Richmond is the race before the race that will determine the 2025 playoff field
By Roy J. Akers – www.skyviewsports.net
| The NASCAR Cup Series conducts its penultimate race of the regular season this weekend at Richmond Raceway, where three current Ford drivers (Chris Buescher, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski) have at least one victory. In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, which will run its regular season finale on Friday night, F-150 driver Ty Majeski is the defending race winner. |
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 TWO TO GO IN REGULAR SEASON Saturday night’s scheduled race at Richmond Raceway and next weekend’s event at Daytona International Speedway are all that remains of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series regular season. There are currently four Ford drivers who have secured spots in the playoff field – three-time and defending champion Joey Logano, 2023 series champion Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric and Josh Berry. Chris Buescher holds a 34-point advantage over RFK Racing teammate Ryan Preece for the final berth, but a new winner would knock him below the cut line.  BLANEY CONTINUES TOP 10 ROLLRyan Blaney has had speed all season and that was evident again last weekend at Watkins Glen International, where he qualified on the pole, won a stage and finished sixth. That marked his fourth straight top 10 finish, dating back to an eighth-place run at Dover Speedway. In 17 series starts at Richmond Raceway, Blaney has one pole, which came in the spring of 2022, and a career best finish of seventh, which happened on that same weekend. RICHMOND ONE OF LOGANO’S BESTIt would be easy to look at Joey Logano’s two career wins at Richmond and say it’s got to be one of his best tracks on the circuit, but the statistics provide further proof. In 31 career starts, Logano has 14 top 5 and 19 top 10 finishes, which gives him an average finish of 10.0. That’s his second-best average finish on tracks where he’s run more than 10 races and includes a current stretch that has seen him finish seventh or better in seven of the last nine Richmond races.. The only track where Logano has a better average finish is Las Vegas, where his four wins and 14 top-10 finishes in 24 starts works out to a 9.8 average finish. |
Playoff stakes are heightened for the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series this weekend as the pair will head to Richmond Raceway for a doubleheader event under the lights. | MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
| For the Truck Series, Friday’s eero 250 will bring the regular season to a close and set the 10-driver playoff field that will compete for the 2025 championship title. The current rankings see four Team Chevy drivers above the cutline including season winners Daniel Hemric, Tyler Ankrum and Rajah Caruth, as well as series veteran, Grant Enfinger, who holds the top provisional points position. The weekend will conclude with the Cup Series in Saturday’s Cook Out 400 – marking the second-to-last stop in the series’ 26-race regular season. Reigning Richmond winner, Austin Dillon, will look to go back-to-back to punch his ticket into the title hunt. |
| Chevrolet at Richmond Raceway:“The Action Track” hosted its first NASCAR Cup Series event in April 1953, with Saturday’s 400-lap race marking the series’ 137th appearance at the .75-mile Virginia venue. One year ago, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon powered his No. 3 Chevrolet to victory lane to deliver the manufacturer its series-leading 41st all-time victory at the track. Dillon rounds out a group of four active Team Chevy drivers that are past Richmond winners – joining the likes of Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman with one win each, as well as the track’s winningest driver, Kyle Busch, with six victories on his resume. |
 BYRON BOOSTS POINTS LEAD– William Byron followed up his Iowa victory with yet another top-five finish at Watkins Glen to double his points lead to now 42-markers over teammate, Chase Elliott, with just two races left in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season. While he’s still looking for a trip to victory lane at Richmond Raceway, short-tracks have fared well for the 27-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native this season – earning top-six results in three of the four events on tracks measuring less than one-mile, including his win at Iowa Speedway and a pair of sixth-place results at Bristol Motor Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway. There’s no sweeter place for Byron to collect his first regular season title than Daytona International Speedway, where the Team Chevy driver will return as the back-to-back Daytona 500 champion. |
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NCTS
Heim back in No. 67 Camry XSE … Toyota Development Driver Corey Heim will once again pilot the No. 67 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing in this weekend’s Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway. The Georgia native makes his third start of the season in NASCAR’s top series and sixth of his career this Saturday night as he continues his development with 23XI Racing. Heim will also balance this Cup start with his full-time duties in the Truck Series this weekend, coming off a victory at Watkins Glen last weekend with his No. 11 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro team.
Wallace continuing hot streak … Last weekend’s eighth-place result at Watkins Glen extended Bubba Wallace’s top-10 streak to four consecutive races, dating back to Dover Motor Speedway in July. The 23XI Racing driver now has 10 top-10s in total on the season, with four top-fives and his Brickyard 400 win. Saturday night’s race will mark Wallace’s 280th career Cup Series start.
