The NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series head to the 0.75-mile Richmond Raceway this weekend for two nights of thrilling short-track racing in Richmond, Virginia. The Cup Series enters the final three-race stretch before The Chase, while the Truck Series returns to action after a three-week hiatus. Bookmark this page and come back often for your race-week essentials — from qualifying orders, practice speeds, pit stalls and more.
Race day: Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.
Tires: Eleven total sets — nine new sets for the race, one for qualifying, which transfers to the race, and one for practice. Four wet-weather sets will also be available as needed.
Race day: Saturday at noon ET on FS2. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.
Tires: Six total sets — four new sets for the race, one for qualifying, which transfers to the race, and one for practice. Three wet-weather sets will also be available as needed.
RICHMOND, Va. — The complexion of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series postseason picture shifted significantly amid a relatively smooth race, won in dominant style by Kaden Honeycutt. On the Chase bubble, the waters were anything but calm.
Grant Enfinger and Tyler Ankrum were among the postseason hopefuls who navigated the chop with a degree of dexterity in a Saturday matinee at Richmond Raceway, with the Black’s Tire 250 presented by BTS Rewards pushed back from its original Friday night date by storms. Enfinger and his CR7 Motorsports team padded their margin over the Chase cutline, sealing a near-virtual clinch into the 10-driver field with a deft bit of pit-stop strategy and a fifth-place finish. Ankrum and his McAnally-Hilgemann Racing group overcame an early pit-road penalty and wound up 11th, foiled slightly by an ill-timed caution flag in the final stage. His result, though, was enough to provisionally push him into the final Chase spot with one regular-season race remaining.
Both drivers managed to avoid the pitfall that sank Stewart Friesen, whose tire trouble sent his No. 52 Toyota hard into the Turn 1 wall in the 216th of 250 laps, saddling him with a last-place finish and dropping him from eight points above the elimination line to 20 points below. They’ll settle the final battle for championship eligibility in next Saturday’s regular-season finale at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Even with a 20-point cushion in his bid to make the postseason for a third straight year, Ankrum wasn’t breathing any easier after Richmond.
“No, thereisnoreliefuntilyou’redone,” Ankrum said, laughing at the notion of bubble safety. “Theseguysarefiercecompetitors.I’vebeenracingwiththemforalongtime,andespeciallyaguylikeFriesen.Iknow that hewantstoprovesomething.SountilthecheckeredflagfallsatNewHampshire,that’swhenI’llgohaveacocktailandrelax.”
Enfinger appeared to have the strongest bid to play Saturday spoiler, especially on a day when Honeycutt led 225 of 250 laps. The 41-year-old veteran finished third in both stages, stockpiling mid-race points, but crew chief Derek White opted for an alternate strategy in the last stage, running long before bringing the No. 9 Chevrolet in for a final pit stop and holding an extra set of tires as a trump card that other teams lacked.
Enfinger was leading when Friesen crashed, initiating the final pit-stop cycle under yellow. The run-long strategy trapped all but seven other trucks a lap down, and different timing could have stymied more.
“Wehaveallthefactsandallthedata,anditwasagambleeitherway, soIjustfeltlikewehadtodowhatwehadtodo toputourselvesinapositiontowin,” White told NASCAR.com. “Wehad 15laps, ifacautioncomesout,wetrapthem a lapdown andthenwe’resittingreallypretty.Ifwegetacautionwith10togo,we’vegotaset oftireslaying,andtheydon’t.We’resittingreallyprettythere,too.Soreally,justhadtotryanddosomethingdifferent.Wehadagood, solidpointsdaythroughbothstages,whichwaswhatweneeded.Sothatgaveustheopportunitytotrysomethingdifferentatthatend.”
Enfinger had moved into Chase position four races ago, with a road-course victory at Lime Rock Park. He entered Richmond with a 26-point edge over the cutline, and post-race, he applauded White’s call to mix things up.
Ankrum’s day hit an early hitch when his crew bounded over the wall too soon on a pit stop during the Stage 1 intermission. The penalty knocked him back to 18th place, ground that he eventually regained with a charge back up to the fringes of the top five.
Ankrum pitted just six laps before Friesen’s misfortune jumbled the strategy hopper, catching him one lap down in 15th. Post-race, he lamented the tough bounce over his No. 18 Chevrolet’s team radio.
