RICHMOND, Va. — After a two-week hiatus for the Olympics, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to action this weekend at Richmond Raceway.
Let’s Get Caught Up
Though NASCAR went on break, there was still some news.
Notably, Corey LaJoie announced he won’t return to Spire Motorsports in 2025 after four years with the organization. In 129 races, LaJoie — who made his Cup debut in 2015 — recorded just six top-10 finishes, including three fourth-place finishes at drafting tracks. He hasn’t announced where he’ll land in 2025.
Jason Burdett parted ways with LEGACY Motor Club following the July 21 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Serving as crew chief for Jimmie Johnson in his part-time slate, the duo never finished better than 28th in six starts this season.
23XI Racing signed Juan Pablo Montoya for a one-off drive at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l in September. Piloting the No. 50 Toyota, Montoya will make his first Cup Series start in 10 seasons. He won the 2010 race at The Glen — one of his two Cup victories. Since his full-time NASCAR career ended, the seven-time Formula 1 winner has primarily raced sports cars.
On Friday, Trackhouse Racing announced Daniel Suárez will return to the organization in 2025 for his fifth year with backing from Freeway Insurance. He won at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February for his second career victory and has a playoff spot secured.
The Home Stretch
Sunday’s race begins a four-race dash toward the playoffs.
After visiting The Action Track, the Cup Series heads to Michigan Int’l Speedway before moving south to Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway. Darlington (S.C) Raceway concludes the regular season — moving out of the playoffs to keep the Southern 500 on its traditional Labor Day weekend.
That said, much is still to be decided.
Four drivers are with 43 points of the regular-season title, led by Kyle Larson — who paces Chase Elliott by 10 markers despite missing the Coca-Cola 600 in May. Tyler Reddick, who has a series-best 15 top 10 finishes, is third and 15 points out of the lead. Despite an inconsistent summer, Denny Hamlin is fourth at 43 points behind. Ryan Blaney remains in striking range at 73 markers down.
Twelve different drivers have won races in 2024, leaving just four playoff spots on points. The retiring Martin Truex Jr. is the best among winless drivers at 108 points above the cutline. The final three spots, however, are much tighter. Ty Gibbs (+42), Chris Buescher (+17) and Ross Chastain (+7) are all inside the provisional playoff grid, but Bubba Wallace (-7) lurks in 17th. Otherwise, everyone else on the outside will likely need to win to make it in.
Atlanta, Watkins Glen and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway will make up the opening round of the playoffs.
Two Tire Compounds
For the first time in a points-paying race, teams will have the choice between two tire compounds this weekend at Richmond.
Each team will be allotted eight sets of tires for Sunday’s race, but two of them will be the “option” tire. The tire is a softer compound that is made from the same compound as the wet-weather tires. It will increase speeds at the expense of more wear and will be denoted by red lettering. The other six sets, coined “prime” tires, are a traditional compound. NASCAR will not mandate when the tires are used.
Teams will have a 45-minute practice session Saturday to experiment. They will have two sets of tires for the session — one “prime” set and one “option” set.
NASCAR implemented a similar strategy in May’s All-Star Race at the freshly repaved North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.
Richmond Success
Some of NASCAR’s veterans have found the most success in Henrico County.
Kyle Busch, who’s in a must-win situation to make the playoffs, has won six times — the most among active drivers. Hamlin, who’s from down the road in Chesterfield, has won five times including the spring race on Easter Sunday. Truex has three wins, while Larson, Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher have each won twice.
Blaney and Elliott are among two of the best without a win at Richmond. Among active drivers, they have the two best average starting positions (6.3 and 7.4, respectively). Elliott has the second-best average finish at 8.7, while Blaney has struggled more in the races but still averages a result of 11.1.
A sleeper though could be rookie Josh Berry. Making a start last spring for the injured Elliott, Berry finished second.
Race Information
Sunday’s 400-lapper is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on USA Network. Stage breaks are set for laps 70 and 230. The purse is $7,925,121.
It’s the first time in five years that both races at the 0.75-mile facility are under the lights.