Posted on by Alex Cadavid

With a weekend that had plenty of old-school feel to it, Austin Dillon was the one who shined the brightest in a short-track showdown under the lights. The Richard Childress Racing driver guided the iconic No. 3 ride to Victory Lane at Richmond Raceway with ease after leading 107 laps and earning redemption to return to Cup Series Playoffs.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

With one race left in the regular season, let’s take a look at three drivers moving in the right direction and three drivers on their back foot before another Saturday night thriller at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock).

THREE UP ⬆️

1. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

Started: 20th

Finished: 3rd

What happened: Overall, it was a banner day for Team Penske with the 2023 Cup Series champ carrying the flag, scoring his first top-five finish at Richmond. Blaney was a force all evening, scoring points in both stages and coming alive in the second half of the race to challenge Dillon for the win. In the end, he couldn’t make up the gap to catch Dillon in the final stint, settling for his ninth top five of the season.

What’s next: Blaney has proven to be a master on drafting tracks, and he does have a summer win at Daytona from 2021. With how much pace the whole organization is showing right now, Penske is peaking at the right time before the playoffs, and Blaney has a chance to end the regular season on a six-race top-10 streak.

Ryan Blaney drives at Richmond.
Samuel Corum | Getty Images

2. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

Started: 38th

Finished: 4th

What happened: The defending champ had a mountain to climb before the green flag dropped, with a tire failure in practice sending him into the wall and not setting a lap in qualifying. He admitted it was a frustrating night post-race, but Logano kept his head down and didn’t lollygag as he charged up to fourth by midway through Stage 2. His speed held true once the checkered flag flew, which resulted in his fifth top 10 at Richmond over the last six races there.

What’s next: With a season that’s now only produced seven top-10 finishes through 25 races, this was the perfect tone-setting weekend for Logano and Co. to execute through adversity and build momentum before the playoffs picking up their first top five since Nashville, and we know how dangerous it is to give the No. 22 crew momentum at this point of the year.

Joey Logano climbs into Ford at Richmond.
Patrick Valley | For NASCAR Digital Media

3. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Started: 27th

Finished: 14th

What happened: Van Gisbergen chipped away at spots all night and slowly got more comfortable as the race went on. Plus, the Kiwi stayed clean once chaos did strike in the middle portions of the race. The result ties his best finish on ovals since the Coca-Cola 600 and his sixth top 20 at such tracks.

What’s next: With the second-most playoff points already in hand, this solid run at Richmond gives a shot in the arm to van Gisbergen as he continues to progress on ovals. The momentum should boost his confidence for the postseason, where every lap of experience matters and each clean finish could mean the difference in advancing.

Shane van Gisbergen climbs into car.
Samuel Corum | Getty Images

THREE DOWN ⬇️

1. Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford

Started: 1st

Finished: 35th

What happened: RFK Racing had a dismal day after showing blazing speed on Friday, highlighted no more clearly than by polesitter Preece. Preece appeared to have the car early to sail into his first career Cup Series win and lock into the playoffs. Instead, the No. 60 team opted for a different strategy and saved fresher tires for later in the race. The gamble didn’t pay off as Preece faded throughout the 400-lapper before being plagued by brake issues.

What’s next: Some good news is that the Fords show speed at drafting tracks and Preece has had great qualifying efforts two out of his last three visits to Daytona. It’s going to take a mighty effort in close-quarter racing next Saturday for the Connecticut wheelman to keep his playoff hopes alive.

ryan preece at richmond raceway
Samuel Corum | Getty Images

2. Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

Started: 12th

Finished: 30th

What happened: Buescher never found the pace to contend and leaned on an alternate strategy to try and gain track position. The move didn’t stick, and he steadily slipped back from the top 15 during the race.

What’s next: He came in as the last driver clinging to the playoff bubble, but Austin Dillon’s win pushes him below the elimination line, a full 60 points back of Alex Bowman for the provisional final spot in the 16-driver postseason grid. That effectively leaves Daytona as a must-win with his postseason hopes against the wall.

Chris Buescher drives at Richmond.
Patrick Vallely | For NASCAR Digital Media

3. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

Started: 2nd

Finished: 34th

What happened: Reddick flexed early on, winning the opening stage and leading 41 laps at a track where he only has two top 10s. Unfortunately, contact from the lapped car of Ty Gibbs cost the No. 45 driver a chance to remain upfront and vie for his first win of the season as Reddick spun and never recovered.

