Joey Logano Fends Off Chase Briscoe for Richmond Win

Joey Logano won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, holding off Chase Briscoe in a tense battle to the line. Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford and Briscoe’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota appeared virtually equal in the final run, but Logano had just enough for the win.

Saturday night’s race was defined by dueling pit strategies. Both Logano and Briscoe made their final stop on Lap 361, while seventh-place finisher Christopher Bell came down pit road 19 laps earlier. It was Logano and Briscoe’s plan which proved optimal, with Bell fading from first over the final green flag run.

Briscoe drew to within three tenths of a second inside of ten laps to go. With Logano commanding the inside line in each corner, Briscoe’s only opportunities to gain ground seemed to be in the second lane from the bottom. Lapped traffic also played a role, but not enough for the lead to change hands.

Austin Cindric finished third, capitalizing on organization-wide speed to defend his spot in the Chase. Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five.

After lacking race-winning speed for the first half of the season, the No. 22 team’s fortunes changed for the better after their win at North Wilkesboro Speedway last month. Their team now has two wins in the last four races, and appear to safely hold a Chase entry.

Disaster struck on Lap 285 for Carson Hocevar. An apparent downshift from fifth to third gear appeared to cause the No. 77’s engine to expire, bringing Hocevar to a stop at the top of the track. Just one week removed from a 31st-place finish at Iowa Speedway, the No. 77 team was relegated to 37th.

Points Outlook

Race winner Joey Logano was the night’s biggest mover in points, ascending from 13th to ninth. Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar continued his difficult August and dropped from eighth to 11th.

On the back of one of his best runs of the season, Austin Cindric climbed from the Chase cutoff spot to 15th in points. He now has a 57-point cushion with two races remaining before the championship picture narrows to 16 drivers. Shane van Gisbergen is now 16th, 50 points ahead of Ryan Preece. Ross Chastain (-63) and Brad Keselowski (-78) are next, and will need a major surge later this month if they hope to make a Chase bid.

Seven drivers are locked into the Chase following Richmond: Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, and Christopher Bell.

Race Results