NASCAR Joey Logano

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2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase Field is Set

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway is in the books and the 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field is now set.

On the subject of the Sprint Cup Chase field at Richmond, there were no surprises and no drama as the field looks the same after the Federated Auto Parts 400 as it did before the race began.

Matt Kenseth securely put his team in the top-three Chase contenders with his fourth win of the season at Richmond on Saturday night.  Also at the top of the field with four wins are first-place seeded Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch in second-place.

The only driver with three wins is Joey Logano, who is also the only non-Joe Gibbs Racing driver with a victory over the last ten races and he sits fourth in the Chase standings.

Four drivers with two victories include Kevin Harvick in fifth-place, Dale Earnhardt Jr in sixth-place, Kurt Busch in seventh-place and Carl Edwards in eighth-place.

Three drivers with one win for the season are Brad Keselowski in ninth, Martin Truex Jr in tenth and Denny Hamlin is 11th in the Chase point standings.

The five drivers without a win this season – Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer and Paul Menard take the last five spots – are all now part of the 16-driver field chasing a championship title over the next ten races.

This is where all the serious speculation begins as fans complete their Chase Grid and name their choice for the Sprint Cup Series champion at Homestead Miami Speedway in November.

The drivers will race the next ten tracks to decide the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champ and it all begins at Chicagoland Speedway on September 20th.

Matt Kenseth Dominates at Richmond as Chase Field is Set

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Track News

 

Joe Gibbs Racing brought guns to a knife fight on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

But Joe Gibbs Racing’s Matt Kenseth did his teammates one better — he brought a howitzer.

Leading 352 of 400 laps in a race he owned from the outset, Kenseth pulled away from Kyle Busch after a restart with 18 laps left and won the Federated Auto Parts 400 by 0.951 seconds over his teammate.

Kenseth’s fourth victory of the season, tying him for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series lead with Jimmie Johnson and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch, meant the 16 drivers who started the race in playoff-eligible positions stayed there. Continue reading →

Chase Elliott Breaks 39-Race Drought with Richmond Victory

NASCAR Track News Xfinity Series

Reigning NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Chase Elliott was first off pit road under caution on lap 218 of 250 and held the top spot the rest of the way in breaking a 39-race winless streak on Friday night at Richmond International Raceway.

Elliott’s victory in the Virginia529 College Savings 250 trimmed his deficit to 21 points behind series leader Chris Buescher, who finished tenth. Elliott’s first victory of the season was also the first in 24 races for an XFINITY Series regular at Richmond. Continue reading →

NASCAR XFINITY Series Virginia529 College Savings 250 at Richmond Preview

NASCAR Track News Xfinity Series

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NASCAR XFINITY Series

Next Race: Virginia529 College Savings 250

The Place: Richmond International Raceway

The Date: Friday, Sept. 11

The Time: 7:30 p.m. (ET)

TV: NBCSN, 7 p.m. (ET)

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90

Distance: 187.5 miles (250 laps)

Buescher Commands Championship Lead with Nine Races Remaining

After watching his point lead dwindle for three consecutive weeks in August, Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher needed to turn up the heat at Darlington.

And he succeeded.

Buescher placed fifth for his 11th top-five this season, while his closest championship contender – Ty Dillon – finished 15th. He now leads second-place Dillon by 29 points and third-place Chase Elliott by 35 points.

On Friday, the 22-year-old Texan returns to the site of his worst finish of the 2015 season – Richmond International Raceway where he finished 20th in April – for the Virginia529 College Savings 250. In four career starts at Richmond, Buescher has two top-ten finishes with a best result of seventh last spring. 

Meet Virginia: Sadler, McClure Right at Home at RIR

Local fans will likely cheer for two drivers entered in the Virginia529 College Savings 250 who have their home state recorded as Virginia – Elliott Sadler and Eric McClure.

Sadler, currently fifth in the XFINITY Series standings, hails just down the road from Richmond International Raceway in Emporia, Virginia. He is searching for his first win this season, but has four top-five and 12 top-ten finishes in 24 starts. Sadler has never won a national series race in his home state. In 24 XFINITY Series starts at Richmond, he claims two top-five and ten top-ten finishes.
McClure calls Chilhowie, Virginia home. He has competed in all 24 XFINITY Series races this season with a highest finish of 17th at Daytona. Continue reading →