What’s next: His points cushion to the playoff elimination line is still solid, and though he didn’t clinch a spot with a race to spare, Reddick just needs to avoid calamity in the final tilt of the regular season and focus on getting off to a strong start in the Cup Series Playoffs.

Tyler Reddick drives at Richmond.
Patrick Vallely | For NASCAR Digital Media
Posted on by Staff Report

With a 12th-place finish, William Byron clinched the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship on Saturday at Richmond Raceway. It marks the first Regular Season Championship for the 27-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, who banks an additional 15 playoff points to his 17 earned through the first 25 races this season. He needed to finish Saturday’s race at least 62 points ahead of second in the standings to secure the crown.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“It’s really the best 12th-place finish I’ve ever had,” Byron said in his post-race press conference. “We came in here and really just did a solid job. We qualified solid. We always want more, but this is definitely our toughest race track. We just kind of came in here, had a solid plan and executed it.

“This team has worked extremely hard. All the guys have worked hard through the summer months. Feel like this has been the best summer we’ve ever had speed-wise. Had a lot of tough things happen throughout probably really early July. We had a lot of speed, but some crashes in practice and qualifying. Just some car issues and things that happened. Just really, really cool.”

MORE: Every Regular Season Champion

Byron benefited from Stage 2 trouble with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott. At Lap 198, Elliott received race-ending damage after getting caught up in an 11-car melee triggered from contact between Kyle Busch and Chase Briscoe entering Turn 3. Entering Richmond, Elliott had completed all but one lap this season and finished inside the top 20 in every race until last week at Watkins Glen International.

Byron received minor damage in the crash, nearly making it through the incident unscathed before contacting the spinning Elliott, hurting the splitter and door. He fought uphill the rest of the night, making it back into the mix before burning off his tires in the final run of the night.

“I was kind of losing my mind there for a minute,” Byron explained about the crash.”It never helps getting damage like that. I felt like, I mean, it was another example of making something out of nothing. We put on that set of tires, and we kind of burned that set of tires, got some track position from that. We got back to the top 10. Then that kind of set us up for a really good Stage 3. All of a sudden, we were in the top five. We just had that bad run where we just couldn’t hang on to all four tires really.”

MORE: Cup Series standings | Race Rewind: Richmond

The No. 24 driver opened the season with a bang, winning his second consecutive Daytona 500 in February. He took over the points lead in March at Circuit of The Americas after finishing second, surrendering the top spot just once between then and mid-July.

Byron had some summer woes, running out of fuel in the closing laps at Michigan International Speedway while in pursuit of victory, kick-starting a stretch of five finishes of 27th or worse over the next seven races.

However, a win at Iowa Speedway and a fourth-place finish at The Glen turned the Rudy Fugle-led team around with a return to Daytona coming next Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock).

“I think just finally some things went our way,” Byron said regarding the mid-summer turnaround. “I think honestly, we’ve been doing a really good job on strategy, execution. We’ve brought good speed in August. I’d say our speed was the best in mid to late June. I would say in May, we were super fast. Then June, we were really fast. I crashed probably our best car at Pocono. Then July we just had some really bad finishes, really bad things happened to us. Ran out of fuel a couple times.

“I think we buckled down and really got back to the team we’re capable of being. Pretty impressive, August probably. Probably our best August we’ve ever had, just executing, thinking outside the box, bringing fast cars.”

Byron’s Regular Season Championship checks the first box as the iRacing turned Hendrick phenom looks toward his third consecutive Championship 4 appearance and first Bill France Cup.

Posted on by Holly Cain

RICHMOND, Va. – Austin Dillon claimed his sixth career NASCAR Cup Series race trophy, earned a 2025 playoff bid and just as importantly, enjoyed some sweet redemption in Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway.

Dillon led 107 laps on the night, including the final 49 to claim the victory and automatic berth in the 16-driver playoff field — vaulting from a 28th-place position in the championship standings before the green flag to a championship berth at the checkered flag in a clutch effort from the 2018 Daytona 500 winner and his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team.

It was the most laps Dillon had led all season and marks the third time he’s won a race in the closing weeks of the regular season.

It was a huge statement for Dillon, 35, who won this race last year, but was later ruled ineligible to participate in the playoffs after receiving a penalty from NASCAR for aggressive driving in the final laps at the historic 0.75-mile Richmond track.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“Man, that feels good, got to thank the good Lord above,” said Dillon, who finished a healthy 2.471 seconds ahead of playoff contender, Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, who leaves Richmond now holding the last championship points position with one regular season race remaining next week at the always-unpredictable Daytona International Speedway.

