NASCAR heads to another short track this weekend at Richmond Raceway, where the Xfinity and Monster Energy Series will be in action.
Kyle Busch has a chance to be the second driver to win three straight Cup Series races this season if he can find Victory Lane on Saturday night. He enters the Toyota Owners 400 on the heels of back-to-back wins in Texas and Bristol. If the Joe Gibbs Racing driver can win in Richmond, he’ll match Kevin Harvick’s feat.
Busch’s track record at the .75-mile short track is impeccable with four series wins, 15 top-five finishes and 18 top 10s in 25 career starts. He’s completed all but one of the 10,026 laps available to him in his 25 Richmond starts.
“I love Richmond,” Busch said. “We won four spring races in a row and I would have loved to have made it five or more. It’s a neat racetrack.”
Saturday night’s race could well be a repeat of the finish last Monday at Bristol, when Busch edged Kyle Larson for the win. Larson was victorious at Richmond last September and comes into the weekend optimistic about his chances to improve last week’s finishing position by one.
“It feels good heading back to Richmond as a winner, but it’s still a track where I have some work to do,” Larson admits. “Taking care of the car throughout a run is still something I need to work on. It’s important to have a good setup everywhere, but it’s really key at Richmond to help take care of the rear tires on longer runs. The older surface wears our tires, but that and the unique shape of the track make it a fun place to race.”
Joey Logano was the other Richmond winner in 2017, but his spring triumph came with extenuating circumstances. Logano’s Ford failed post-race inspection and the penalty disallowed his victory to count as a playoff qualifier. He didn’t win the rest of the regular season and missed the playoffs, and Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of his last Cup victory.
Logano is hoping his top-10 Bristol run Monday will provide something to build on this week on another short track.
“We had some things from an execution standpoint we could clean up after this weekend,” Logano said after the Food City 500. “We still had a top-five car and, unfortunately, didn’t get the result to show for it. We’ll go to Richmond and look to continue getting stronger.”
Virginia native Denny Hamlin is always a threat at Richmond. Hamlin, who is from nearby Chesterfield, Va., is tied for the second-most wins among active Cup drivers at Richmond with three. The driver of the JGR No. 11 Toyota owns the most poles at Richmond with three and also has the most laps led there, 1,653.
“We have to get a little better than we have been there recently,” Hamlin said. “I love racing there and hope we can get that first win of the year in Richmond.”
Dash 4 Cash Continues
Friday night’s ToyotaCare 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race will see the continuation of the Xfinity Dash 4 Cash program.
Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric, Elliott Sadler and Spencer Gallagher will compete for the second $100,000 bonus of the season. Ryan Preece, who took home the big payday with his win last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, is not entered in the race.
“Last year was tough because while it was awesome to get to hold that $100,000 check, that race was heartbreaking for our team because we felt like we had the best car and unfortunately had to settle for second,” Allgaier said. “But this is a new year and we have another opportunity to accomplish that goal of winning the race plus getting that bonus.”
Through the first seven races of the 2018 season there have been seven different winners. All four Dash 4 Cash eligible drivers have not won yet this season and will look to become the series’ eighth different winner in as many races. With Preece, along with no Cup drivers not in the race, only Daytona winner Tyler Reddick can upset the streak.
Motor Racing Network’s live coverage of Friday night’s Xfinity Series ToyotaCare 250 will begin at 6:30 p.m. (ET) and Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 broadcast will start at 5:30 p.m. (ET).
