Can Anyone Shake Up the Cup Standings at Richmond?

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NASCAR

Stratta’s Six: Who Can Grill the Competition at Richmond Raceway?

Time is ticking away in NASCAR’s regular season, with Richmond Raceway serving up a new challenge for everyone. The 3/4-mile Commonwealth bullring’s tight confines is one of the most technical tracks drivers will experience all year. Coming right off its sister track in Iowa, Richmond may see a few similar contenders. However, the Cook Out 400 has seen a few surprise winners in recent years, showing anyone can hit it on a short track. Here are a few drivers who would love to find victory lane in the RVA.

Denny Hamlin

Virginia’s own NASCAR superstar, Denny Hamlin hopes to give his home track fans another reason to cheer. The current Cup Series points leader, Hamlin owns five Richmond victories with a top-10 in eight of his last nine starts here. As a child, Hamlin’s NASCAR fandom began decades ago in the Richmond Raceway grandstands. Making what could be a penultimate Richmond start, Hamlin reflected on how special it’s been to run so well on his home turf.

“I just love how technical this racetrack is and certainly, how special this racetrack itself is to all of us,” Hamlin said. “So yeah, I mean, I don’t know, there’s got to be a last time for everything. So it doesn’t really make me feel one way or another knowing that, there’s just a couple more shots at it.”

“It’s tough to say. I mean, you can’t really even put it into words. It’s extremely hard to kind of tell you what it is. It’s all the above. You got to enter the corner as fast as you can. You got to turn the center and you got to be pointed straight of. And so, those things that seem really, really easy to do. But the way the track is laid out and the banking angle in certain parts of the corner makes it really difficult to do all those things. That’s why you’ll see somebody hit it every now and then just dominate.”

“I’ve seen it for so many years, but even when we were up in the stands today and I’m looking down across the track and I’m standing kind of where I used to come in to the grandstands. I remember being right by the fence and then looking at turn one, looking at turn four. It’s like the same. A friend asked me, ‘what’s different?’ Nothing. It is the same Richmond that it’s been ever since I’ve known it. Now, I wasn’t around or nor did I get to see it during its Fairground days. Even that was before my time. It’s the same track that I remember, and I just remember watching some of the guys that were really, really good here do turn four a little bit different. And now the whole field does those things. All the field has gotten so smart, but I really liked that the speedway itself spent a lot of money on the infield experience for the fans. Certainly we want to get this place back to pack every single time we come here, like it used to be in the past.”

Already taking four wins this year, Hamlin surprisingly has yet to be victorious on a short track. Despite this, Hamlin is still the favorite coming into the track he’s mastered many times before. Riding into Richmond with three-straight top-fives, Hamlin may be on kill mode for Saturday.

Austin Dillon

Trying to earn an unprecedented Richmond three-peat is driver No. 3 Austin Dillon. 2024 saw the Richard Childress Racing driver controversially take the checkers here, only to kick everyone’s butt cleanly in 2025. In need of another miracle run to make inroads on The Chase, Dillon eyes another stellar Richmond run.

“I would say Richmond Raceway was probably my worst track at one point in my career,” Dillon said. “I really struggled there. At one test, I kind of figured out how to approach a particular groove or line around the track. I’ve kept that consistency ever since. I’m also very decisive before we get there in the simulator. I have a feel for it there, as well. Of course, I am trying to recreate that feeling at other places, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. I think another track we have shown promise at was Iowa Speedway. I think there are similarities between the two aging surfaces. Any place that has high tire wear, I think I show up and have pretty good throttle control and that tends to help me. Just trying to be decisive on a line when I get to these tracks is pretty important.”

“I feel like I have a good feel for what I need in our Chevrolet. We go to the sim, we do some runs and I am pretty adamant on what I am looking for. I guess I am giving good feedback to the guys, and they are delivering what we need. Richmond Raceway is all about managing tire heat and energy, and the way I approach it has just worked out over the long runs. And last year, we could take off on the short runs. We’ve always been good on long runs, and we’ve mixed in short run speed. Last year was the most dominant we have been, but we need to make it better. The other teams will come out swinging. They will have seen the data of what we’ve been doing, so you need to put it all together and hope it works out.”

“For me, from a driver standpoint, that Richmond win is probably number one on my list and it’s your last win. I feel like from a win standpoint, any driver that’s had a longer career, their last win is probably their favorite win because you go through so many ups and downs. And for me, I think it will always be the next one because of the effort and time that goes into each one of these races, right? And then proving to yourself again and again that you can do it, you can compete and get back to victory lane. I love the fact that when someone can be shown or given adversity and  rise from the ashes, that type of stuff. So for me that’s what I like to hang my hat on, and that’s why that win is so important to me. And my kids both got to be there too, so that was special.”

Dillon was 10th a week ago in Iowa, and looks to continue this momentum into a Virginia triple crown. The 3 has led 35 and 107 laps respectively across both Richmond wins, and could join a very elite list. Dillon would be the first man since Bobby Allison (1982-83) to earn three-straight Richmond wins. This feat would still dwarf ‘The King’ Richard Petty’s Richmond domination of eight-straight victories (1970-73). Dillon was unbeaten across the last two years at Richmond in two very different ways; the 3 will try and make it a 3peat on Saturday.

