Richmond 2 Race Review and Analysis
They call him Happy Harvick for a reason! The Nascar Cup Series visited Richmond Raceway, located in Richmond, Virginia for a showdown. In back-to-back races for the first time since 2020, Kevin Harvick takes home the checkered flag. This is Harvick’s 2nd win of the 2022 season and the 60th of his career. Harvick now is tied with Kyle Busch for the 9th most wins of all time at 60. Harvick won at Richmond Raceway for the first time since 2013. This is also Harvick’s 29th win since he turned 40 years old. This is the 3rd win in total for Stewart-Haas Racing in the 2022 season.
(Kevin Harvick in front of the Richmond Crowd)
Let’s go through today’s race. Ross Chastain dominated the first stage. Chastain led 79 laps in stage 1, but 80 in total throughout today’s race. Chastain faded back in the field, as he spun Kyle Busch exiting turns 3 and 4. Chastain qualified 2nd on Saturday and finished 18th this afternoon. Erik Jones was collected in this wreck, he broke a toe-link as a result and finished 35th. What was a bold, strategic move by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on pit road strategy ended poorly, after Stenhouse Jr. made a mistake by missing the pit road entry line. With this occurring, Stenhouse Jr. washed back up on the race track, and made contact with Martin Truex Jr. While Stenhouse Jr.’s afternoon took an unfortunate turn, Truex Jr. only sustained minimal damage. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. later had a speeding penalty on his second attempt at making pit road, which ruined his bold strategy. Stenhouse Jr. finished 22nd for JTG Daugherty Racing. Later on, in the second stage, Ty Gibbs saw trouble for 23XI Racing. Gibbs had a mechanical failure, which derailed his solid afternoon, Gibbs finished 36th in his 4th career Cup Series start. Joey Logano dominated the entire second stage. Logano led 222 laps and lapped up to 15th place at one point during today’s race. Logano’s afternoon ended in a bittersweet way, as he finished 6th. Chase Briscoe, had a strong afternoon until flames started to erupt in the exhaust pipes in his #14 machine. Briscoe ran well the entire afternoon, as Stewart-Haas Racing had speed all afternoon. Briscoe finishes 23rd.
(Kevin Harvick post-race)
Today’s top finishers included Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, and Ryan Blaney. Kevin Harvick's #4 team is turning their season around as they went on to win this afternoon in Richmond. Harvick jumps to 7th in the official playoff standings. Christopher Bell on fresh tires was laying down the fastest laps during the final stretch, as he closed in on Kevin Harvick. Time ran out on Christopher Bell as the laps counted down, and lap traffic was an obstacle. Bell finished 2nd, in what was a solid day for Toyota. Third place went to Chris Buescher of RFK Racing. Chris Buescher, in what was one of his best races of the 2022 season, ran stellar this afternoon in Richmond. If it weren’t for the hassle of lap traffic, Buescher could have passed Kevin Harvick for eventually the race win. Watch out for Buescher at Watkins Glen next weekend, as the final two regular-season races are some of Buescher’s strongest tracks. Fourth place goes to Denny Hamlin, who has shown speed, and consistency in recent weeks. Hamlin continues to show out for Joe Gibbs Racing at Richmond Raceway. This is Hamlin's 17th career top-5 at Richmond Raceway. A slow pit stop where the jackman dropped the jack too early, caused a hiccup on the left front tire from being tight. This hurt Hamlin’s chances from sweep the two Richmond races in 2022. Hamlin’s team will be a threat heading into the next two weeks. Chase Elliott finished 5th for Hendrick Motorsports. Elliott showed speed, after a good qualifying performance on Saturday, that paid off this afternoon.
(Harvick in Victory Lane)
Sixth place goes to Joey Logano. Even though Logano’s race ended in a bittersweet way, the #22 team has momentum heading into Watkins Glen. Martin Truex Jr. at one of his best tracks finishes 7th. Many expected a win out of Truex Jr. this afternoon, as his season weights on these final two races at Watkins Glen, and Daytona. Truex Jr. had a resilient afternoon in Richmond, he must win in order to make the playoffs. Eighth place went to Aric Almirola. Almirola was another Stewart-Haas Racing Ford that showed tremendous speed this afternoon. Almirola was consistent, as he racked up his 6th top-10 of 2022. Ninth place went to Kyle Busch, of Joe Gibbs Racing. Kyle Busch ran strong, as contact with Ross Chastain didn’t ruin his afternoon. Tenth place went to Ryan Blaney, of Team Penske. Blaney holds the final spot for the playoffs currently, he must continue to produce at a high level in order to hold off everyone else looking for a playoff spot. Honorable mentions go out to William Byron in 11th, Austin Cindric in 12th, Bubba Wallace in 13th, Kyle Larson in 14th, and Brad Keselowski in 15th.
(Harvick burns it down)
In my opinion, today was solid. We saw drivers seasons change today. We saw premier short track racing and more build-up to the highly anticipated next two weeks. This is the final time we will see Richmond Raceway in action until 2023, of next season. Richmond has put on solid races, and great finishes this year. One thing about Richmond this year is, that the track’s surfaces will make you work due to the tire wear. Also, both races this year had a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota car, chase down a leader in the closing laps. Denny Hamlin completed the pass on William Byron in April to win. Christopher Bell almost completed the pass on Kevin Harvick, to finish 2nd here in August. As we leave Richmond behind until next year, every driver that currently isn’t locked into the playoffs must win either at Watkins Glen, or Daytona. The playoffs are here, as we are halfway through August. We will see what happens next, as the playoff steadily approaches. Taking all action into consideration, I'd rate today’s race an 8.9 out of 10.
(The playoff picture Post-Richmond)
We’re going bowling at the Glen! The Nascar Cup Series will pay a visit to Watkins Glen International, located in Watkins Glen, New York. The Xfinity Series and Cup Series will make the trip to upstate New York. Practice and qualifying for the Xfinity Series will kick off at 10:05am ET Saturday morning. Followed by the race that afternoon at 3:00pm ET at Watkins Glen on the USA Network. Practice and qualifying for the Cup Series will kick off at 12:05pm ET, followed by the race at 3:00pm ET on Sunday, August 21st. The Go Bowling at The Glen, 90-lap Cup Series race will be only on USA Network.
( All images credited to https://www.foxsports.com/nascar/cup-series.)
For next week's race information please view the link down below:
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