“I really wanted that one,” Dillon said after an emotional hug from his brother Ty, who finished 20th on Saturday. “Last year hurt really bad, just going through the whole process of it. But this one feels so sweet. Man, I love Richmond.

“God has timing. His timing is the best timing. … It’s just so special. Every one of these means so much to me. My grandfather [NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress], for all that he’s put up in believing in me, because there’s been a lot of ups and downs, could have been easy for him to change the drivers in this 3-car. Today it feels really darn good.”

While encouraged by his strong showing, the runner-up Bowman was also frustrated that lapped traffic in the closing laps impeded him from making more of a final run at Dillon. He now sits in the final playoff transfer position by 60 points over RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher.

“A couple favors,” Bowman responded when asked what more he needed to be able to contend with Dillon. “I sure complained about it on the radio, but that’s just part of what we do, so … vented a little bit, but had a really good Ally 48 [car] in the last run. Just broke the tires off too much in lap traffic. Didn’t get any breaks. That made me kind of work the rears harder than I need to.

“Just need to be a little better through there to get to him. I certainly think we had the better car. Unfortunately, didn’t get there. [Crew chief] Blake [Harris] and all the guys did a great job. Just came up a little bit short.”

Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron formally clinched the Regular Season Championship with his 12th-place finish – a huge upward swing in momentum considering he was collected in the race’s only major incident, a 10-car crash on Lap 198 of the 400-lap race. He said his No. 24 Chevrolet suffered only some light splitter damage in the incident and was able to regain track position steadily through the night.

“We had honestly some really good runs tonight,” said Byron, who claimed his second consecutive Daytona 500 win in this year’s season-opener and has led the points standings for 20 of the first 25 weeks of the season.

“Feels great. Really the best 12th-place finish I’ve ever had. We came. In here and just did a solid job. We qualified solid, but this is definitely our toughest race track. We had a solid plan and executed and it feels good. This team has worked hard.”

SHOP: Winner gear

A Team Penske Ford Mustang trio rounded out the top-five finishing positions. Ryan Blaney, the 2023 series champion, was third — the first time in his stellar career he’s had a top-five run at Richmond. His teammate, reigning series champion Joey Logano, turned in an impressive fourth-place finish after starting last (38th) in the field. Austin Cindric completed the impressive team effort.

“I always look at different ways to get around here every time I come back,” Blaney said of the Richmond oval. “I don’t think it’s a secret. I struggle really bad here. We work really hard to try to figure out how can we improve, like how can I improve, how can we work on the car to figure out what will mesh.

“Just a big effort by all the 12 boys, big group effort. Definitely think we’re creeping up on it. Hopefully, we can keep going.”

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry — a Penske partner team, RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski and the hometown favorite, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, rounded out the top-10.

If there is no new winner at Daytona next week, both 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Bowman stand to transfer into the playoffs on points. Reddick, who won the opening stage and led 41 laps early, finished 34th, four laps down after his car was hit in tight racing. He is 15th in the playoff standings, with an 89-point edge above the playoff cut line.

Reddick’s 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace, who won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway three weeks ago, led a race-best 123 laps and won the second stage, but a pit road mishap derailed his run up front. He finished 28th, two laps down.

Byron’s Hendrick teammate, Chase Elliott — Byron’s closest challenger for the Regular Season Championship title and the 15 playoff bonus points payday — was involved in an 11-car accident mid-race and suffered his first DNF of the season.

“It’s just unfortunate, we had a good start to the race,” said Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “We kind of got on the wrong end there in the beginning and lost some track position. We got behind the No. 19 (Chase Briscoe) and got a penalty. I thought we were in a pretty good spot right there. We finally got on some better tires and we were making our way through there well, so I was excited to see where that was going to go, but unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance.”

The incident and Elliott’s 38th-place finish, coupled with Byron’s 12th-place run, sealed the title for Byron.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next Saturday night under the lights at the iconic Daytona International Speedway in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock). Harrison Burton is the defending race winner. Five of the last seven winners of the Daytona summer race were celebrating their first win of the year.

NOTE: Inspection in the Cup Series garage concluded without issue, confirming Dillon as the winner. No cars will return to the NASCAR R&D Center for further inspection.

Posted on by Staff Report

A nudge from Kyle Busch into Chase Briscoe triggered a multicar crash shortly after a Stage 2 restart during Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway.

