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.”
Nothing beats Saturday night short-track racing. The NASCAR Cup Series converges in the River City for its annual stop at Richmond Raceway (7 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where tempers — along with postseason urgency — could surely rise.
Three races remain until the 16-driver Chase field is set, and bubble drivers are running out of time to make a summer upswing. Meanwhile, championship contenders continue jockeying for position atop the standings, hoping for the greatest head start possible once Darlington Raceway arrives next month.
Many of the same challengers from last weekend at Iowa Speedway remain in play as the series shifts eastward. Ty Gibbs could continue his summer heater and bank a second consecutive win. All three Team Penske drivers thrive at short tracks, especially Richmond, as evidenced by a trio of top fives last summer. Of course, don’t forget about Austin Dillon, the two-time defending Richmond winner.
Time is of the essence this weekend for 400 laps at the “Action Track.” Read on to see drivers worth monitoring, as well as Racing Insights’ full projected results for Saturday’s southern showdown.
DRIVERS TO WATCH
AUSTIN DILLON: The No. 3 Richard Childress Racing driver could make history Saturday, becoming just the fourth driver to win three straight races in the River City. Additionally, no driver since Kevin Harvick at Michigan from 2019-2020 has won three in a row at any track. Dillon is one of just two drivers with multiple Richmond wins in the Next Gen era, and his 198 career laps led at the track are more than double his next highest. Last weekend at Iowa — a comparable track — Dillon scored a top 10 in his strongest overall race since finishing sixth at Watkins Glen. Don’t be surprised to see the Cup veteran contend for another dub.
JOEY LOGANO: Logano’s numbers aren’t quite as flashy at Richmond, but he’s certainly consistent. In 32 Richmond races, he owns two victories and a whopping 20 top-10 finishes. Over four short-track races this season, Logano sits inside the top five in average running position, average finish and most points earned. His 323 laps led at North Wilkesboro alone top all drivers at this type of venue. Logano has gained 120 points to the cutline over the last five races and now sits a season-best 13th in the season ranks. The three-time series champion is finding his stride at the right time.
DENNY HAMLIN: It’s home cooking for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver, as the nearby Chesterfield, Virginia, native boasts an impressive Richmond track record. He’s won at the 0.75-mile track five times, including twice in the Next Gen era, and has placed second or higher in six of the last nine. Widening the scope, Hamlin has finished fifth or better at each of the last 10 traditional oval races on the Cup calendar. He leads the series by 103 markers over Ty Gibbs — and it’s also the first time all season that Tyler Reddick isn’t inside the top two of the standings. Over the last 11 events, Hamlin has outpointed his 23XI driver by 249. With a strong run on Saturday, Hamlin can land the final punch in pursuit of the top Chase seed.
RICHMOND, Va. — Denny Hamlin, a five-time winner at his home track of Richmond Raceway, is the most recent driver to win here from the pole — claiming the win from the No. 1 starting spot in 2016.
Asked Friday why pole winners have so seldom gone on to win recently in the River City, Hamlin paused and gave a well-thought-out answer about his hometown 0.75-mile oval.
“I think the average starting position for the winner is somewhere around 6.7, something like that,” said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “So you just kind of put yourself somewhere in that range. I think a lot of the reason is that qualifying here is extremely, extremely technical.
“I would say it’s probably the hardest [track] to qualify to hit your marks. … I think that sometimes whoever’s got the best car doesn’t qualify on the pole because it’s just really, really difficult to put it all together, and sometimes, someone with a decent car can just hit the marks just right, and that’s when they get the pole. So, I think the technicality of the actual line that you have to run makes it to where you see comers and goers here.”
In 37 starts, Hamlin has an average starting position of 8.9 and has earned four poles at Richmond, the most recent coming in summer 2024 when he finished runner-up. He’ll have work to do Saturday, though, as the Chesterfield native will roll off 14th.
RICHMOND, Va. – Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney won his fourth pole position of the season and 16th of his championship career Friday afternoon at Richmond Raceway.
