{"id":142323,"date":"2025-08-13T12:07:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T12:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/142323\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T12:07:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T12:07:13","slug":"good-news-bad-news-for-nascar-cup-drivers-ahead-of-richmond-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/142323\/","title":{"rendered":"Good news, bad news for NASCAR Cup drivers ahead of Richmond race"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the second time this month, the NASCAR Cup Series competes at a short track.<\/p>\n

The series was at Iowa Speedway two weeks ago and now heads to Richmond Raceway for Saturday night\u2019s event (coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network).<\/p>\n

Here is a look at the good news and bad news for Cup drivers and teams heading into Richmond.<\/p>\n

23XI Racing \u2014<\/b> Good news: <\/b>Watkins Glen represented the third time this season the organization had two cars finish in the top 10 with Bubba Wallace eighth and Tyler Reddick ninth. \u2026 Wallace has scored four top 10s in a row, tied for the longest streak in his Cup career. \u2026 Wallace finished fourth at Richmond last August, his best finish at the track. \u2026 Both of Reddick\u2019s top 10s at Richmond came in the last two races there. \u2026 Reddick was third at Richmond last August. \u2026 Corey Heim, the regular season champion in the Truck Series, is back in the No. 67 this weekend, making his third Cup start of the year. Bad news: <\/b>Riley Herbst was 33rd at Richmond last August in his only Cup start there.<\/p>\n

Front Row Motorsports \u2014 Good news: <\/b>Noah Gragson will make his 100th career Cup start Saturday at Richmond. Bad news: <\/b>Todd Gilliland has not placed better than 15th in six Richmond starts. \u2026 Zane Smith has not placed better than 16th in 11 career Cup short track starts.<\/p>\n

Haas Factory Team \u2014 Good news: <\/b>Cole Custer has qualified in the top 12 in three of his six Cup starts at Richmond. Bad News: <\/b>Custer\u2019s 34th-place finish at Watkins Glen was his worst result since Michigan in June.<\/p>\n

Hendrick Motorsports \u2014 Good news: <\/b>William Byron extended his lead to 42 points on Chase Elliott with his fourth-place result at Watkins Glen. \u2026 Byron has scored back-to-back top-five finishes. \u2026 Elliott has four top-five finishes in the last eight Richmond races. \u2026 Elliott has placed in the top 10 in eight of the last 10 short track races and that doesn\u2019t include his victory in the Clash exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium this year. \u2026 Alex Bowman\u2019s average finish of 9.3 over the last nine races is the best among full-time drivers. \u2026 Bowman will make his 350th career Cup start Saturday at Richmond. Bad news: <\/b>Chase Elliott\u2019s 26th-place finish last weekend at Watkins Glen marked the first time this season he\u2019s placed outside the top 20. \u2026 Kyle Larson\u2019s average finish in the last 12 races is 19.25 \u2014 his worst over any 12-race span since joining Hendrick Motorsports ahead of the 2021 season.<\/p>\n

Hyak Motorsports \u2014 Good news: <\/b>Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has made 388 consecutive Cup starts, which is the third-longest active streak behind Joey Logano\u2019s streak of 600 and Brad Keselowski\u2019s streak of 568. Bad news: <\/b>Stenhouse has only one top-20 finish in his last seven starts at Richmond.<\/p>\n

Joe Gibbs Racing \u2014 Good news: <\/b>The organization has more wins at Richmond (19) than at any other track. \u2026 Joe Gibbs Racing has won 10 of the last 18 Richmond Cup races. \u2026 Christopher Bell has eight top-three finishes in 24 races this season. \u2026 Bell\u2019s average finish of 7.3 at Richmond is his best among active oval tracks. \u2026 Chase Briscoe has had four top-five finishes in the last five races. \u2026 Briscoe is the only driver to finish in the top 10 in all three short track races this season, placing ninth at Martinsville, fourth at Bristol and second at Iowa. \u2026 Denny Hamlin has five wins at Richmond. \u2026 Hamlin has finished in the top two in six of the last eight Richmond races. \u2026 Hamlin has won three of the last 10 short track races, including this season at Martinsville. \u2026 Hamlin has more wins (five) than any other driver on short tracks with the Next Gen car. \u2026 Hamlin has led at least a lap in each of the last nine races at Richmond. Bad news: <\/b>Ty Gibbs has finished outside the top 20 in the last three races. \u2026 Christopher Bell has had a speeding penalty in each of the last three races at Richmond. \u2026 Briscoe has never scored a top-10 finish in eight Cup starts at Richmond.<\/p>\n