As cars battled three-wide down the backstretch at Lap 198, Busch contacted Briscoe’s right-rear entering Turn 3 at the 0.75-mile short track, sending Briscoe spinning across the track and into traffic. The wreck involved 11 different cars, including Denny Hamlin, who had lost track position after consecutive slow pit stops, in addition to Justin Haley, Brad Keselowski and others.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Trying to escape the melee, Chase Elliott, who entered Saturday’s penultimate regular-season race second in points, was hit in the right-rear corner by Busch just as Elliott cleared the bulk of the carnage. Elliott contacted the outside wall nose-first, ending the 2020 champion’s race early for his first DNF of the season.

Entering the evening, Elliott had completed all but one lap in 2025 and had scored inside the top 20 in each race up until Watkins Glen on Aug. 10. The Dawsonville, Georgia native was scored in last and earned just one point.

Elliott, along with Haley, were checked and released from the care center.

“We’d all stacked up in the wreck there, and I guess he, I’m sure [Busch] just didn’t know I was coming by on the bottom,” Elliott said after being released from the infield care center. “Really awkward because we were kind of done wrecking, I hate that. Had the wreck missed, I thought, and was just trying to kind of get by the last of it there at the end, and Kyle must have maybe got some damage and was just kind of pointed back toward the bottom, and there was a couple of us coming by down there.”

Elliott qualified fifth for Saturday’s 400 lapper in the “River City” and finished 13th in Stage 1 before an interference penalty on pit road with Briscoe sent him to tail end of the longest line.

MORE: Cup Series standings | Race Rewind: Richmond

“It’s a really tough position, especially when you’re directly behind a car that’s pitted right behind your stall, because the front-tire carriers are carrying two tires, and you get in a position where it’s like if I get too far over to the right, I’m going to be stopped and now he’s not going to be able to get out of his box,” Elliott explained regarding the penalty. “Obviously, I’m not trying to hit his guys. I would never intentionally do that or try and make them get further left. That’s not my intent at all. I just don’t want to get in a position where I’m angled so far in, that now I’ve blocked him in and we have a bad angle for our stop. So all I was trying to do is just take as much room as I could to get back straight and not cause another issue at the end of the pit stop.”

Points leader William Byron received damage, contacting Elliott’s car during the wreck, but continued on. Byron finished 12th, clinching his first career Regular Season Championship.

Elliott leaves Richmond sitting second in points, five markers ahead of Denny Hamlin for third with valuable playoff points still on the line next Saturday at Daytona (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Track Release

RICHMOND, Va. (Aug. 16, 2025) — Richmond Raceway knew the return of Saturday night NASCAR Cup Series racing was going to be popular. It was so popular, in fact, that tonight’s Cook Out 400 is officially sold out.

Lori Collier Waran, president of Richmond, announced the sellout during the driver/crew chief meeting for Saturday night’s race.

RELATED: Story lines to follow during tonight’s race | Cup Series schedule

“Our fans have long told us that Saturday night NASCAR Cup Series racing and Richmond Raceway are a perfect combination, so this announcement is a testament to them,” Waran said. “We are grateful for their enthusiasm and support, which is going to make tonight’s Cook Out 400 a celebration we’ll long remember.”

NASCAR fans who missed their chance to see Saturday’s action at Richmond Raceway have one more chance to see NASCAR’s top stars compete in the Commonwealth this year. NASCAR returns to Martinsville Speedway Oct. 23-26, as all three national series will set their Championship 4 fields. Fans are encouraged to visit www.martinsvillespeedway.com now to get their tickets while supplies last.

Posted on by Staff Report

The No. 22 Team Penske Ford and No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford will drop to the rear of the field before the start of Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) because of unapproved adjustments.

The No. 22 machine, piloted by Logano, did not make a qualifying lap during Friday’s session at the Virginia short track due to hard contact with the wall after a front-tire issue befell the team during practice. The No. 34, meanwhile, initially qualified 31st; FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass reported that that team had made adjustments to the throttle body.

RELATED: Cup Series lineup | At-track photos

Two regular-season races remain before the 16-driver Cup Series Playoffs field is established. Logano clinched a postseason berth thanks to his victory at Texas Motor Speedway in May. Gilliland and the No. 34 team currently rank 31st in the playoff standings, 242 points below the elimination line.

Posted on by Alex Cadavid

Editor’s Note: Saturday’s projected finish has been updated after Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions.

Get ready for a Saturday showdown under the lights at the historic Richmond Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). This weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race is sure to have plenty of action with two weekends left before the grid of 16 title hopefuls is set.

If history holds, expect chaos in the closing laps. The last eight Richmond races have seen the driver leading the most laps come up short — but in 2025, that same stat has delivered a clean sweep of wins on short tracks. Add in the fact that the past three Richmond races have all had cautions in the final 10 laps, each setting up a pass for the win, and you’ve got the recipe for a finish that could rewrite the playoff picture.