The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford will lead the field to green in Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 (7 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) after posting a lap of 121.485 mph around the 0.75-mile oval, claiming the top position in the closing minutes of the qualifying session.
“I wouldn’t kind of specify myself as a very good qualifier; for a little bit I struggled in qualifying and just wasn’t able to find the one-lap speed. I was doing the wrong things behind the wheel,’’ said Blaney, the 2023 series champion. “But I think [crew chief] Jonathan [Hassler] and I kind of worked through how do we make it better. Adjust that end-of-race mindset to qualifying.
“And here [at Richmond], it’s super tough because your last lap in practice to qualifying, you’re qualifying like three seconds faster than what you just ran, so it’s mentally, how do you switch over to that and figure out how to do it in one lap because the second lap today wasn’t going to do it. Jonathan has done a good job of just trying to work through — how do we get better.”
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe will line his No. 19 Toyota up alongside Blaney on the front row, Blaney bettering his qualifying effort by only 0.050 seconds. This is Briscoe’s 13th top-10 start of the season.
Wood Brothers Racing driver Josh Berry was third fastest in the No. 21 Ford, with last week’s Iowa Speedway race winner, JGR’s Ty Gibbs, fourth on the grid in the No. 54 Toyota and Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron rounding out the top five in the No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet.
NASCAR Cup Series championship leader Denny Hamlin – a five-time Richmond winner – was 14th fastest in qualifying, and two-time defending race winner, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon, was 16th best in the 37-car field.
Dillon is attempting to become only the fourth driver in NASCAR history to win three consecutive Richmond races and join the likes of NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Bobby Allison and David Pearson.
“We’ve got to get our car better; we’re not where we were last year in practice. Just got to continue to work on it and see what we can do,” said Dillon, driver of the famous No. 3 Chevrolet. “I think we have tendencies of our car that are good, but we’ve just got to get a little better, so we’ll just go to work and see what we can find for tomorrow.’’
Practice recap
Spire Motorsports driver Daniel Suárez turned the fastest lap in Friday’s practice session, navigating the 0.75-mile short track with an average speed of 117.961 mph. Erik Jones (117.955 mph), Austin Cindric (117.878 mph), Riley Herbst (117.709 mph) and Alex Bowman (117.606 mph) completed the top five.
Denny Hamlin, Ty Dillon, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski and Josh Berry completed the top 10.
Cindric compiled the fastest 10- and 20-lap averages. Kyle Larson had the best 15-lap average, while Ryan Blaney paced 25- and 30-lap averages.
Cody Ware and Tyler Reddick went for separate spins in Group 1 practice, both losing control in Turns 3 and 4. Group 2 practice was completed without incident.
The Nos. 20 and 51 NASCAR Cup Series teams failed pre-race technical inspection twice on Friday at Richmond Raceway, resulting in penalties ahead of Saturday’s Cook Out 400 (7 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR).
As a result, both teams’ car chiefs have been ejected for the remainder of the race weekend and will forfeit pit-stall selection. Chris Sherwood was ejected on the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and Dave Jones was ejected on the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet.
Entering Saturday’s race, No. 20 driver Christopher Bell sits sixth in the Cup Series ranks after his second-place finish at Iowa Speedway vaulted him four spots. In total, Bell has seven runner-up results in 2026, tying Harry Gant (1981) for the most all-time without a victory. In 10 Richmond races, Bell has finished sixth or better seven times.
No. 51 driver Cody Ware is 35th in points.
Just three races remain until the Cup Series field of 16 Chase drivers is solidified.
Noah Gragson will return to the No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season with options to extend beyond next year, the team announced Friday.
Gragson is in the midst of his third full season in the Cup Series and second with Front Row Motorsports. The Las Vegas native sits 31st in the standings.
The 28-year-old driver said after Friday’s Cup Series qualifying session at Richmond Raceway that there were “a lot of moving pieces” involved in the timing of the deal – for himself, the team and his manufacturer – but that he was pleased with reaching an agreement before the regular season was out. Though the extension was not a long-term one, Gragson said he has time to earn his keep with FRM the rest of the way.
