How every NASCAR Cup playoff driver fared at Richmond
It wasn’t bumping and banging that characterized NASCAR’s race at the Richmond short track. Instead, it was close racing and heated battles as drivers worked to lock in stage points during the second playoff race of the Cup season.
Brad Keselowski took the checkered flag for his fourth win of the season, locking himself into the next Round of 12 in the playoffs. Martin Truex Jr. finished second and Joey Logano finished third in a race that went without a caution called for incident for all 300 miles (400 laps).
The Federated Auto Parts 400 saw competitive, three-quarter-mile racing that further sorted out this year’s postseason standings. The field heads into its first cutoff race next week at Bristol Motor Speedway with some surprising shakeups.
Here’s how playoff drivers (listed in points standings order) fared at Richmond:
No. 4 Kevin Harvick (Darlington winner)
Harvick, who already secured his spot in the next round with a win at Darlington, started on the pole and led the first 20 laps before he was passed by Austin Dillon, who started third. Harvick stayed in the top-three, finishing fifth in the first stage, until making an early pit stop in Stage 2. He received a commitment line violation after pitting under green for a second time, but still closed the second stage in tenth for even more points. Harvick fell back to seventh to close the race.
No. 2 Brad Keselowski (Richmond winner)
Keselowski won the second stage by battling Austin Dillon for multiple laps, then battled Logano for the lead change and last pass in the final stage to carry him through to Victory Lane. Keselowski said he had a fast No. 2 Ford that he wants to use again at Phoenix. He’s one step closer to getting there, with an automatic bid putting him into the next round of the playoffs.
No. 11 Denny Hamlin (locked in on points)
Hamlin had a strong start that gave way to struggles. The No. 11 gained the race lead off the restart following the competition caution. He passed Dillon a few laps into the green flag and won the first stage. But Hamlin lost his momentum in stage 2, dropping below the top-10 for the stage close. With roughly 100 laps left, Hamlin was racing in 14th (“We are awful,” Hamlin said on his radio). He finished in 12th, but still secured enough points to ensure he advances to the Round of 12.
No. 22 Joey Logano (+51)
Logano remained a consistent presence in the top-three throughout the evening. He started in second, finished in third and fourth in the first two stages and battled his teammate Brad Keselowski at multiple points throughout the race for the lead, holding his top-three spot through the checkered flag.
No. 19 Martin Truex Jr. (+38)
Truex stealthily stayed in the top-five with a fast car throughout the evening. The defending Richmond race winner ran a strong race as expected, closing the first two stages in seventh and third, respectively, then racing up to third and making a late pass of Joey Logano to lock in a second-place finish.
No. 3 Austin Dillon (+36)
Dillon proved he shouldn’t be doubted as a serious contender in these playoffs. He led the field in each of the three stages, finishing in second place in each of the first two stages then remaining in the top 10. Dillon was nearly perfect until he missed pit road late in the final stage, which meant he lost track position and speed by the closing laps. Still, it was a knockout evening for the No. 3. He finished the race in fourth.
No. 9 Chase Elliott (+28)
Elliott had a solid, somewhat unremarkable night with an eighth and fifth place finish for the driver who won Bristol’s short track All-Star race earlier this season. Still, he stayed in the top five for significant points and finished fifth.
No. 88 Alex Bowman (+27)
Bowman finished in sixth place in the first stage for points, but couldn’t maintain the edge in stage two, dropping to twelfth. He finished the race in ninth and is not in jeopardy for missing the cutoff.
No. 18 Kyle Busch (+18)
Busch started at the back of the field due to his No. 18 car twice failing pre-race technical inspection. Busch drove up from that deficit quickly to a 13th-place finish in the first stage. He then finished Stage 2 in sixth and closed the race in sixth. It wasn’t the finish he was seeking, but it gave Busch enough points to stay 18 about the cutline.
No. 1 Kurt Busch (+7)
The older Busch sits seven points above the cutoff with two stage finishes out of the top-10 (in which he didn’t gain stage points). Busch finished 13th.
No. 10 Aric Almirola (+7)
Almirola got off to a slow start, but gained momentum in the second stage, in which he finished eighth. Almirola closed the race in eighth and sits seven points above the cutoff.
No. 14 Clint Bowyer (+3)
Bowyer struggled with his car in the latter half of the race. He finished 10th in Stage 1, dropped from the top 10 in Stage 2 and secured a 10th-place finish at the flag, but Bowyer sounded frustrated on his team radio and sits only three points above the cutoff in jeopardy.
No. 24 William Byron (-3)
Byron struggled through the second and third stages to get anywhere near the top 10. Byron expressed his frustration over his radio early in the race, but wasn’t able to get close to making a run late. He finished out of the top 10 for all stages, missing any stage points, and finished the race in the bottom 20, which puts him three points below the cutoff bubble. “We ran horrible tonight,” Byron said, calling it “a slow death.”
No. 41 Cole Custer (-8)
The Cup rookie finished the race in 14th. He nearly gained points in Stage 1, finishing 11th, but he still sits eight points below the cutoff.
No. 21 Matt DiBenedetto (-25)
DiBenedetto Had a rough night. He finished in 17th after dipping to the bottom 20 in the first half of the race. DiBendetto had to make an early pit stop in Stage 2 for an equipment issue, and struggled to find speed in a race in which he needed points. That makes Bristol all the more critical for the No. 21 driver, who is 25 points below the cutoff.
No. 12 Ryan Blaney (-27)
Like DiBenedetto, Blaney ran far from the top 10 throughout the evening, dropping to the lowest-running playoff driver in the bottom 20 at one point. After last week’s issues that put him in playoff jeopardy, a night like tonight was exactly the opposite of what he needed. He is 27 points below the points bubble cutoff.
This story was originally published September 12, 2020 at 11:47 PM.
