even more.
2. Dave Blaney: The No. 22 car has placed better than his car's number just once all season long before Sunday. He finished in 11th place and even led a lap along the way.
3. J.J. Yeley: The 14th-place run was his best performance since going 12th and 13th in the season's first two races.
4. Bobby Labonte: One of his worst season's of Labonte's career has finally seen some glimmers of hope lately. He now has three straight top 20 weekends, placing in 15th in Richmond.
5. Paul Menard: He's only qualified for seven races all year long, and his 16th-place finish was just his second time in the top 20.
Biggest Flops
1. Jeff Burton: He finished in dead last. I think that's just about all you need to know about his day.
2. Jamie McMurray: A blown tire extremely early on kicked McMurray out of centention quickly. He was never a factor, which is the first time in several weeks that's been the case.
3. Kevin Harvick: Kevin Harvick had the race in his belt until a late pit problem damaged his car and had the No. 29 just tryng to hold on for the last 15 laps.
4. Martin Truex, Jr.: He raced in the Top 10 for more than 80 percent of the day, yet fell to 28th when it mattered most: at the finish line.
5. David Stremme: The rookie was never in it on Sunday, finishing as poorly as he has all season long (38th).
Favorites in Darlington
1. Jimmie Johnson: He's won at Darlington twice now and hasn't finished lower than seventh the last five times he's been there. Both his wins came in the 2004 season and he has to be considered the afvorite this upcoming weekend, thanks to the overall success he's already had this season.
2. Greg Biffle: He's not just the defending champ at Darlington, he's the two-time defending champ. There are very few tracks on the circuit these days with a two-time defending champion still alive, but this is one of them. The curious thing? Before those two races, he had never finished better than 10th in four previous attempts. Looks like he's got it figured out, though, so I'd take my chances if I were you.
3. Jeff Gordon: He's been the most dominating driver all season long and he just happens to haev won at Darlington six times, the most of any active driver going today. If you still have him available to use, I'd recommend putting him to use right now.
4. Jeff Burton: He has a pair of wins at Darlington, but they both came back in the 1999 season. His record is good overall, but somehow he hasn't placed better than ninth in his past eight starts. Interesting. The numbers are there, though, and despite this week's unfortunate ending, he's currently racing well, so you have to give him the benefit of the doubt next week.
5. Kasey Kahne: Kasey Kahne has obviously had a terrible season, but he's bound to turn it around sooner or later. He's too talented not to. He's ran from the pole three of the four times he's ever been to Darlington, with two Top 5's to his credit. Give him one more shot. If he can't pull off a strong run this weekend, then I wouldn't blame you if you forgot about him altogether.
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