(Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)
By Aaron Bearden
Fresh off an action-filled trip to the Tricky Triangle, NASCAR is rolling on to a pair of tracks with little in common. The Cup Series and Craftsman Truck Series will roll down the road from Charlotte to Richmond Raceway, the last short track race of the regular season. Meanwhile the Xfinity Series is shipping out to Wisconsin for a standalone race weekend at Road America, a four-mile road course with high speeds and challenging corners.
It’s going to be a busy weekend with high-intensity racing. Here’s what you need to know heading into it.
Track Details
Cup/Trucks
Track: Richmond Raceway
Length: .75 Miles
Races Hosted:
Cup: 133
Trucks: 14
Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube
Xfinity
Track: Road America
Length: 4.048 Miles
Races Hosted:
Xfinity: 13
Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube
Schedule
(All times ET)
Friday, July 28
Richmond Raceway
5:05 p.m.: Truck Series practice (No TV)
5:35 p.m.: Truck Series qualifying (No TV)
Road America
5:00 p.m.: Xfinity Series practice (USA/NBC Sports App)
6:00 p.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying (USA/NBC Sports App)
Saturday, July 29
Richmond Raceway
12:35 p.m.: Cup Series practice (USA/NBC Sports App/MRN)
1:20 p.m.: Cup Series qualifying (USA/NBC Sports App/MRN)
7:30 p.m.: Truck Series Worldwide Express 250 (FS1/MRN)
Road America
3:00 p.m.: Xfinity Series Road America 180 (NBC/NBC Sports App/MRN)
Sunday, July 30
Richmond Raceway
3:00 p.m.: Cup Series Cook Out 400 (USA/NBC Sports App/MRN)
Race Details
Cup Series
Race: Cook Out 400
Length: 400 laps, 300 miles
Stages: 70/160/170 laps
Last Year: Kevin Harvick snagged his second win in as many weeks, leading 55 laps in a race dominated by tire strategy. Chris Buescher shadowed Harvick on his strategy and Christopher Bell nearly chased him down with fresher rubber, but in the end Harvick held on by a margin of .441s for his 60th Cup win.
Storylines
Controversy Carries Over
So… Last week’s race was dramatic, huh?
Denny Hamlin hit (or didn’t?) Kyle Larson into the outside wall on a late restart. Austin Dillon chucked his helmet at Tyler Reddick’s Toyota. Ryan Preece rushed over to confront Corey LaJoie after the race. Joey Logano fumed about the safety procedures when he was left with flat tires in a Stage 2 spin.
Heading into Richmond, the question is whether any of the drama will carry over. Could Larson race Hamlin differently? Will any of the tempers raised in Pocono affect drivers at Richmond?
We’ll find out this weekend.
The Playoff Push Continues
And then there were five.
Just a handful of races separates the Cup Series field from the 2023 playoffs. That means the intensity and desperation from those at or below the cutline is increasing.
Last week’s trip to Pocono didn’t change the provisional field, but it did alter the deficit to the drivers behind them. Bubba Wallace (+27 points) and Michael McDowell (+17) are more comfortably in on points, while Daniel Suarez (-23) now has a sizable gap to close up.
AJ Allmendinger (-17) is the first driver below the cutline, leaving the veteran well in the mix. But he’s added difficulty to his weekend by electing to run Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Road America. That means the Californian will miss practice and qualifying, leaving him at the rear of the field without track time on Sunday.
Should McDowell or Wallace falter, there are others including Ty Gibbs (-28), Alex Bowman (-46), Chase Elliott (-56) and Austin Cindric (-60) that could close themselves to within range of the cutline. They’ll be forced to weigh the decision to chase points or punt and go for wins as the window to secure a playoff position gets tighter.
And everyone else? Well… It’s win or bust. And Richmond isn’t the most likely place to pull off a hail mary, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try if the opportunity presents itself.
Taking Care of the Tires
The one consistent trend of Next Gen car races at Richmond has been an emphasis on tire management.
Each of the 2022 races came down to drivers on different tire strategies over long runs. This spring’s event included late cautions, but tire strategy again came into play as Kyle Larson beat temporary teammate Josh Berry for the win. Martin Truex Jr. was among the contenders that day, but faded late as he was out of fresh tires when a caution brought the field to pit road with 30 laps to go.
There’s also a slim chance of scattered storms this weekend. But regardless of the radar, drivers and teams will be tasked with managing their tires to find success in this year’s final trip to Richmond. Expect it to be a key storyline in the final stage.