“I felt like our second stage was our strongest, but man,I’vecomeheresomanytimestoRichmond,andjustthatgreen-flagcycle’sgottenme,” Ankrum said, “andwefeltwefeltlikeweweregoingtobesmartthisyear and waitforthecautiontofallbecauseweknowitwasgoingtocome.It’scomeforthepastthreeorfouryears,anditjustcamelaterthanweexpected.Sooneofthesedays,we’llcatchabreak.
RICHMOND, Va. — It’s been the ultimate celebratory week for Tricon Garage driver Kaden Honeycutt, who absolutely dominated the weather-delayed Black’s Tire 250 presented by BTS Rewards NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Richmond Raceway Saturday afternoon – the strong winning effort coming only days after the 23-year-old Texan announced he and his wife, Jessica, were expecting their first child.
Honeycutt led 225 of the 250 laps at the 0.75-mile track—the most laps he’s ever led in a single race — surpassing his 59 laps out front at Darlington Raceway earlier this year and more laps led than in all his 75 previous series races combined. And for the first time in his career, he swept both stage wins as well.
Ultimately, Honeycutt’s No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota crossed the line a healthy 1.313 seconds ahead of his teammate, reigning series champion Corey Heim in the team’s No. 5 Toyota Tundra. After a series of late-race pit stops, Honeycutt reclaimed the lead with 29 laps remaining and never looked back.
His strong day broke a long-tenured Richmond race pattern where the driver who leads the most laps does not typically win the race. Honeycutt was strong early and often … at one point holding the lead position for a 195-lap stretch.
This marks his second career win and second of the season and trims Saturday’s 15th-place finisher, Front Row Motorsports driver Layne Riggs’ championship lead to 61 points heading into the regular-season finale next week at New Hampshire.
The victory is also significant for Honeycutt’s veteran crew chief Scott Zippadelli, who now claims 38 career series victories, second all-time to Eric Phillips 44-trophy haul.
“Man, we never give up,’’ Honeycutt said. “We’ve had a rough last couple weeks and just wondered what the heck was going on. We’re not a seventh-place, 10th-place team and it’s all thanks to [crew chief] Scott Zippadelli and everyone on this 11 team.
“We just stay on it. We don’t give up and I just can’t thank everyone enough. What a dominant day. I’ve never been able to do something like that before, so really good confidence for me, and hopefully we can go to Loudon and do the same thing next week. Just really cool.’’
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes was third in the No. 91 Chevrolet with first-time series pole-winner, New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, finishing fourth in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in what will be a Saturday doubleheader as he competes Saturday night at Richmond in the NASCAR Cup Series race. Grant Enfinger, who led 22 laps on the day in the No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet, rounded out the top five.
As so often happens, the Richmond race proved to have a significant impact on the championship standings.
Tyler Ankrum — who came into the race ranked 11th, one position outside the Chase 10-driver championship-eligible field — was dealt a penalty for his No. 18 McAnnally-Hilgemann team having too many men over the pit wall on the opening pit stop of the race. After collecting stage points with an eighth-place finish in the first stage, he started the next stage as the last truck on the lead lap.
Ankrum overcame the situation a mere 20 laps into the run, however, quickly repassing his primary foe, Stewart Friesen (who came into the race 10th in points), before moving to an 11th-place finish in Stage 2 and, ultimately, the race.
Friesen brought out the third and final caution flag, crashing by himself with 33 laps remaining and triggering an impactful twist in the standings. Ankrum’s steady work and Friesen’s misfortune (he finished last in the 37-car field) moved Ankrum into that all-important 10th position in the standings.
He’s now 20 points up on Friesen and 21 points over Saturday’s sixth-place finisher, ThorSport Racing’s Jake Garcia, as the series heads into the regular-season finale next week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Those three drivers contending for that final Chase transfer position have only four previous starts among them at New Hampshire. Friesen has competed in two races there; his best work was a fifth-place finish back in 2017. He was injured and did not race last fall. Ankrum and Garcia did race, finishing 11th and 16th respectively, in their only series starts at the New England oval.
ThorSport’s Ty Majeski also survived a hectic afternoon, the former Richmond winner officially locking into The Chase even after going down two laps with tire trouble early in the day. He finished 19th a lap down, but his perseverance on a challenging day was enough to secure his position in The Chase.
