Good news, bad news for NASCAR Cup drivers ahead of Richmond race
The series was at Iowa Speedway two weeks ago and now heads to Richmond Raceway for Saturday night's event (coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network).
Here is a look at the good news and bad news for Cup drivers and teams heading into Richmond.
23XI Racing — Good news: 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. … Wallace has scored four top 10s in a row, tied for the longest streak in his Cup career. … Wallace finished fourth at Richmond last August, his best finish at the track. … Both of Reddick's top 10s at Richmond came in the last two races there. … Reddick was third at Richmond last August. … 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: Riley Herbst was 33rd at Richmond last August in his only Cup start there.
Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Noah Gragson will make his 100th career Cup start Saturday at Richmond. Bad news: Todd Gilliland has not placed better than 15th in six Richmond starts. … Zane Smith has not placed better than 16th in 11 career Cup short track starts.
Haas Factory Team — Good news: Cole Custer has qualified in the top 12 in three of his six Cup starts at Richmond. Bad News: Custer's 34th-place finish at Watkins Glen was his worst result since Michigan in June.
Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: William Byron extended his lead to 42 points on Chase Elliott with his fourth-place result at Watkins Glen. … Byron has scored back-to-back top-five finishes. … Elliott has four top-five finishes in the last eight Richmond races. … Elliott has placed in the top 10 in eight of the last 10 short track races and that doesn't include his victory in the Clash exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium this year. … Alex Bowman's average finish of 9.3 over the last nine races is the best among full-time drivers. … Bowman will make his 350th career Cup start Saturday at Richmond. Bad news: Chase Elliott's 26th-place finish last weekend at Watkins Glen marked the first time this season he's placed outside the top 20. … Kyle Larson's average finish in the last 12 races is 19.25 — his worst over any 12-race span since joining Hendrick Motorsports ahead of the 2021 season.
Hyak Motorsports — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has made 388 consecutive Cup starts, which is the third-longest active streak behind Joey Logano's streak of 600 and Brad Keselowski's streak of 568. Bad news: Stenhouse has only one top-20 finish in his last seven starts at Richmond.
Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: The organization has more wins at Richmond (19) than at any other track. … Joe Gibbs Racing has won 10 of the last 18 Richmond Cup races. … Christopher Bell has eight top-three finishes in 24 races this season. … Bell's average finish of 7.3 at Richmond is his best among active oval tracks. … Chase Briscoe has had four top-five finishes in the last five races. … 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. … Denny Hamlin has five wins at Richmond. … Hamlin has finished in the top two in six of the last eight Richmond races. … Hamlin has won three of the last 10 short track races, including this season at Martinsville. … Hamlin has more wins (five) than any other driver on short tracks with the Next Gen car. … Hamlin has led at least a lap in each of the last nine races at Richmond. Bad news: Ty Gibbs has finished outside the top 20 in the last three races. … Christopher Bell has had a speeding penalty in each of the last three races at Richmond. … Briscoe has never scored a top-10 finish in eight Cup starts at Richmond.
Kaulig Racing — Good news: AJ Allmendinger will make his 100th Cup start with Kaulig Racing on Saturday at Richmond. Bad news: Allmendinger has finished 26th or worse in his last seven starts at Richmond. … Ty Dillon has had three consecutive finishes of 28th or worse.
Legacy Motor Club — Good news: Erik Jones' 12th-place finish at Watkins Glen moved him to within one point of 20th in the season standings. … Jones has seven top-15 finishes in the last 14 races. … John Hunter Nemechek has three top-15 finishes in the last six races. Bad news: Nemechek has not placed better than 25th in three Richmond Cup starts.
Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Austin Dillon won at Richmond last August. … Dillon has placed in the top 10 in two of the last three Richmond races. … Dillon's last two Cup wins have come in the final three weeks of the playoffs (Daytona in August 2022 and Richmond in August 2024). … Kyle Busch's six Cup wins at Richmond are the most among active drivers. … Busch's 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: Although Busch has 16 Cup short track wins, his most recent victory on that style of track came in April 2019 at Bristol.
Rick Ware Racing — Good news: Cody Ware's 29th-place finish at Watkins Glen snapped a streak of four finishes of 32nd or worse. Bad news: Ware has never finished better than 34th in four Richmond Cup starts.
RFK Racing — Good news: Chris Buescher continues to hold the final Cup playoff spot with two races left in there regular season. … All three of Buescher's top-10 finishes at Richmond, including a win, have come in the last five races there. … Brad Keselowski led a season-high 68 laps in finishing third at Iowa last month in the most recent short track race. … Ryan Preece's average finish of 10.9 over the past nine races ranks fourth among full-time drivers. … Preece has 11 top-15 finishes in the last 13 races. Bad news: Preece has one top-15 finish in nine career Cup starts at Richmond.
Dustin Long,
Spire Motorsports — Good news: Carson Hocevar placed eighth at Richmond last August. Bad news: Justin Haley's 27th-place finish last weekend at Watkins Glen was his worst result since Nashville in June. … Haley has not finished better than 21st in eight Cup starts at Richmond. … Michael McDowell has one top-10 finish in 27 Cup starts at Richmond.
Team Penske — Good news: 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). … Blaney has scored four consecutive top-10 finishes this season. … Blaney has scored the most points (119) on short tracks this season. Bad news: Richmond is the only oval on the circuit that Blaney does not have a top-five finish. … Austin Cindric does not have a top-10 finish in seven Cup starts at Richmond. … Logano has not finished better than ninth in the last 10 races.
Trackhouse Racing — Good news: 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. … Chastain's finish at Watkins Glen tied for his best result over the past nine races. … Chastain finished fifth at Richmond last August. Bad news: Suarez has placed 25th or worse in five of the last seven races.
Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: Josh Berry's average finish of 9.0 at Richmond is his best among tracks he's made multiple starts. … Berry finished second at Richmond in April 2023. .. Berry qualified third at Richmond last August. Bad news: Berry has one top-10 finish since his victory at Las Vegas in March.
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