RELATED: Richmond schedule | Cup Series standings

One thing we do know is Joe Gibbs Racing will likely set the pace. Racing Insights’ metric has Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell as top-three mainstays — and for good reason. With 10 wins in the last 18 Richmond races, JGR ranks among an elite few teams in the track’s history. Hamlin boasts six top-two finishes in his last eight Richmond starts. Bell is still seeking his first win at the 0.75-mile oval, but has finished outside the top 10 only twice in nine attempts. Combine that with JGR’s strong short-track form in 2025, and it’s clear they’re poised to control the night.

We also can’t forget about the man who leads the series in pole awards so far. Though Chase Briscoe’s career numbers at Richmond don’t jump off the page, there’s still something to be said about how the Hoosier has been running better with the No. 19 team at tracks he struggled at in the past. Not to mention, he’s the only driver to finish top 10 in every short-track race this year, and just a few weeks ago, he led 81 laps at Iowa.

With a Hendrick Motorsports trio of Chase Elliott, William Byron and Kyle Larson predicted to finish inside the top five, all signs point to a heavyweight bout at the top. However, there are several candidates to consider joining the winner’s club if chaos does strike in the closing moments again.

FANTASY: Set your lineup | Make a 36 for 36 pick

OTHER DRIVERS TO WATCH

ALEX BOWMAN: Only three drivers have won in their 350th Cup Series start, and this former Richmond winner has a chance to make it four and lock all Hendrick teams in the playoffs. Bowman’s recent starts at the track may paint a different picture, but he has a 9.3 average finish over the last nine races this year — best among full-time drivers.

TY GIBBS: Similar to Bowman, Gibbs is the lone man at his organization without a win. He’s nabbed just one top-10 finish in five Richmond starts, but the equipment he’s in makes him a threat to break through. The third-year driver is also aiming to make history — no first-time winner has stepped into Victory Lane at Richmond since Kasey Kahne in 2005.

BRAD KESELOWSKI: RFK’s driver/co-owner has flirted with playoff shakeups the last few weeks, with six finishes of 11th or better in the last eight races. Richmond is a stronghold — two wins, 1,280 laps led, top 10s in half of his 30 starts and a solid 12.1 average finish there.

AUSTIN DILLON: Another driver who could turn the playoff grid on its head, Dillon enters as the defending winner and has seven top 10s at Richmond. The main thing with Dillon, though, is that three of his five Cup Series wins have come on the final two regular-season tracks, making him a dark-horse candidate this week and next.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE COOK OUT 400

Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula incorporates current track, track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to predict a projected winner and provide full race results. Updated on race day with practice and qualifying factored in.

FinishCar No.Driver
111Denny Hamlin
29Chase Elliott
320Christopher Bell
424William Byron
55Kyle Larson
612Ryan Blaney
717Chris Buescher
823Bubba Wallace
945Tyler Reddick
106Brad Keselowski
1121Josh Berry
1260Ryan Preece
1319Chase Briscoe
1448Alex Bowman
1522Joey Logano
1654Ty Gibbs
178Kyle Busch
181Ross Chastain
192Austin Cindric
203Austin Dillon
2177Carson Hocevar
2216AJ Allmendinger
2399Daniel Suárez
2471Michael McDowell
2543Erik Jones
2610Ty Dillon
277Justin Haley
284Noah Gragson
2934Todd Gilliland
3042John Hunter Nemechek
3138Zane Smith
3241Cole Custer
3388Shane van Gisbergen
3435Riley Herbst
3547Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
3633Jesse Love
3767Corey Heim
3851Cody Ware
Posted on by Zack Albert

RICHMOND, Va. — Jake Garcia rode the swells of an undulating regular season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, flashing some pole-winning speed near its midpoint but suffering setbacks later that made his playoff fate an uncertain one. A crash-plagued day at Pocono in June was followed by a pair of lap-down finishes at Lime Rock and Indianapolis Raceway Park. He was outside the postseason picture until Stewart Friesen’s injury and loss of playoff eligibility opened an avenue.

Friday night at Richmond Raceway, Garcia had reason for some relief.

“We’re in now, so that’s all that matters,” Garcia said from pit road at Richmond Raceway. “There were some points in the season where we were sixth or seventh in points. But either way, we’re in and we’ll have a shot to compete for a championship.”

