This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series went short track racing in Richmond, Virginia. Ryan Blaney claimed the pole for this weekend’s race over Chase Briscoe and led the field to green.
The leaders ran side by side for the first handful of laps before Blaney took control of the race, control he only let go of in the first stage long enough for the pit cycle to complete as he won the first stage.
Stage One Results:
- Ryan Blaney
- Chase Briscoe
- Joey Logano
- Austin Cindric
- Josh Berry
- Bubba Wallace
- Denny Hamlin
- Christopher Bell
- Chase Elliott
- William Byron
Noah Gragson received the free pass and there were no major shakeups during the stage caution pit cycle. Chase Briscoe was able to take control of the race from Ryan Blaney at the start of stage two. He held that lead for nearly 40 laps until Blaney was able to retake the lead just before the start of green flag pit cycles. Before the leaders could pit Zane Smith spun to bring out the first natural caution of the night on lap 125. This forced a handful of drivers including bubble drivers Bubba Wallace and Shane Van Gisbergen to pit.
Chase Briscoe maintained control of the race nearly through the next pit cycle with Joey Logano getting by him just before the cycle began, after the cycle finished Logano cruised to the stage two victory.
Stage Two Results:
- Joey Logano
- Denny Hamlin
- Chase Briscoe
- Austin Cindric
- Ryan Blaney
- Josh Berry
- Chase Elliott
- Christopher Bell
- Tyler Reddick
- William Byron
Kyle Larson received the free pass and Logano won the race off pit road while Tyler Reddick had to pit a second time to address a loose left rear tire. Shane Van Gisbergen took the wave around as well. Logano led the field to green to start the final stage. However, a daring three-wide move by Briscoe got him back to the lead where he looked to set sail on what was becoming an exceptional night. On lap 284 , Carson Hocevar brought out the second caution of the night after he double downshifted and blew his engine. This was midway through a pit cycle once again. This time the biggest benefactors were Tyler Reddick and Shane Van Gisbergen.
Briscoe maintained the lead off the next restart and held the lead until the lap both he and Logano made their final pit stops, with Logano being able to beat Briscoe off pit road in what was the move that decided the race as Logano was able to hold off Briscoe to win his second race of the season.
Final Results:
- Joey Logano
- Chase Briscoe
- Austin Cindric
- Denny Hamlin
- Chase Elliott
- Kyle Larson
- Christopher Bell
- Josh Berry
- William Byron
- Alex Bowman
Main Photo Credit: @NASCAR on Twitter
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