Xfinity Series
Race: Road America 180
Length: 45 laps, 182.16 miles
Stages: 22/12/11 laps
Last Year: In what was then a tune-up race for Sunday’s Cup Series event at the same track, Ty Gibbs got the better of defending Cup champ Kyle Larson on the final run and surged to a .858-second victory. It was the fourth triumph of what proved to be a seven-win championship campaign.
Storylines
The Wild Stretch Continues
Last week I wrote about Pocono Raceway as the beginning of a six-week stretch of unique, challenging tracks for the Xfinity Series. It lived up to the billing, with Austin Hill denying a dominant Josh Berry in overtime of an eventful race at the Tricky Triangle.
Next up is Road America, a 4.048-mile road course with high speeds, narrow corners and a history of eventful Xfinity Series races. The wild card track has already yielded one shock winner in its prior 13 races – Jeremy Clements’ breakthrough first win, which clinched him a playoff spot in 2017.
This will be the first of three road course races in the next four weeks. Michigan International Speedway is next up on the calendar, but the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and Watkins Glen International lie ahead.
That makes this a valuable stretch for drivers that are capable of mastering the unique challenge of Xfinity Series road course racing. It could cause a playoff shakeup or help the right title contender pad their playoff point advantage.
Allmendinger Goes Trophy Hunting
One of the surprises of this week is the addition of AJ Allmendinger to the entry list. The Cup Series playoff hopeful is skipping qualifying and starting at the back in Sunday’s Cup race at Richmond to chase an Xfinity Series trophy at Road America.
That’s a big gamble on the Cup side. But it also makes the Kaulig Racing star an immediate favorite in Wisconsin.
Allmendinger has never won for Kaulig at Road America, but he’s come close. The Californian finished second in 2020 and has three top-six finishes in four starts for the team at the road course, having led laps in each of them. He also has experience winning in the Xfinity Series at the facility, having scored a victory with Team Penske in 2013.
If Kaulig Racing gives Allmendinger a car capable of winning, he should be among the frontrunners in Saturday’s race.
The Playoff Picture Takes Shape
With seven races left in the regular season, the Xfinity Series isn’t feeling the same playoff pressure as NASCAR”s other national series. But for those on the bubble, the window to make the field is slowly shrinking.
There are seven drivers essentially locked into the playoffs with a win – John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith and Jeb Burton. Josh Berry (+110 points), Daniel Hemric (+86) and Sam Mayer (+78) are sitting comfortably in the playoff field on points.
That leaves two positions up for grabs. Right now they’re going the way of Sheldon Creed (+49) and Riley Herbst (+26), with Parker Kligerman (-26), Brett Moffitt (-49) and Brandon Jones (-54) in pursuit.
Everyone else likely needs a win, including ex-playoff participants Ryan Sieg (-150) and Clements (-159), along with possible contenders like Kaz Grala, Parker Retzlaff and Josh Williams.
For those looking to gain points or steal a win, the unique mix of remaining tracks provides hope. As for Creed and Herbst, things look okay for now – but one mistake could put their playoff hopes in harm’s way.
Truck Series
Race: Worldwide Express 250
Length: 250 laps, 187.5 miles
Stages: 70/70/110 laps
Last Year: Chandler Smith dominated what was at the time a race in the opening round of the playoffs. The Kyle Busch Motorsports star led 176 of 250 laps to take his third and final win of 2022.
Storylines
Regular Season Wrap-Up
The Cup and Xfinity Series are still on the march toward their playoffs, but the Truck Series is already set to complete its regular season and set the playoff field this weekend at Richmond Raceway.
Seven drivers have already secured their place in the championship chase. Corey Heim, Zane Smith, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Carson Hocevar and Ben Rhodes are in with wins. Ty Majeski is winless on the year, but 110 points above the cutline.
The final three spots aren’t as certain. Matt DiBenedetto (+31 points), Nick Sanchez (+21) and Matt Crafton (+9) currently sit above the cutline, with Stewart Friesen (-9) on the outside looking in. Anyone else hoping to make their way into the playoff field will need a win.
If DiBenedetto and Sanchez can avoid issues and there isn’t a surprise winner, their playoff hopes look strong. The true battle looks to be contested by three-time champion Crafton and his fellow veteran, Friesen. Avoiding mistakes and maximizing stage points will be key.
Crowning a Champion
With the establishment of the playoff field comes the crowning of the regular season champion.
Barring any issues, it looks like the honor will go to Corey Heim. The Pocono runner-up is entering Saturday’s showdown with a 42-point cushion on defending champion Zane Smith – impressive given that Heim missed a race earlier in the season.
As things stand, Heim is the only Toyota driver in the playoff field. Earning the 15 playoff points that come with a regular season title could help him carry the manufacturer all the way to the Championship 4.