Garcia and Front Row Motorsports’ Chandler Smith were sixth and seventh, with Spire Motorsports’ 16-year-old Tristan McKee earning an impressive eighth-place finish in his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut. Tricon’s Gio Ruggiero and McAnally-Hilgemann’s Daniel Hemric rounded out the top 10 Saturday. Virginian Elliott Sadler, in the free agent Kaulig Racing Ram, finished 32nd.
The regular-season finale is set for next Saturday with the Team EJP 175 (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The 2025 series champion Heim won last year’s race from pole position.
NOTE: Post-race inspection was completed without issue in the Craftsman Truck Series garage, confirming Kaden Honeycutt as the winner.
RICHMOND, Va. — It’s been quite the divided season for Kyle Larson.
The California native has savored plenty of sprint-car success this year, with six victories in the High Limit Series he co-owns and another barnstorming triumph just two days ago on a qualifying night at the prestigious Knoxville Nationals. Larson’s take so far in the NASCAR Cup Series, where he reigns as defending champion for Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Chevrolet team, is a bare cupboard in the win column.
“Iguessit’sprobablyafunnybalancebecauseyeah,Igettogohavethatthrillandenjoymentofwinningonthesprintcarstuff,andIthink(the crew)getasenseofthatthemselvesjustbeingapartofme,butyeah,ImeanwewouldalllovetohavesomesuccessontheNASCARsideofthings,” Larson said Friday post-qualifying at Richmond Raceway. “We’vejusthadaroughgoherelately,butyeah,you’vegottojusttakesmallvictoriesfromeachweekend.”
Victories — either small or in any size, shape or form — have been more difficult to come by of late for Larson and the rest of the Hendrick lineup, which hopes to turn things around starting with Saturday’s Cook Out 400 (7 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Chase Elliott has scored the only two Cup Series wins for the four-car team, and the last of those came in early May at Texas Motor Speedway. Elliott ranks the highest in the Cup standings among his teammates in seventh, with Larson 10th, William Byron 11th and Alex Bowman 29th in an injury-shortened season.
Of Hendrick’s top three, Larson’s slump might be the most pronounced, especially when overlaid against his collection of 26 wins in his five previous seasons with the Rick Hendrick-owned team. A crash at Iowa Speedway last weekend handed Larson his fourth finish of 33rd or worse in the last five races, and his winless streak stretches to May 2025 at Kansas — 47 starts ago. He’ll start an uncharacteristic 30th in Saturday’s 400-lapper after a season-low qualifying effort, but Elliott was quick to say that Larson’s struggles are not uniquely his own.
Byron’s performance contrasts also stand out. The two-time Daytona 500 winner was leading the Cup Series standings at this time last year, with seven stage wins in the bank compared to his three this season. His average starting spot has also tapered off, from the 9.9 that tied for the series’ best last season to the 15.9 clip that he holds in 2026.
The lack of wins, Byron says, ranks as the biggest factor in the decline from year to year. This time last season, Byron had two wins already, and he’d add a third for the 2025 campaign at Martinsville in the fall. The 10-race Chase looms next month, however, and he views it as a crossroads opportunity.
“Oh,absolutely.Imean,Ithinkthatthe Chaseisgoingtobekindofthemasterreset, eventhoughthereisstillanadvantagetotheguysthathavehadagoodregularseason,Ithinktherestillisamasterresetthere,” Byron says. “Thedifferenceinfirstand10th (in the Chase) isnotasbigaswhatitisnow, soIthinkthere’sachancethatyoucanclosethatgapprettyquicklywithawin,andthenit’skindofanyone’sgame.”
As reflected in the Cup Series standings, the regular season so far has been dominated by five Toyota teams — all four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers and the 23XI entry of Tyler Reddick — and the flourishing Ford driven by Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. Hendrick’s foursome might be unaccustomed to being shut out of that top six, but Larson says fortunes can change. The sport’s history has shown it, and Hendrick has been known for making things click.
“Imean,justreallytojustgetsomesolidrunsinagain,getthatmomentumbuiltbackupinthesenextfew,” Larson says when asked what might give him more assurance to close out the season. “IthinkweallarenotnaiveenoughtothinkthatwecouldbeasgoodorbetterthanToyotasinthenextthreeweeks,butweweren’tasgoodasthem lastyear,andwewonthechampionshipandwouldhavewonitinthisformat.Sowecouldstilldoit.Justgottogetalittlebitbettergripandspeed,andIthinkourexecutionisthere.Soyeah,Imightnotseemconfident; noneofusmightseemconfidentasfaraswinningachampionship,butthereisstillthatconfidenceintherebecauseyouraceforHendrickMotorsports,andyouknowatanypointwecanturnitaround.Sojustgottobereadyforwheneverthatdaycomes.”