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Richmond

Garcia finished seventh in Friday night’s eero 250, locking up the last of 10 spots in the postseason field by 19 points over ThorSport Racing teammate Ben Rhodes, a two-time series champion. Corey Heim surged to his seventh win of the year to deny a new regular-season winner from swooping in for a last-minute clincher from below the playoff bubble. Gio Ruggerio came the closest to converting that goal, lining up third on the final restart after a fortunate late-race caution but fading to sixth at the checkered flag.

Through it all, Garcia kept close tabs on his nearest playoff competitors, and the 20-year-old driver padded his margin by placing ninth and second in the stages.

“I was paying attention to that, especially after we had two good first stages and built a cushion,” Garcia said. “At that point, it was just a matter of managing our gap and just making sure there was no possible way we could crash. And so, you know, I think we did a good job at that. I tried my best to run a smart race after we had a little bit of a cushion, and just get this thing in the playoffs.”

Rhodes entered Friday’s race with an 11-point deficit relative to the elimination line. He started 17th to Garcia’s eighth, but erred on his first pit stop of the night, breezing past his stall during the Stage 1 intermission. Rhodes restarted 11th, and his team broke ranks on strategy by bolting on fresh tires when a caution flag flew early in the stage. Another quick yellow offset the No. 99 Ford team’s edge, and no other caution periods provided much relief. Rhodes ultimately wound up eighth — one spot behind Garcia.

MORE: Truck Series Playoffs field is set

Rhodes cited a pair of regular-season races that could have helped turn the outcome — a power-steering failure at Rockingham; a Lap 1 crash with Ruggiero at Homestead — but indicated that more competitive speed could have cured all.

“It just seems like we need a little bit more pace right now,” Rhodes said. “You can point your finger at like anything, right? But obviously, some of those low-hanging-fruit items, the mechanical issues that we had earlier on, that would have changed the story for tonight. But yeah, the pace. We’ve got to find that still. We’ve had moments of brilliance throughout the year, same with my teammates, but we need that consistent speed that some of our competitors have, like obviously, the 11 truck (Heim).”

Ruggiero entered with a 21-point gap below the elimination barrier, and he faced an uphill path from the outset. He started last in the 35-truck field after a broken rear hub on his No. 17 Tricon Garage Toyota kept him from posting a qualifying lap.

He worked his way up the leaderboard, then caught a beneficial break on the final caution flag for an incident with Ty Majeski and teammate Matt Crafton that left him as one of few drivers on the lead lap. He restarted third, but was among the others who could not catch Heim.

“Just a tough ending to a hard-fought day,” Ruggiero said. “Just had some problems with the truck in practice and didn’t get to qualify and struggled with the truck a little bit there in the race. It’s always harder when you don’t have track position, so I thought I did a good job coming through the field. My pit crew did a great job on our stops, made up a couple spots each time, I think, on pit road there and helped me get to the front and drove it to second place there at the end. I just couldn’t do nothing with it. Didn’t have the speed and didn’t have the drive off to keep up with the 11 and the 7 (Sammy Smith), so just kind of burnt the tires up trying to keep up with them there. Fell back a little bit at the end and fell short, but we’ll go on to the next one and hopefully be able to compete for the win.”

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

Track: Richmond Raceway
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Track length: 0.75 miles
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App
Race purse: $9,797,935
Race distance: 400 laps | 300 miles
Stages: 70 | 230 | 400
Defending winner: Austin Dillon, August 2024
Starting lineup: Ryan Preece scores statement pole

RELATED: How to watch on USA Network, NBC

Richmond may be site of more drama in postseason chase

One year ago, Austin Dillon used his bumper — a couple of times — to score a last-gasp victory at Richmond Raceway at the expense of both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin. The controversial contact ultimately left Dillon the race winner but not a playoff entrant, NASCAR officials ruled, but the stage was set: Leave it all on the track.

That mindset will come into focus once more under the lights on Saturday night as the Cook Out 400 at Richmond signifies the penultimate race of the 2025 regular season.

MORE: Cup standings entering Richmond

The 0.75-mile short track has long been home to thrills and spills — from Rusty Wallace spinning Jeff Gordon in 1998 to Ricky Rudd and Kevin Harvick clashing in 2003, to Kyle Busch turning Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2008 and Carl Edwards moving Busch for the win in 2016.

Dillon certainly added his own moment to the list a season ago. But a cleaner rebound in 2025 could propel the driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to the postseason for the first time since 2022.

With Tyler Reddick entering Saturday’s affair 117 points above the provisional elimination line, two of the 16 playoff spots are realistically available for grabs. Richmond provides opportunities for short-track stars to rise to prominence — such as RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece, who surged to the Busch Light Pole Award in Friday’s qualifying session.