“I feel like just the opportunity to keep on pushing and be the best version of myself, both as a person and a race car driver, is key, and if I feel like I can be at my best and we can be at our best as a team, I think the sky’s the limit,” Gragson said. “Ultimately, at the same time, it’s one of those things where, yeah, you get in the same Silly Season situation next year. It’d be nice to say, ‘oh yeah, I’ve got 10 years to keep going racing,’ but you know it’s a cutthroat industry, and everyone’s competing for a job at the end of the day. If I feel like I can be at my best and have everything around me at its best, I think we can do great things.”
Gragson is a 13-time winner in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, where he competed from 2019 through 2022 at JR Motorsports, collecting a career-best eight wins in 2022 before finishing runner-up in the championship.
The 2026 campaign has been a difficult one for Gragson, 28, and first-year Cup crew chief Grant Hutchens. Gragson’s best finish (ninth place) came in April at Talladega Superspeedway for his lone top 10 this season. Other runs have been encouraging, including an 11th-place showing at the Daytona 500 and a 16th-place effort in May at Nashville Superspeedway.
“I feel like we’ve kind of been turning a page, and I’ve been seeing a little bit of uptick in our performance, which is good,” Gragson said, “and working with first-year crew chief Grant, learning each other, it takes time, and I’m starting to see that page kind of turn in a sense of, hey, we’re going back to race tracks for the second time now. We know each other a little bit better now. I’m starting to see that progression these last couple weeks, and we’ve been working really hard behind the scenes to improve that team chemistry, that dynamic, the communication. This sport’s all about people and having the right people around you, and I feel like I’ve got a great group around me. It’s just we’re trying to find what’s the right direction we need to go in, and what will allow us to reach our full potential.”
Gragson made his Cup debut in 2022 on a part-time schedule, splitting time between Beard Motorsports’ No. 62 entry, Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 car and then Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 car after an injury to Alex Bowman. The 2023 season marked Gragson’s first full-time Cup campaign after taking over the No. 42 Chevrolet for Legacy Motor Club. He joined Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2024 season, completing his first full Cup campaign with a career-best seven top-10 finishes and landing 24th in points with a personal-best 19.6 average finish.
His average finish through 23 races this season is 24.65, which would mark his best average finish since the 2024 campaign if maintained.
Gragson is set to start 35th in the 37-car field in Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond (7 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Editor’s Note: Keep tabs on this page for lineup advice following qualifying, including changes you should consider.
Fantasy Update: With practice and qualifying at Richmond Raceway complete, plenty of cars stood out for various reasons. The Team Penske duo of Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano appeared to be a class of their own over the long haul, while last week’s winner Ty Gibbs was also sporty. Short-track studs Josh Berry and Ryan Preece also shined, banking top-10 starting spots. The winner of the last two Richmond races, Austin Dillon, didn’t seem to have the pace from 2024 or 2025, but don’t count him out. I’ve swapped Ryan Blaney in for Christopher Bell, who by no means was sluggish. I’m playing the long game, however, knowing that New Hampshire Motor Speedway has been Bell’s personal playground. I’ve also added Chase Briscoe to replace Bubba Wallace, as the No. 19 car has historically been elite at Richmond with Martin Truex Jr.
Starting five: Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin. Garage: Chase Briscoe.
It’s Austin Dillon season! The Cup Series returns to Richmond Raceway, where Dillon is the winner of two straight events, entering those races 32nd and 28th in points, respectively. Team Penske will be hard to beat again, with all three of its entries placing inside the top five in 2025. Ty Gibbs is on a short-track heater, and he could score his third win (and second straight) of the season.
Returning to Fastlane this year is my weekly NASCAR 36 for 36 pick, where you can come play along. It’s a season-long points battle introduced in 2024 where strategy is the primary emphasis. With 36 chartered cars and 36 races on the 2026 schedule, players can choose each car once for the duration of the season.
