After a slow start to the 2024 season, drivers of Joe Gibbs Racing found their pace and won the first two short track races of the year, at Phoenix and Bristol. Going to the third short track on the calendar this Sunday in Richmond, all four of them stand favorites to win yet again. Leading the four-driver line-up is the #11 Toyota Camry XSE driver, Denny Hamlin.
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Hamlin’s first win of the season came on the Bristol surface where he put his experience and skill to good use to win comfortably. He stands fourth on the points table heading to Richmond and holds opening odds of 17-4 to win, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. He has two top-ten finishes so far this season and an impressive track record in Richmond. He has won 4 races on the track over his long career and has 22 top-ten finishes.
His latest race was in COTA last Sunday, where he finished in 14th place. Sharing the stage along with him as the favorite, with the same odds, is the Phoenix winner, Christopher Bell. Driving the #20 Toyota Camry XSE, he has had a solid start to his season with a victory and four top-10 finishes. Bell had a great race in COTA last Sunday and almost caught up with race winner William Byron, but settled for runner-up. He has brought in five top-10 finishes in Richmond, thus far.
Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs round off Joe Gibbs Racing’s dominance
Third and fourth on the list of favorites for Richmond are Truex Jr. (6-1) and Ty Gibbs (17-2), respectively. The former currently sits atop the points table though he doesn’t have a victory yet. Richmond is among his best tracks and he has secured 3 victories on it. He also has nine top-5s, seventeen top-10s, and an average finish rate of 15.3. His most recent victory there came in 2021. Now that Bell and Hamlin have fixed their spots in the playoffs, Truex Jr. will hope to do so sooner rather than later.
Ty Gibbs has had a pretty good start to the season, similar to his teammates. He sits second on the points table next to Truex Jr. with five top-10s and three top-5s. It is only a matter of time before he finds himself in the victory lane. Last Sunday’s race in COTA saw him finish in 3rd place next to Bell. All four drivers of Coach Gibbs sit inside the top seven on the points table. More likely than not, one of them will emerge victorious in Richmond.
Next to the Gibbs men as favorites are Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kyle Larson and William Byron with odds of 9-1 and 11-1, respectively.
