Tensions High Among Drivers As NASCAR Hits Richmond

Richmond Raceway has long been called the “Action Track.” When the NASCAR Cup Series visits for Sunday’s Cook Out 400, it may also be the “Re-action Track” – with emotions still high from a drama-filled day at Pocono last week and Playoff positions on the line with only five races remaining in the regular season.

Kyle Larson, who finished 21st after battling Denny Hamlin in a door-to-door feud for the Pocono checkered flag, won at the three-quarter mile Richmond track in April.

Larson – who is close friends with Hamlin off-track – was visibly upset with the aggressive move Hamlin used to take the lead from him – and cruise to victory – in the closing laps at Pocono. Larson suggested afterward he would start racing drivers in the same manner as they race him, more aggressively if warranted.

Whatever method he uses, a win on Sunday would make Larson only the 12th driver to win consecutive races at Richmond.

“All of our wins this year have been on short tracks. Richmond, Martinsville, and North Wilkesboro,” Larson said. “We were good at Loudon – even compared to the teammates. Honestly, we have been pretty good everywhere this year.

“I’m excited about going to Richmond this weekend and going back to a track that we won at earlier this year. As the season progresses, set-ups change, and the weather is going to be different than it was earlier in the year. It’s not going to be the same, but I’m confident because we have been good at all the short tracks.”

Kevin Harvick – the 2014 series champion who is retiring at the end of the season – is the defending winner of Sunday’s race. He’s still looking for his first victory of 2023, although he is the highest-ranked driver in the points standings without a win. His 18 top-five and 30 top-10 finishes are best among active drivers.

Primed to rally after a disappointing showing at Pocono last week is Kyle Busch, whose six Richmond wins are most among drivers. He has been running at the finish in all 35 NASCAR Cup Series races he’s competed in at the track and completed all but a single lap in that span – 14,208 of 14,209 laps possible.

Dawsonville, Georgia’s Chase Elliott is still competing for his first trophy of the year, however, after missing six races (five recovering from injury and one for a NASCAR penalty). Elliott is still 56 points from the 16-driver cutoff line (21st place in the standings) and will most likely need to win a race to extend his perfect career Playoff record to eight years.

Alex Bowman also finds himself in a need-to-win situation after missing three races while recovering from an accident he suffered in a mid-week sprint car race back in April. He has qualified for the Playoffs all five of his preceding years, winning races in each of the last four seasons.

And then there is the more obvious drama for those surrounding that all-important 16th place points position in the championship standings. Going into Richmond Bubba Wallace is 15th in points, 27 points above postseason cutoff, and Michael McDowell is in 16th just 17 points up on the cutoff.

There are three others within reasonable striking distance. A.J. Allmendinger has moved into that 17th place slot – only 17 points behind McDowell. Daniel Suarez is 23 points behind McDowell. Rookie Ty Gibbs is now 28 points out of earning a Playoff bid in his first full NASCAR Cup Series season.

Among these five drivers, Suarez (16.1) has the best average finish at Richmond, followed by Allmendinger (22.1), Gibbs (22.5), Wallace (23.6) and McDowell (30.4).

Of note, Allmendinger is making a rare competitive double. He’s also racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Saturday so his team will have Derek Kraus practice and qualify for him at Richmond on Saturday before he returns to race in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.

Of the six previous short track races, current NASCAR Cup Series driver standings leader Martin Truex, Jr. and Larson are multi-time short track winners already in 2023, joining William Byron and Christopher Bell on the list. All four of these drivers ranked among the top-10 in the Cup Series driver standings.

Truex, who leads the championship by 30 points over Byron, boasts the best average short track finishing position (6.6) this season and Byron holds the best average start (6.5) at the previous short track stops.

Six different drivers have won the last six races at Richmond. Among those still needing to race into the Playoffs, Bowman (2021) is the only one with a former Richmond trophy.

NXS: Xfinity Series Different Winners Are The Norm At Road America

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to the Midwest for Saturday afternoon’s race at the historic Road America road course where there has never been a repeat winner to date – 13 race winners in as many series races.

It’s the longest active streak among series’ tracks to go without a repeat champ, but there are three drivers that could change that this weekend. Allmendinger (2012), Jeremy Clements (2017) and Justin Allgaier (2018) are all former Road America winners competing this weekend.

Allgaier, who will be making his 450th series start this weekend, currently boasts the best road course record of the season among series regulars with four finishes of seventh or better, including a runner-up showing at Portland and a third place at the Chicago Street Course.

Fans – and competitors – can typically expect excitement on the series’ road course venues and it comes after a dramatic weekend in Pocono, where Winston, Georgia’s Austin Hill took the lead on an overtime restart to beat the day’s most dominant driver, Josh Berry, for the victory. Hill is now tied with his closest championship rival, John Hunter Nemechek, with four wins each.

Nemechek holds a 13-point advantage over Hill atop the championship standings – the pair having separated themselves from the field. Allgaier is 55 points behind Nemechek.

It’s reasonable to expect some movement in the championship standings with seven regular season races remaining and only seven race winners with a lock on a Playoff berth.

Currently challenging for that 12th and final Playoff transfer position, 13th ranked Parker Kligerman is only 26 points behind 12th place Riley Herbst. Kligerman is 2-for-2 in top 10s at Road America, scoring a third place (2013) and a 10th place (2017) in his only starts there. Herbst also has a pair of top 10s at the track, including back-to-back seventh place finishes in the past two seasons.

NCTS: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series To Decide Regular Season Champion, Playoff Field At Richmond

This is it. After 15 races, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Regular Season Champion will be crowned and the 10-driver Playoff field formalized following Saturday’s race at Richmond Raceway.

Six drivers have already earned their Playoff position by virtue of wins and a seventh, Ty Majeski, has clinched a spot based on points. That leaves three Playoff openings to be decided. A regular season champion will also be crowned this weekend. Marietta, Georgia’s Corey Heim is currently the points leader and will need to collect 19-points to clinch the title and the additional 15-point Playoff bonus awarded the regular season champion.

Reigning series champ Zane Smith, Grant Enfinger, Ben Rhodes, Christian Eckes, and Carson Hocevar have also already secured their positions in the Playoffs with a win.

Matt DiBenedetto, Nick Sanchez and Matt Crafton currently hold the remaining Playoff-eligible positions based on points. Crafton holds a nine-point advantage over 11th place Stewart Friesen. Sanchez is 21 points up on Friesen.

Of course, there is the very real chance that a driver below the cutoff line wins a race and bypasses a competitor currently in the Playoffs on points. Enfinger, however, is the only fulltime driver competing this weekend to have a previous Richmond victory.

Not only is Sanchez hoping to secure that Playoff position, but he also goes into Saturday night’s race with an impressive lead on the rookie standings – more than 100 points up on Monroe, Georgia’s Jake Garcia. Last week at Pocono, the two young talents started alongside one another on the front row. Should Sanchez qualify for the Playoffs he would automatically earn the series’ Sunoco Rookie of the Year award.

NASCAR Weekend Preview

NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Cook Out 400
The Place: Richmond Raceway – Richmond, VA
The Date: Sunday, July 30
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
The Purse: $7,565,800
TV: USA, 2:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300 miles (400 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 70), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 230), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 400)

NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Road America 180
The Place: Road America – Elkhart Lake, WI
The Date: Saturday, July 29
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,347,310
TV: NBC, 2:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 182.16 miles (45 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 22), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 34), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 45)

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Next Race: Worldwide Express 250
The Place: Richmond Raceway – Richmond, VA
The Date: Saturday, July 29
The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $808,354
TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 187.5 miles (250 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 70), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 140), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 250)