Ryan Blaney

Once calling Richmond his least favorite racetrack anywhere, Ryan Blaney could be Saturday’s man to beat. Penske’s No. 12 Ford has been a frontrunner on multiple short tracks this season, winning Phoenix in March. Past that, the 2023 Cup champion has seen a 5.3 average finish on flat, short ovals that Penske is known for. 11th at North Wilkesboro was Blaney’s only short track result outside the top-10, after a late penalty. Only starting to find his Richmond groove in recent years, Blaney has high hopes for Saturday.

“This place is such a unique racetrack as far as the separation from qualifying to race pace and how all of that plays out seems to be very widespread,” Blaney said. “As opposed to other tracks I feel like we go, where some guys you can kind of pick out eight or nine guys who qualify up top are probably gonna be the top eight or nine guys the rest of the race. But here, with the tire fall off being so vast, one lap is so much different here than a 50-70 lap run, so you hope you have both. I’ve been on either side of it. I’ve qualified really well here and just tanked in the race. We’ve been on the coming from behind side too, and I feel like my practice we had not great fire off speed early in the run, but I felt like my long run pace was pretty good. It’s just nice that we made good adjustments to make one lap and get faster than my one-lap pace in race practice. It ebbs and flows here. There are a lot of comers and goes and that’s the beauty of this place with the big tire fall off.”

Coming off a first career Richmond top-five last season, Blaney eyes another banner outing. Second in points is also not out of the question for the 12, only trailing Ty Gibbs by seven points. In short, Richmond could be a major jumping off point for a Blaney late-summer surge, as The Chase draws nearer.

Christopher Bell

Eternally the 2026 bridesmaid and yet to be the bride, Iowa last week saw Christopher Bell in second-place for a seventh time. Second is also Bell’s best Richmond result, one of seven top-10s in 10 starts. Toyota No. 20 has been runner-up in four of the last five races, being on the cusp of multiple victories. Bell addressed being so close so many times this season and how bittersweet it is.

“Yeah I mean, 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,” Bell said. “But then whenever Monday, Tuesday rolls around, you’re like, ah, it was a pretty darn good day. 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.”

“[North] Wilkesboro was a perplexing one. We had a great practice at there, and we expected to have a really good race, and then our race was just littered with a bunch of issues. So that was disappointing, but we were able to rebound and obviously have a great showing at Iowa. This has kind of been one that’s got away from us for a number of years. I’ve been really strong here, looked like I was in position to win several of them. Just yeah, it just hasn’t happened yet. I enjoy Richmond. Obviously, have a great resume in the O’Reilly Series cars here, and still looking for that first win of the year and at Richmond. Maybe it’ll happen this weekend.”

Joe Gibbs Racing is typically the team to beat at Richmond, owning seven of the last 14 wins here. Shockingly none of those triumphs have come from Bell, despite three O’Reilly Series Richmond triumphs. Bell has placed sixth or better in seven of his last nine trips to Virginia. Bell’s turn to break through both in RVA and in 2026 appear to be drawing nearer. Perhaps Saturday will finally be Bell’s time to shine.

Joey Logano

Weirdly winless across his last 15 Richmond starts is short track ace Joey Logano. The No. 22’s been just about a constant sight up front here, owning nine top-fives since his 2017 win. Logano has also been trending towards the front in recent weeks. The last four races alone for the 22 have yielded a win and three top-10s. Perhaps Richmond falls in perfect time for another breakout 22 wire-to-wire run.

“Confidence is definitely way better than where it was, especially right now,” Logano said. “This group of tracks – Iowa last week, Richmond, arguably, is our best racetrack. Maybe some would argue Wilkesboro right now, but I would say Richmond we’re equally as good. I’m excited about getting here. We’ve had a lot of adversity we’ve overcome here at Richmond over the last four races where something has happened, where we’ve been in position or fast enough to win. Whether it’s starting in the back last year, we got a flat tire in the race and we got a flat tire in practice. It was just a mess, but we had speed to do it. I’m looking forward to hopefully having a smooth weekend and keep crawling our way to the top 10 in points. That’s what our goal is here in the next three weeks. I still think we can do it, so we’ll keep scratching and clawing.”

Now 13th in points, Logano has further solidified his Chase standing in every start since North Wilkesboro. Logano’s only Richmond result worse than seventh in his last six starts was getting punted by Austin Dillon in 2024. If Logano’s Richmond optimism mirrors North Wilkesboro, then the competition could be in for a long night ahead.

Ty Gibbs

Could Ty Gibbs potentially go back-to-back and win again at Richmond? As mentioned above, Joe Gibbs Racing is usually best in the field here. The Toyota crew has 19 career Richmond wins from six different drivers, but young Gibbs is not one of them. Driver No. 54’s best Richmond result across six starts was ninth. A new high point may be the expectation for Gibbs on Saturday.

Iowa’s victory launched Gibbs up to second in points, a new career-best for the 23-year-old. The 54 has a perfect top-five record this year in five short track starts, including two wins. This elevated performance level gives Gibbs a series-best short track consistency on this season. Gibbs may be facing down a third triumph if the right cards fall.

Falling right after Iowa on the schedule, Toyotas and Penske cars should be the ones to beat in Richmond. However, Austin Dillon is going for a nearly unbelievable three-peat, and many others are capable of winning too. The Cook Out 400 will go green Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. As The Chase grows closer, this short track could drastically shake up the standings.

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Chris Graythen/Getty Images