Kaulig Racing \u2014 Good news: <\/b>AJ Allmendinger will make his 100th Cup start with Kaulig Racing on Saturday at Richmond. Bad news: <\/b>Allmendinger has finished 26th or worse in his last seven starts at Richmond. \u2026 Ty Dillon has had three consecutive finishes of 28th or worse.<\/p>\n

Legacy Motor Club \u2014 Good news: <\/b>Erik Jones\u2019 12th-place finish at Watkins Glen moved him to within one point of 20th in the season standings. \u2026 Jones has seven top-15 finishes in the last 14 races. \u2026 John Hunter Nemechek has three top-15 finishes in the last six races. Bad news: <\/b>Nemechek has not placed better than 25th in three Richmond Cup starts.<\/p>\n

Richard Childress Racing \u2014 Good news: <\/b>Austin Dillon won at Richmond last August. \u2026 Dillon has placed in the top 10 in two of the last three Richmond races. \u2026 Dillon\u2019s last two Cup wins have come in the final three weeks of the playoffs (Daytona in August 2022 and Richmond in August 2024). \u2026 Kyle Busch\u2019s six Cup wins at Richmond are the most among active drivers. \u2026 Busch\u2019s average finish of 7.6 at Richmond is his best among active ovals. Jesse Love will in the No. 33 car this weekend, making his fifth Cup start of the season. Bad news: <\/b>Although Busch has 16 Cup short track wins, his most recent victory on that style of track came in April 2019 at Bristol.<\/p>\n

Rick Ware Racing \u2014 Good news: <\/b>Cody Ware\u2019s 29th-place finish at Watkins Glen snapped a streak of four finishes of 32nd or worse. Bad news: <\/b>Ware has never finished better than 34th in four Richmond Cup starts.<\/p>\n

RFK Racing \u2014 Good news: <\/b>Chris Buescher continues to hold the final Cup playoff spot with two races left in there regular season. \u2026 All three of Buescher\u2019s top-10 finishes at Richmond, including a win, have come in the last five races there. \u2026 Brad Keselowski led a season-high 68 laps in finishing third at Iowa last month in the most recent short track race. \u2026 Ryan Preece\u2019s average finish of 10.9 over the past nine races ranks fourth among full-time drivers. \u2026 Preece has 11 top-15 finishes in the last 13 races. Bad news: <\/b>Preece has one top-15 finish in nine career Cup starts at Richmond.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"AUTO:<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Chris Buescher continues to hold the final playoff spot in Cup with two races left in the regular season.<\/p>\n

Spire Motorsports \u2014 Good news: <\/b>Carson Hocevar placed eighth at Richmond last August. Bad news: <\/b>Justin Haley\u2019s 27th-place finish last weekend at Watkins Glen was his worst result since Nashville in June. \u2026 Haley has not finished better than 21st in eight Cup starts at Richmond. \u2026 Michael McDowell has one top-10 finish in 27 Cup starts at Richmond.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Tristan<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Tristan McKee wins in his series debut five days after he turned 15 years old.<\/p>\n

Team Penske \u2014 Good news: <\/b>Ryan Blaney will make his 350th consecutive Cup start Saturday at Richmond, the fifth-longest active streak in the series (behind Joey Logano at 600, Brad Keselowski at 568, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at 388 and Kyle Busch at 373). \u2026 Blaney has scored four consecutive top-10 finishes this season. \u2026 Blaney has scored the most points (119) on short tracks this season. Bad news: <\/b>Richmond is the only oval on the circuit that Blaney does not have a top-five finish. \u2026 Austin Cindric does not have a top-10 finish in seven Cup starts at Richmond. \u2026 Logano has not finished better than ninth in the last 10 races.<\/p>\n

Trackhouse Racing \u2014 Good news: <\/b>Organization placed all three cars in the top 10 for the first time in a race last weekend at Watkins Glen with Shane van Gisbergen winning, Daniel Suarez seventh and Ross Chastain 10th. \u2026 Chastain\u2019s finish at Watkins Glen tied for his best result over the past nine races. \u2026 Chastain finished fifth at Richmond last August. Bad news: <\/b>Suarez has placed 25th or worse in five of the last seven races.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"NASCAR<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Connor Zilisch was injured in a fall from his car in victory lane after winning last weekend\u2019s Xfinity race at Watkins Glen.<\/p>\n

Wood Brothers Racing \u2014 Good news: <\/b>Josh Berry\u2019s average finish of 9.0 at Richmond is his best among tracks he\u2019s made multiple starts. \u2026 Berry finished second at Richmond in April 2023. .. Berry qualified third at Richmond last August. Bad news: <\/b>Berry has one top-10 finish since his victory at Las Vegas in March.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the second time this month, the NASCAR Cup Series competes at a short track. The series was…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":142324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[1406,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-142323","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-nascar","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115021378111075299","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}