Richmond Race Review and Analysis
The state of Virginia is where the Nascar Cup Series made its next stop for the 7th race this season. Richmond Raceway, located in Richmond, Virginia put on quite the show today. This 0.75-mile track brought new faces up front and a bunch of chaos. Denny Hamlin, the hometown Virginia native takes home the checkered flag. This is Hamlin’s 47th career win and 1st of the 2022 season.
(Denny Hamlin Post Race)
With 10 laps to go, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Larson were all chasing leader William Byron. Lap traffic played a huge part in the closing laps as Kyle Larson was shuffled out of contention for the win. Denny Hamlin was gaining two seconds per lap closing in on Byron. Hamlin passed both Truex Jr. and Byron with five laps to go. Kevin Harvick closed in on Hamlin trying to make a late charge but it wasn’t enough. Harvick had a great race as he finishes 2nd. Hamlin took home the win in style, as this is his 4th career win at Richmond.
(Denny Hamlin in Victory Lane)
Toyota as a manufacturer needed a good weekend. Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing have been up and down all season long. Both 23XI Racing cars did not finish in the top 25 as issues have damaged their season majorly. Joe Gibbs Racing took home a win, a 4th, 6th, and 9th place finish. Meaning all four Joe Gibbs cars ended up in the top 10. This is a positive sign for Toyota as Ford and Chevrolet have swept the first 6 races before today. They delivered this afternoon and leave Richmond with their heads held high as today was badly needed. 23XI Racing must perform next weekend and going forward as the only negative takeaway from Toyota as a whole.
Drivers who had rebound races are Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, and Martin Truex Jr. Hamlin who’s today’s winner struggled coming into today. The #11 team had no top 10 finishes through the first six races. Hamlin came in 22nd in points and with an average finish of 24.0. Today was a great way to collect his first top 10 of the season. Christopher Bell, Hamlin’s teammate, had a great showing today. Bell led laps as his #20 was fast and excelled on pit strategy all afternoon. Bell comes home 6th, this was a badly needed finish for Bell. Austin Dillon for Richard Childress Racing had a solid top 10 finish. Austin Dillon, the oldest of the Dillon brothers had an under-the-radar type of afternoon. Dillon kept his #3 clean as it paid off with a 10th place finish. Lastly, Martin Truex Jr. was upfront for most of today, leading 80 laps. Besides William Byron and Ryan Blaney, Truex Jr. was one of the most dominant cars all day. RFK Racing was another team that had great runs today. Brad Keselowski comes home 13th with teammate Chris Buescher in 15th. RFK has struggled since Daytona speedweeks back in February. With Keselowski’s penalty, finishes like these are much needed.
(Hamlin taking the checkered flag)
Ryan Blaney was a notable driver today. The #12 car led all of the 70 laps in stage 1 and a total of 128 laps. The #12 team has been competitive all year long, expect many more things from Ryan Blaney and the #12 team. Martin Truex Jr. was the stage 2 winner. With a pit stop cycle, Truex Jr. got around Ryan Blaney. As the laps counted down to end the stage Truex Jr. cruised to his 3rd stage win at Richmond. With this stage victory, Truex Jr. is now tied for the most stage wins at Richmond with five. History was made today on pit road by Kyle Busch’s #18 crew. A 9.19 second pit stop was recorded from the #18 team on pit road. This by far is the fastest pit stop by any crew in the history of Nascar. Also, Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI racing tried a different choreography on pit road with their crew members. Trying out a new routine on pit road seems to have paid off for the six Toyotas.
A critical moment in today’s race came from Kurt Busch. Busch’s #45 car lost its fuel pickup in the opening laps. Kurt Busch crept around the race track trying to get back to pit road. Fuel pressure was the root of the problem as 23XI’s season has been a roller coaster so far. Busch’s race was over at lap 10, they will need a major rebound heading into Martinsville next Saturday. Along with Busch, teammate Bubba Wallace finished 26th after a loose wheel was the issue this time. Now in several races, the #23 pit crew has taken their selves out of races. Another moment came from Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cody Ware, and Erik Jones. In the middle of the corner, Cody Ware was sent into the wall off of Erik Jones’ front bumper. This collected Stenhouse Jr. bringing out the 1st caution for contact. Another caution came from Ty Dillion, Cole Custer, and Austin Cindric. Ty Dillion couldn’t keep his car on the bottom causing him to slide up. Dillion Slid up knocking Custer out of the way, which eventually turned Cindric for another caution. Lastly, the other Busch brother saw trouble today, Kyle Busch’s crew put a piece of tape on the front grill. This isn’t permitted by Nascar as this affects the aero-dynamics on the race car. Busch had to come down pit road giving up his track position. From a history making pit stop to a troubling pit stop, this is the second week in a row Kyle Busch has been taken out of contention for a race win.
(Denny Hamlin driving through the field)
In my opinion, today’s race was solid. Fans saw a true Nascar short track event at Richmond Raceway. Tight corners and racing were displayed as drivers maneuvered themselves around this 0.75-mile track. After a variety of tracks in the first six events, a nice short track race is refreshing. A lot of teams had rebounding weekends, which is good to see. Taking all action into consideration, I'd rate today’s race 8.5 out of 10. It’s good to see Denny Hamlin back upfront today as his win is crucial heading into Martinsville. We have now seen 7 different winner in 7 different races.
(The Logo for Martinsville Speedway's 75th year)
As the 8th race of this 2022 season rolls in, Nascar will stay in the state of Virginia. Martinsville Speedway, famously known as the paper clip, is next up on the schedule. Located in Ridgeway, Virginia, Martinsville has always been a fan favorite and a long time staple on the Nascar circuit. A historic weekend is up next for Nascar at Martinsville Speedway as they celebrate their 75th year as a race track. Another thing to know when coming to Martinsville is that the infield is small. Meaning Nascar moving equipment and teams stationing haulers are a challenge. Note, Martinsville Speedway will see all three national series this weekend. Nascar has decided to hold the Truck Series race at Martinsville on Thursday. Truck Series practice and qualifying will be Thursday afternoon with the race getting underway around 8:00pm on April 7th that night. The day after will be for the Xfinity Series, they will also be at Martinsville. The Xfinity Series will have practice and qualifying Thursday at 5:30pm. The Xfinity Series race in Martinsville will be on April 8th at 7:30pm. Also, all eyes will be watching as retired from full-time racing, Nascar pioneer, legend, and current NBC broadcast analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. will compete in his famous #88 car. Earnhardt Jr. will be driving for his own powerhouse team, JR Motorsports on Friday. Dale Jr. normally has done one Xfinity race a year since retiring from full-time racing after the 2017 season. Lastly, the Cup Series normally doesn’t race on Saturday nights. The average window for a Cup Series race is a Sunday afternoon. Night races for the Cup Series don’t come often, but for this weekend we’ll see a night race. At 7:30pm on Saturday night, the Cup Series will take the green flag. Practice and Qualifying for the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 will be Friday evening. For short track racing under the lights, tune in Saturday, April 9th at 7:30pm for Cup Series action at Martinsville, only on FS1.
( All images credited to https://www.foxsports.com/nascar/cup-series.)
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