Driver: Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Selections remaining: 10 Comment: Dillon has become a Richmond ringer, winning the last two races in dramatic fashion. A third consecutive victory would place him on a short list of Hall of Fame drivers Richard Petty, David Pearson and Bobby Allison as the only racers to win three straight in the Commonwealth. He was routinely inside the top 10 at Iowa Speedway last weekend, which shares similarities with Richmond.
Driver:Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Selections remaining: 2 Comment: Gibbs put on a defensive clinic at Iowa, scoring his second win of the season. The fifth-year driver has won 50% of the short-track races in 2026 and has an average finish of 2.5 through four starts.
Driver: Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Selections remaining: 1 Comment: Using Hamlin is a no-brainer at Richmond. Growing up 20 miles south of the 0.75-mile circuit, he is a five-time winner here, including a pair in the Next Gen era. Dating back to 2021, the No. 11 bunch has six top-two finishes in nine Richmond attempts.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
DRIVERS TO AVOID
Driver: Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota Selections remaining: 3 Comment: After a scorching start to the season, Reddick has gone ice cold over the last two months, dropping to fourth on The Chase grid. Short tracks aren’t in his wheelhouse, either, with only one top-10 finish in the last 12 tries. On a positive note, he has two top-10s in the last three Richmond races.
Driver: Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Selections remaining: 3 Comment: Briscoe’s summer surge has gotten him to fifth in points. Unfortunately, Richmond is among his worst venues on the schedule, where he has yet to score a top-10 finish through nine starts. Briscoe has an average finish of 16.3 at Richmond, his worst among all short tracks.
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images
SLEEPERS OF THE WEEK
Driver:Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Selections remaining: 8 Comment: That dawg came out in Chastain last weekend in Iowa. The No. 1 team had its best race of the season, cutting 35 points from its deficit to The Chase bubble. Richmond shares similar characteristics, and it’s a venue where he has top fives in two of the last five races.
Driver:Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Selections remaining: 10 Comment: After an abysmal start to 2026, Berry is coming on strong to conclude the regular season, placing a season-best fourth last weekend at Iowa. His short-track prowess is elite, with top 10s in four of the last seven short-track races. He has never finished worse than 14th in four starts in The River City.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
FEATURED MATCHUPS
Ty Gibbs vs. Christopher Bell
Pick: Bell Comment: While Gibbs is a must-start driver this weekend, Bell is certainly worthy of the nod. He ranks among the best short-track competitors in the field, earning a top-10 finish in 13 of the last 19 short-track races. Bell has also been remarkably consistent at Richmond, finishing sixth or better in seven of his last 10 starts. He also has six runner-up finishes in the last 11 races this season.
Denny Hamlin vs. Kyle Larson
Pick: Hamlin Comment: Larson has multiple Richmond victories, but he’s in the midst of a dreadful stretch of finishes over the last five races. Meanwhile, Hamlin is nearly a lock for the top five, finishing inside the top five in the last 10 oval events at non-drafting tracks. He’s also among the Richmond elite, leading active drivers in top fives (20), top 10s (25) and laps led (2,367).
Austin Dillon vs. Chris Buescher
Pick: Dillon Comment: Though Buescher scored a victory at Richmond in 2023, this is Dillon’s best track, period. Buescher has just three top-10 finishes in 18 starts, while Dillon has led 198 laps here, more than double his total at any other track.
Joey Logano vs. Ross Chastain
Pick: Logano Comment: Chastain should have added confidence heading into Richmond, but Team Penske has been the standard at short tracks in recent seasons. Logano’s success at Richmond predates the Next Gen, finishing seventh or better in 12 of the last 16 visits. Logano is another driver who should be featured in most lineups this weekend.
MY LINEUP
Starting five: Austin Dillon, Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell. Garage: Bubba Wallace.
36 FOR 36
Pick: Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Comment: After Ryan Preece won the Busch Light Pole Award for last year’s Richmond race, I made the mistake of swapping Dillon out of my lineup. Not this year. Dillon runs a unique line around the apron at the famed short track and has found plenty of success doing so. I’ve been saving this pick all season, and now is the time to cash it in.
