NASCAR’s summer break, to allow NBC to cover the Paris Olympics, offered a few weeks of relaxation for drivers and teams. Most in the industry got at least some time off to take their minds off the hectic year-round racing schedule. But, as the series returns for Richmond, the crew chiefs need to be ready to go.
That’s because Sunday night’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway, airing at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, offers something new: a choice of tire compounds during the race. ‘Option tires,’ as they’re called, have featured before, in the All-Star Race at Charlotte in 2017 and in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro earlier this year, but this will be their first appearance in an official points event.
Odds via BetMGM
+475 – Christopher Bell
+475 – Denny Hamlin
+525 – Kyle Larson
+550 – Martin Truex
+1200 – Joey Logano
+1200 – Chase Elliott
+1200 – Ryan Blaney
+1400 – William Byron
+1600 – Tyler Reddick
+1600 – Brad Keselowski
Goodyear will provide the teams two sets of these option tires with a softer compound, just like the tire choices allowed in series like IndyCar and Formula One, that provide more grip but higher wear. Alternatively, the teams can opt for the six sets (plus one worn set that is required to have been used in qualifying) of ‘prime tires,’ which are harder and more durable, perhaps more similar to the compounds that have, controversially, produced such low wear in recent years at Richmond.
Unlike previous showings with varying tire compounds, NASCAR will not require teams to use those tires at any specific time in the race, with the limited number of the faster compound envisioned as a self-policing solution. The one rule is that teams cannot use different compounds on different sides of the car, so no option tires on the left side and prime tires on the right.
Fans in the grandstands and watching on television can easily identify which team is running which compound. The prime tires will have the standard yellow ‘Goodyear’ lettering on the sidewall, while the option tires will sport red lettering.
NASCAR will give the teams a longer practice session to get used to the tires as well. That will air on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, with qualifying to follow immediately after from 5:35 p.m. ET.
“It does create another option for us and we are going to have to use the 45-minute practice session on Saturday to learn these tires,” explained Ross Chastain. “It’s going to put a lot on us as race teams, but I think it will make for a more entertaining race on Sunday and that’s what we are all about.”
Notably, the teams will have a third set of tires available to them: wet-weather tires. Like the option tires, wet-weather tires also made their Cup Series debut during an All-Star Race, and they were first used in a points race at Richmond Raceway earlier this year, before deciding the finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. With a tropical storm on the horizon, those could be put to use on the track and overshadow any discussion about option tires.
(Those tires can be identified by white lettering. However, unlike at Chicago for instance where teams could decide to use the wet or dry tires, NASCAR’s Vice President of Competition, Elton Sawyer, explained after New Hampshire that the sanctioning body needs more data on wet races before letting the teams switch from wets to drys or vice versa on an oval, so there will never be any need to spot different tire compounds in the wet. Richmond will be the first time for teams to choose for themselves when to pit for fresh wet tires on an oval, though, a significant change in itself, the sanctioning body announced Thursday.)
Favorites will have to rise to the occasion
As for the drivers to watch, it seems like the bookmakers might see rain in the forecast, with Christopher Bell, who won in the rain at New Hampshire, the favorite. That could also be down to his adaptability, whatever the weather. He put his dirt background to good use to drive around the track searching for the fastest line in New Hampshire, and that same adaptability could help him to immediately unlock speed after changing to a different compound, rather than taking a few laps to get used to a different level of grip, helping him to take full advantage.
The other favorite is no surprise: Bell’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, who won at Richmond in the spring. While Hamlin scored three short track wins early in the season (plus a fourth short track win at the season-opening Clash at the Coliseum that was not an official points race), he has had a difficult summer, with just one top ten in the last seven races. Richmond could be a needed return to form coming into the Playoffs for the driver of the No. 11.
One good pick who isn’t highlighted is Chris Buescher. He won the fall Richmond race last year, beginning a streak of three wins on three oval tracks in a row to start the Playoffs. He’s looking for his first win of the year – though no driver has come closer to winning than Buescher this year, who finished on the wrong end of the closest finish in NASCAR history at Kansas Speedway, just .001 seconds behind Kyle Larson.
“Last year, we had been inching towards that kind of success and finally just fired on all eight when we got to Richmond,” he explained. “We executed that day extremely well from race strategy to on track decisions to restarts, pit road. We finally put it all together and I think that was a big confidence booster for our team as we headed into the next few.
“Obviously, we’re gonna go down in history there on the wrong side of history for a while anyway for Kansas, so we’ve been very good at a lot of these places,” he added of the start to this season. “We just haven’t been able to seal the deal and it has gotten frustrating. The hard part is keeping everybody’s head up because it’s a hard sport and we know that, but I guess we’re just gonna have to do the same thing we did last year and come to life now and make it a show.”