Track: Richmond Raceway Location: Richmond, Virginia Track length: 0.75 miles When: 7 p.m. ET Where to tune in: USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Race purse: $11,233,037 Race distance: 400 laps | 300 miles Stages: 70 | 230 | 400 Saturday’s starting lineup| Pit-stall assignments
Pressure points build at Richmond as regular season winds down
RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond Raceway’s second date of the season has long been laden with pressure and implications, back to the days when “Rock and Roll” was part of the race name. Next year, the 0.75-mile track will set the tone for the 10-race postseason as the Chase opener. This year, Richmond sits squarely in the late going of the regular season, when intensity gets the ratchet treatment.
The jockeying for Chase spots continues in earnest in Saturday night’s Cook Out 400, kicking off a three-race stretch before the 16-driver Chase field is set. Series points leader Denny Hamlin aims to keep his momentum churning at his home track, where he’s scored five of his 64 Cup Series victories and will again be a pre-race favorite.
Further down the list, the subplots are stirring. Team Penske’s Austin Cindric has a provisional hold on the final postseason slot, by just a 29-point margin over RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece — currently slotted as the first driver out. Last weekend’s event at Iowa Speedway left Cindric wanting more after a 29th-place finish trimmed his cushion above the elimination line by nine, and the two drivers in front of him — Shane van Gisbergen and Bubba Wallace — also lost crucial ground in the Hawkeye State.
Cindric — a former winner at Daytona International Speedway, site of the regular-season finale on Aug. 29 — says attention to detail will be crucial for his No. 2 Ford team in the trio of races ahead.
Behind Preece is a logjam of three drivers within a four-point span — Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain, minus-47 after a rejuvenating Iowa top five; Brad Keselowski, minus-48 and Preece’s teammate/boss at RFK; and Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones, minus-50 and staring uphill after an Iowa wipeout.
Keselowski — twice a victor at Richmond in his veteran career — said the formula for flipping his fate isn’t complicated, even while battling his teammate for the last remnants of postseason real estate.
Said Preece, who starts sixth Saturday night: “Imean,myentirelife’sbeenpressurewhenitcomestomycareer,soit’snodifferent.Ultimately,Imean,thegoal — ifwewin — that’lltakecareofalotofthings.Soforme,havinggoodtrackpositiontostartisgoingtobeimportant,andthennotgivingthatupthroughoutthenight.Wecan’taffordtodothat.Soweneedtoplayoffenseandlookforwardandmakethe2 (Cindric) andthe97 (van Gisbergen)worryaboutusandnotworryaboutanybodybehindus.”
Van Gisbergen’s case may well be bolstered at Richmond by his growing prowess at short tracks, a development in his growth from road-racing specialist to a more well-rounded NASCAR driver. He made the postseason last year during the “win and you’re in” format era, and he stands to return to the Chase field on overall points under this year’s new procedures.
Life on the postseason bubble might be new for SVG, but Wallace has been there in multiple years of his Cup Series career. This time around, Wallace says his situation feels distinctly dissimilar from previous go-rounds as he strives to qualify for the field of 16 for the third time in four years.
A handful of year-over-year changes have greeted drivers and teams in their Richmond returns — a new tire setup, the 750-horsepower output increase and a new placement for the pit-road commitment line, which moves 75 feet closer to the first timing line at pit entry. Drivers took turns finding the optimal entrance point further down the track during Friday’s sessions, with varying degrees of success.
“Yeah, I took tworepsatitinpractice,didtwocompletelydifferentapproaches,andIknowwhichoneIlikebetter,” Chastain said. “I’llgobackandlookandseewhichonewasactuallyfaster.Yeah,it’sdifferent.Ithinkit’sagoodmove.Itwas,Ithink,toofarback,buttheycandowhatevertheywant.”
David Jensen | Getty Images
In the details …
2026 has been the tale of two seasons for Tyler Reddick. The driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota rocketed to a historic start of the year with five wins in the first nine races, but has tapered off through the summer and is crawling his way to the start of The Chase after dropping to fourth in the standings after Iowa last weekend.