Preece is still seeking his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory but heads into Saturday’s race only 34 points beneath the elimination line, the first driver on the outside looking in. The Connecticut native clawed his way into the Cup Series by way of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, earning the tour championship in 2013 and this week earning a spot among the tour’s 40 Greatest Drivers. His expertise has always been the short, paved ovals, evidenced by his first career pole at Martinsville Speedway in 2023.

Others like Josh Berry and Denny Hamlin stand out as short-track specialists, but both are already locked into the 2025 playoffs by virtue of wins this season. The pressure is on for Preece, who just propelled his postseason chances significantly with a pivotal pole position.

MORE: Full Friday recap

NASCAR Cup Series racing at Richmond.
Logan Whitton | Getty Images

From atop the pit box …

What do crew chiefs have in focus to win Saturday’s race?

Adam Stevens missed the Cup Series’ summertime visit to Richmond Raceway last year, curtailing his travel as the crew chief of Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after injuring both knees in an odd diving-board mishap while on vacation. Nearly one year to the day post-surgery, Stevens says he’s at 100% in daily function, maybe 95% while working out.

“I haven’t even swam this year, oddly, and I would kill for a pool today,” Stevens said, swigging from a water bottle in the afternoon sun after inspection. “It’s pretty hot.”

While Stevens was active with the team back at JGR’s race control center, he wasn’t atop the pit box for last year’s event with two Goodyear tire choices – the standard “prime” tire and the red-sidewall “option” tires, which provided short-term grip and speed at the expense of advanced wear.

RELATED: Richmond schedule | Full 2025 schedule

This year’s 400-lapper won’t feature tire choice, but the option-tire compound will be a part of the right-side setup at the 0.75-mile track. The same Goodyear configuration has been used on other short tracks this season — Bowman Gray Stadium, Martinsville Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway.

“It’s definitely a little different than the pure option tire with the left side being slightly different, so it makes it race different,” Stevens said. “But we have Bowman Gray under our belts, and we have North Wilkesboro under our belts. We did a little bit of testing at Loudon recently and got to run this tire combination, amongst some other combinations. The prime tire basically was on the car up there, too, that we had last year. So we’ve got some good cross-references for our balance.”

Teams will have eight sets of tires allotted to them, plus one set that transfers over from qualifying. That number will place a premium on tire management, with some drivers expressing concerns about how long a set might last and how their strategy will need to adjust.

Most teams saved a set of option tires for the final stage of last year’s race, which was also held in nighttime conditions. So while a new left-side tire may introduce some uncertainty, the conclusion to last year’s event provides a solid reference point.

“Everybody’s going to be looking pretty hard at the start of Stage 3 data from last year,” said Phil Surgen, crew chief for Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. “Obviously, that tire has a little bit more potential, but goes away real fast, and I think you’ll see that have some impact — more impact on Stage 1 than anything. Richmond is a little unique, because the tire falls off a lot and we don’t get that many sets. The way that everybody plays the strategy, there’s a limited number of tires for an unforeseen caution, so trying to balance the natural strategy and leaving yourself a set for a caution will be a focus for everybody. Already is.”

— Zack Albert in Richmond

RELATED: See where drivers will pit for Saturday’s race

Christopher Bell makes a pit stop at Richmond.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

History tells us …

A first career win at Richmond is unlikely. Don’t let Preece or Ty Gibbs see this one. Per Racing Insights, Richmond has not had a first-time winner since May 2005 — 39 Richmond races and 20-plus years ago — when Kasey Kahne went to Victory Lane.

He may not be the favorite to win, but watch out for …

CHASE BRISCOE. Throwing out the name of a Joe Gibbs Racing driver sitting inside the top 10 in points isn’t the flimsiest limb to stand on, but Briscoe has yet to win on a track shorter than 1 mile in length. In his first year driving the No. 19 Toyota for JGR, Briscoe is the only driver this season to score top 10s in each of the three short-track races in 2025, including a runner-up performance at Iowa Speedway on Aug. 3. Briscoe has never finished better than 11th (twice) in eight Richmond starts.

Fantasy update

NASCAR Fantasy Live expert Dustin Albino provides insight for your Saturday night lineup.

The contrast between practice and qualifying at Richmond might need a case study. Richmond is among the hardest tracks to gauge how good a car is, given how heat-sensitive the track is. For instance, both Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson looked to be among the best cars in practice but qualified outside the top 25. Joey Logano has dropped from my lineup after a disastrous practice session when he clobbered the outside wall. Meanwhile, RFK Racing shined with short-track ace Ryan Preece scoring his second career pole. I’ve slotted the No. 60 car into my lineup and am finally using Preece as my 36 for 36 pick after flirting with it for months.