Strategy means a chance to surprise
Richmond is one of just four more chances to punch a ticket into NASCAR’s Playoffs. The best way to do that is with a win – with twelve drivers having won already this season, that means four of the sixteen postseason spots remain available, so a win guarantees a Playoff berth without having to worry about points.
For some drivers who sit well outside the Playoff bubble, a win is the only chance, and a chaotic change to tire strategy sets up the perfect conditions for a sneak win.
“We have four opportunities to punch our ticket to the Playoffs,” Corey Lajoie explained. “The option tire will be a new variable and a new challenge for the teams to overcome. I’m ready to get back to work after the break and finish the year strong.”
Lajoie is out of his Spire Motorsports ride at the end of this season, the team announced during the break. That means Lajoie has extra motivation to prove to potential employers that he can get that elusive Cup Series win.
One driver who’s not short of winners’ trophies is Kyle Busch. With more wins than any driver over the top three series in his illustrious career, it’s an unusual position for the driver to be looking for both a Playoff berth and his first win of the year as the regular season draws to a close.
But Busch has struggled this year, his second with Richard Childress Racing since leaving JGR, especially on the short tracks, as he explained earlier this season.
“I think adding in some variable and some differences to some of our races isn’t such a bad thing,” he opined. “It will definitely lend itself to those that want to be aggressive and use their soft tires earlier versus later in the race. The other difference in how the night will flow will obviously be based off of how the natural cautions fall.”
That strategy might be what he needs to get the win.
The Playoff table looms large for five drivers
For most of the field, points are no longer a concern. Twelve drivers have earned a win so far this season, and they know they’re in the Playoffs. (Admittedly, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Tyler Reddick respectively have 15 points between them for the regular season championship, which carries a huge 15 Playoff point bonus that Martin Truex proved the value of last season, so they’re probably concerned about the points as well.) Most of the rest of the field is entirely out of points range and in must-win territory.
But there are four points spots available – and that number could shrink with any new winner. Right now, Martin Truex is 108 points above the cutline, Ty Gibbs is 42 to the good, Chris Buescher has a 17-point cushion, and Ross Chastain enters Richmond seven points above. On the other hand, Bubba Wallace has closed the gap and is now only seven points on the other side.
For those drivers, Richmond will be especially a challenge since they’ll need to maximize both stage points and their finishing positions in a race with a new tire rule intended to create different strategies.
It won’t be easy for any crew chief at Richmond, but a crew chief for a driver on the bubble might have the toughest job of all.
Truck Series regular season ends at Richmond
It’s the last race of the regular season for the Craftsman Truck Series in Saturday night’s Clean Harbors 250 at Richmond Raceway, airing at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. That means it’s the last chance to make the ten-driver Playoffs.
It’s also the chance to earn a regular season championship, but at this point that’s probably a bit of a formality. Though he has only three wins to rival Corey Heim’s five, Christian Eckes has had a consistently strong season and comes into Richmond with a 50-point lead in the regular season standings. That means he needs just eleven points at any stage of the race, including the finish – so he could clinch it on stage points, or just by finishing around the top twenty.
That championship is more than a trophy: the regular season champion gets an addition 15 Playoff points, which are hugely helpful to advance through the different rounds of the postseason, since NASCAR’s postseason requires a good performance in just three races to stave off elimination and ultimately make it through to Phoenix, a difficult challenge that requires both skill and luck.
Much tighter is the battle for the Playoff positions, with five available – Eckes, Heim, Nick Sanchez, Ty Majeski, and Rajah Caruth have all won or clinched a spot on points heading into Richmond.
Tyler Ankrum and Grant Enfinger enter in good position, 85 and 77 points above the cutline heading into Richmond. Taylor Gray sits 48 points above and defending champion Ben Rhodes enters 22 points to the good. Much closer is Tanner Gray, just five points above the cutline.
On the other side, Daniel Dye is five points behind Gray and will be looking to make up that margin. Stewart Friesen, 16 points behind, is also in range to mount a charge.
Two drivers to watch on the grid are William Sawalich in the No. 1 and Connor Zilisch in the No. 7. Xfinity Series team JR Motorsports announced that Zilisch will be driving the famed No. 88 car in that series next year, so he’ll be hoping to gain as much experience as he can before getting the inevitable spotlight next year.
NASCAR will give the teams a thirty-minute practice session. That will air on Saturday at 2:35 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, with qualifying to follow immediately after from 3:05 p.m. ET.
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