With the help of Racing Insights, take a look at how Reddick performed in the first 14 races of the year versus the last nine events:
Category
First 14 races
Last nine races
Poles
3
0
Wins
5
0
Top fives
9
1
Top 10s
11
3
Top 15s
14
3
Avg. start
5.86
11.6
Avg. finish
5.57
24.2
Stage wins
0
1
Laps led
362
75
Lead-lap finishes
14
4
Speed reads
Race-day essentials:
• Richmond hub: Key information, pit stalls, additional results | Read more • Saturday Setup: See what crew chiefs have in mind in the Commonwealth | Read more
• Pre-Chase trends: Inside Hendrick Motorsports’ on-track slump | Read more • Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh looks ready to light up Virginia night sky | View gallery • Hauler Talk: Why getting a top-six seed in The Chase is important | Listen now • NASCAR Classics: Dig into the video vault for full-race replays from Richmond | Watch now
• Power Rankings: Stuck in slump, will Reddick rebound at Richmond? | This week’s ranks
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Black’s Tire 250 presented by BTS Rewards at Richmond Raceway on Saturday (noon ET, FS2, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Friday’s scheduled NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Richmond Raceway has been postponed a day due to inclement weather. The Black’s Tire 250 presented by BTS Rewards will now take place Saturday at noon ET (FS2, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The postponement sets up a River City doubleheader with the Cup Series, serving as the matinee to Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 (7 ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The race was slated for a 7:30 p.m. ET start Friday, but lightning and rain showers converged on the 0.75-mile track shortly before the scheduled green flag. Despite multiple attempts to start the 250-lapper, NASCAR officials were forced to push the event back a day.
Cup Series regular Shane van Gisbergen won the pole Friday afternoon and will lead the field to green Saturday.
Layne Riggs holds a 100-point series lead over Kaden Honeycutt and can clinch the No. 1 seed in The Chase at Richmond with just two regular-season races remaining.
RICHMOND, Va. — With The Chase postseason format shifting the focus of competition, Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen is someone who has felt the new emphasis. The sport’s reigning road-course master had earned previous positions in The Chase with his trophy haul on this season’s road-course stops.
The 37-year-old New Zealander has two wins in 2026 and sits 15th in points, just inside the 16-driver Chase cutoff. More refined racing on all tracks, along with his road-course dominance, has put van Gisbergen in a title-contending position. And it’s something Van Gisbergen said he has consciously worked on.
“I guess initially, it’s probably a good thing for the sport,” van Gisbergen said of the championship format change. “I guess initially, I was brought over here for that ‘win and you’re in’ to guarantee a spot in the playoffs, so yeah, I certainly knew I had to get better at ovals, and I think we’ve done that.
“I don’t think my mindset has changed every race. I think maybe these couple of races, I’m points racing a little bit, but the rest of the year, you’re just driving flat out. I don’t think I’ve ever really point-raced trying to stay out of trouble. I think that when you’re not driving naturally, you find yourself in trouble. So yeah, I just try and drive every race flat out.”
His emphasis and work are evident. He has already equaled career single-season highs in top fives (five) and top 10s (seven) with 13 races remaining. Four of his top 10s have come on traditionally difficult ovals, and he’s twice set a career-best showing on ovals — fifth place at both Nashville Superspeedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Van Gisbergen started his weekend off by winning the pole position for Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet — his first career pole in the series and first pole position of any kind on an oval.
RICHMOND, Va. — One week to the next, the racing calendar shifts from the Iowa plains to the central Virginia piedmont — two vastly different regions of the country. At face value, the NASCAR tracks that live there would seem comparable.
The Cup Series travels from last weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway to a regular-season showdown at Richmond Raceway, which hosts Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 (7 ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The schedule turns from Iowa’s 0.875-mile D-shaped oval to a similarly shaped 0.75-mile layout in Richmond, fostering the notion that crew chiefs might have like-minded approaches to the two tracks.
Some of those track traits, however, are as different as the cornfields are from the Commonwealth.