Lineup: Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski.

Garage: Kyle Larson.

MORE: Lineup advice in Fantasy Fastlane

Speed reads

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.

• NASCAR at Richmond: Key info, practice reports and more from doubleheader weekend | Read more
• “Sweet redemption” in mind: Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin return to Richmond after last year’s ruckus  | Read more
• Zilisch recovering from injury: Xfinity phenom Connor Zilisch healing from broken collarbone | Read more
• Friesen forgoing playoff waiver: Truck Series veteran won’t pursue title in recovery from dirt-racing injuries | Read more
• Racing Insights: Where your favorite driver is projected to finish Saturday night | Read more
• Field of 16: Is a Cinderella sequel on deck for Austin Dillon? | Read more
• Turning Point to Richmond: Last-ditch efforts on deck for postseason prowess | Read more
• At-track photos: Scenes, sights from the Richmond | View gallery
• Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh looks to love in Virginia | View gallery
• Power Rankings: Ryan Preece in focus at Richmond | This week’s top 20

Posted on by Holly Cain

RICHMOND, Va. – Corey Heim earned a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ best seventh victory of the season in the eero 250 at Richmond Raceway Friday night, but this first short-track victory for the Regular Season Champion took a fast Toyota truck, some real perseverance and a bit of racing good fortune.

The 23-year-old Georgia native started from pole position in the series’ regular-season finale on the historic three-quarter mile venue, but he quickly had to deal with his front-row starting mate, Ty Majeski, who pressed him all night. Majeski swept both stage wins and his race-best 143 of the 250 laps out front was more laps led than he turned in the entire season.

RELATED: Race results | 2025 Truck playoff grid set

Ultimately, Majeski’s shot at his first win of the year suffered a setback when he was collected in an incident with his ThorSport Racing teammate Matt Crafton while leading late in the race.

Although Majeski recovered and raced forward, Heim, who led 75 laps himself in the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota, got to the front when it mattered most and drove away — taking the lead for good with 20 laps remaining and then holding off the reigning series champ Majeski by 0.923 seconds at the checkered flag.

With the victory, Heim becomes the youngest driver in series history to get to 18 career wins, breaking Kyle Busch’s record.

“Felt like we were the best truck at [short tracks] Martinsville and North Wilkesboro, but they got away from us and we kind of got this one back,” Heim said of his short track struggles this season. “I didn’t feel like we were the best truck tonight. I feel like the 98 [Majeski] was really stout, but obviously had a run-in and got some damage.

“Being there when it counted was the first goal and we were and just able to execute from there.”

The race formally set the 10-driver playoff field. Heim, Layne Riggs, Chandler Smith, Daniel Hemric, Tyler Ankrum and Rajah Caruth advanced to the six-race playoffs via victories. Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Kaden Honeycutt and Jake Garcia topped the rest of the series in points to earn their championship chance.

The 20-year-old Garcia had to hold off two-time series champion Ben Rhodes and highly-touted rookie Gio Ruggiero for most of Friday night’s event. Ultimately, Garcia’s seventh-place finish was enough to give him a 19-point edge on Rhodes and a 31-point margin on Ruggiero, who made a valiant run, restarting second on that final restart with 35 laps remaining despite starting last in the 35-truck field.

“Just did my best to run a smart race the second half,” said Garcia, driver of the No. 13 ThorSport Racing Ford. “Even in the first half there were moments we were four-wide and that’s not gonna work out at Richmond. There were some points I had to bail out and lost a lot of spots on the restarts just being really conservative.

“But our truck was really fast and I think we could have finished top five. I want to thank all my guys. They worked really, really hard on this truck like they do all the trucks and gave me a really fast piece today.”

Riggs finished third in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford with Spire Motorsports teammates Sammy Smith and newly minted driver of the No. 77 Spire entry Corey LaJoie rounding out the top five positions.

Ruggiero, Garcia, Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Honeycutt rounded out the top-10. Honeycutt will compete for the driver’s title and his No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota will contend for owners’ points.

The Truck Series Playoffs will begin Saturday, Aug. 30, at Darlington Raceway (noon ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Cup Series regular Ross Chastain won the 2024 race at Darlington. This is the first year the historic track has hosted the series in a playoff contest.

NOTE: Post-race technical inspection concluded without issue, confirming Heim as the race winner. The Nos. 7, 17 and 34 trucks will be taken back to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further inspection.