Honeycutt debuts in No. 52 Tundra TRD Pro … Willow Park, Texas, native Kaden Honeycutt makes his first start with Halmar Friesen Racing in the No. 52 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro this weekend in Richmond, as he fills in for the injured Stewart Friesen. Honeycutt has made 51 career starts in the Truck Series, with a career-best finish of third at both at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway earlier this season. He currently sits eighth in the Truck Series driver points standings, entering Friday night’s regular season finale.
Lexington, NC (August 12, 2025) – DraftKings has been designated as the exclusive sports betting operator of Kaulig Racing and Ty Dillon. As part of the agreement, the DraftKings logo will be prominently featured on the No. 10 Chevrolet, driven by Dillon, for two upcoming races this season at World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis and Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.
In addition to DraftKings branding on Kaulig Racing’s No. 10 Chevrolet, the logo will also be displayed on Dillon’s fire suit, the pit crew uniforms and the team’s pit wall infrastructure in the select events.
“I am passionate about delivering fans the best experience possible, which is why it is so exciting to be working alongside DraftKings,” said Dillon. “It’s an iconic brand that’s become synonymous with innovation and fan engagement, offering a responsible and entertaining way for fans to get even more invested in the action. I’m proud to have DraftKings on the No. 10 Chevrolet, and honored to have them join us this season.”
| JOE GIBBS RACING JGR AT RICHMOND: Joe Gibbs Racing leads all teams with 19 NASCAR Cup Series victories at Richmond Raceway. In 175 combined starts at Richmond, the organization has tallied 62 top-five finishes, 102 top-10s, eight pole awards, and 6,610 laps led. Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, and Martin Truex Jr have all driven JGR entries to victory lane at the 0.75-mile track.AVERAGE FINISH: Joe Gibbs Racing drivers hold three of the top four average-finishing positions among full-time drivers through 24 races this season. Christopher Bell ranks second overall with a 12.1-average finishing position followed by Chase Briscoe (13.3) and Denny Hamlin (13.6). |
| DENNY HAMLIN No. 11 Progressive Insurance Toyota Camry XSE HAMLIN AT RICHMOND: Denny Hamlin grew up in nearby Chesterfield, Virginia, and attended races at Richmond Raceway with his family as a kid. Throughout his racing career, he has translated that hometown connection into plenty of on-track success. He has five NASCAR Cup Series victories at Richmond (September 2009, September 2010, September 2016, April 2022, and March 2024). His record at the 0.75-mile track also includes seven top-five finishes in his last eight starts and 13 top-fives in his past 16 starts dating back to September 2016. Hamlin has also earned three NASCAR Xfinity Series wins at Richmond. RICHMOND ROYALTY: Hamlin leads all active drivers with 2,367 laps led at Richmond Raceway. He ranks fourth on the all-time lap leader list at Richmond behind NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace, and Bobby Allison. WATKINS GLEN RECAP: The No. 11 team started 22nd and finished 25th in last weekend’s race at Watkins Glen International. Hamlin’s strategy put him 10th to begin the final segment, but he was collected in an accident on the restart and dropped outside the top 30. He eventually recovered for a top-25 result.SEASON SO FAR: With two races remaining in the regular season, Hamlin is currently third in the overall standings. In addition to leading the series outright with 24 playoff points, he is also tied for the most wins (four) and top-five finishes (11). |
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| Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1 |
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| Carson Hocevar will make his third NASCAR Cup Series start at Richmond Raceway in Saturday night’s 400-lap race. The 22-year-old driver finished eighth in his most recent outing at the venerable 0.75-mile D-shaped oval.Hocevar’s most recent start on tracks measuring less than one mile in length came two weeks ago at Iowa Speedway where the driver of the Delaware Life Chevrolet started seventh and finished eighth to score his sixth top-10 finish of the season.Delaware Life is an insurance and annuity company that empowers financial professionals with a wide array of customizable solutions. A subsidiary of Group 1001 Insurance Holdings, LLC (“Group 1001 Insurance”), our focus is to deliver a seamless experience for advisors. We understand how important it is to find the right fit for every client, every situation, and every individual need. We’re passionate about equipping you with annuities that give your customers peace of mind and a successful future—allowing them to plan with confidence for whatever’s next.The Portage, Mich., native has four previous NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Richmond. In 2023, Hocevar qualified 17th, lead 64 laps, and collected his third of four wins that season.Carson Hocevar Quote The No. 77 team’s short track performances have been strong this year. What is your outlook for Richmond this weekend? “I enjoy racing at Richmond a lot. Last year I was able to move around and find different lines that worked for me based on how our tires were wearing. It was a lot of fun to move around and try something different. I feel like those are the types of tracks where I do well and can find something that works for me that may not work for someone else. I know we had the option tire there last year, and maybe that was what made the difference, but I still feel like I learned enough about how the track races to be able to put together a good run.” |