“Ithinkalittlebit, withhowitdrivesandthebankingandthepavement,likethebumpin (Turn)1inIowa,” says Chris Gayle, crew chief for Denny Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota. “Thisplace,though,byfar,tiredegradationisalotbiggerdeal.Imean,youfreakingwearouttireshere,whereasIowa,youwouldthinkyouwould,butit’sreallynotquiteasbadasyouwouldthink,andthefall-off’snotmuch.It’salothere,right?Ithinkthat’sthebiggestdifferencebetweenthetwoplaces.”
Iowa presented a different challenge for Gayle’s No. 11 team with brake issues that prompted Hamlin’s pedal to go long both during practice and the race, a brake-pressure problem shared by Joe Gibbs Racing colleague Chase Briscoe and the No. 19 group, plus a pair of 23XI Racing Toyotas. While debate swirled this week around whether brake pads could be changed without penalty, Gayle said the week also provided the organization with an opportunity to dive into the issue, aiming to keep it from happening again.
“Lastweekwasanoutlierchoiceonsomebrakepads,andIthinkthathonestly,nowthatwe’vegottenbackandthey’velookedatthem,Idon’tthinkthatwehadwhatwethoughtwehadfromthemanufacturer,andthat’sthetruth,” Gayle told NASCAR.com. “Iknowthatdoesn’tmakeeverybodyfeelgood.Everybodywantsconspiracytheoriesandallkindsofotherthings, butitwasalegitproblemthatsurprisedallofuslastweek.BecauseImean,whywouldwegointoIowapickingsomethingthatsomebodyacrossourgrouphadn’trunmultipletimesandfeltgoodabout?So it justworkedoutthatwaytowhereIthinkitwassomethingdifferentthanwhatweexpectedtoget,andsothat’swhysomanyofushadtrouble.”
So is it back to what’s worked in the past? Gayle said yes. “Yeah, IwasgoingtodothatdifferentbecauseIowaisaspecificplacethatcreatesaseparatebrakeproblemthatyoudon’tnecessarilyhaveasbadhere,” he said, “butthisjustreiteratedformetostickwithournormal,soit’snotabigdeal.”
Getting back to the tried and true is also the hope for the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team and driver Austin Dillon, who has won the last two Cup Series races at Richmond. No. 3 crew chief Richard Boswell and the rest of the Cup field will face a Goodyear tire combination that’s new to Richmond (with different left-side rubber), but familiar to other short tracks with appearances at Martinsville Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway earlier this season. Dillon & Co. also return with a power boost over last year, with the 750-horsepower package — by now a known entity elsewhere — making its Richmond debut.
Boswell said the team expected to learn more about the tire tweak from Friday’s practice, held in the searing afternoon heat ahead of what’s anticipated to be a cooler Saturday evening race. But he was also optimistic about their setup mastery carrying over.
RICHMOND, Va. — Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell claimed his seventh runner-up finish last weekend at Iowa Speedway, tying him with NASCAR legend Harry Gant (1981) for the most runner-up finishes in a winless season. His 11 runner-up finishes since 2025 are nearly twice as many as any other competitor’s — his JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe each have six.
But as frustrating as the close calls may feel in the moment, the 31-year-old conceded after a little time to reflect that he has to look at the efforts in a positive way. The driver of the No. 20 Toyota would certainly love to hoist his first trophy of the year in Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway (7 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Bell has seven top 10s in 10 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond, with his best career finish — yes — a runner-up showing in 2022. He has also led 230 laps at the track.
He does have three wins here in what is now the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, including a two-race sweep in 2018.
“Certainly, all of the second-place finishes — they’re trying, and, in the moment, it really kind of feels like just a kick to the gut, but then whenever Monday, Tuesday rolls around, you’re like, ah, it was a pretty darn good day,’’ conceded Bell.
“So, ultimately, the results that we’ve gotten have meant a lot more this year than what they have in my entire Cup career with the format change. So, it’s been nice to stack some good results together, and we’re performing really well right now. I certainly feel like we’re in the mix.”
Bell’s work at Iowa moved him up four spots in the championship standings to sixth place, and he’s only four points behind his teammate Briscoe in fifth. With points now determining The Chase field instead of the win-and-you’re-in format of recent seasons, top fives and top 10s are impactful.
“They mean more today in this year than they have for the previous format, my entire Cup career and NASCAR career for that matter,’’ Bell said. “The point standings and where you’re running at in points is super important, but the entire previous championship format was very much win or bust. I think that mentality is still engraved in at least my mind and probably most of the industry’s mind, but in all reality, it’s not win or bust anymore.”
