Pete Pistone distributes this week’s checkered and black flags following the weekend of racing at Richmond Raceway.
Checkered Flags
Kyle Busch
Make it three straight for Busch after his drive from the 32nd starting spot to Victory Lane on Saturday night. Busch joins Kevin Harvick in the 2018 three-timers club and did so Saturday night to the tune of his fifth career Richmond Cup win. Race Story and Results
Chase Elliott
It hasn’t been the best start for Elliott who needed a good Richmond run and got it with a second place finish. It’s his eighth career runner-up Cup finish as Elliott continues to pursue his first win at NASCAR’s top level. As he said himself Saturday night wasn’t pretty but it got the job done. Read More
Joey Logano
He keeps knocking down top-10 finishes and his Richmond record is remarkable. Logano has finished in the top-four in the last three races at Richmond and top-10 in the last nine. He’s still not won since his Richmond victory a year ago but Logano has been one of the steadiest performers in the series this season. Read More
Matt DiBenedetto
A 16th-place finish on the lead lap for DiBenedetto and the GoFas Racing team. Even with all the long green flag runs on Saturday night, DiBenedetto was able to keep pace with some much bigger teams and came home with a very impressive performance to say the least.
ToyotaCare 250
Another week without Cup drivers in the Xfinity Series and another good race. The battle down to the wire between young Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Christopher Bell and Noah Gragson is exactly what should happen on a more regular basis in a series that carries a slogan “Names are Made Here.” It’s hard for those names to get the spotlight when they are consistently overshadowed. Race Story and Results
Black Flags
Martin Truex Jr.
He led the most laps and had a great opportunity to win his first career short-track Cup race. But a bad stop on the final run to pit road erased and of those hopes. Truex Jr. has dominated the last two Richmond races but still have nothing to show for it. Read More
Ryan Newman
WIth the exception of a 10th-place run at Bristol, Newman has been in a funk in recent weeks. Contact with the back of Jamie McMurray on a late-race restart sent Newman to the garage and out of the race with a 37th-place finish. It marked his fourth finish outside the top 15 in the last five races.
JTG Daugherty Racing
Speaking of a funk, this organization has been mired in one for most of the opening nine races of the year. There have been sporadic flashes for optimism but more often results have been more like the 26th and 27th-place finishes Saturday night for Chris Buescher and AJ Allmendinger, respectively.
Bubba Wallace
There was hope to build off last week’s solid Bristol outing when Wallace had the Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet in the lead for a spell. That did not happen in Richmond with a frustrating night overall and a 25th-place finish.
Chip Ganassi Racing
What in the world was going on between teammates Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray. They both insisted nothing was wrong when asked about things after the race but their on track run in and contact would lead one to believe something else. Read More
