{"id":60124,"date":"2026-08-14T18:45:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T23:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=60124"},"modified":"2026-08-16T11:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T16:04:16","slug":"nascar-friday-richmond-notebook-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/14\/nascar-friday-richmond-notebook-3\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR: Friday Richmond Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

RICHMOND, Va. \u2014 Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Christopher Bell claimed his seventh runner-up finish last weekend at Iowa Speedway tying him with NASCAR legend Harry Gant (1981) for most ever in a single season. His 11 runner-up finishes since 2025 are more than double that of any other competitor \u2013 his JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe each have six.<\/p>\n

But as frustrating as the close calls may feel in the moment, the 31-year-old conceded after a little time to reflect, he has to look at the efforts in a positive way.  The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota certainly love to hoist his first trophy of the year in Saturday night\u2019s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway (7 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where he has an impressive seven top-10s in 10 NASCAR Cup Series starts; his best career showing \u2013 yes \u2013 a second place fun in 2022 and he\u2019s led 230 laps.<\/p>\n

He does have three wins here in what is now the NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series, including a two-race sweep in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly, all of the second-place finishes – they’re trying and, in the moment, it really kind of feels like just a kick to the gut, but then whenever Monday, Tuesday rolls around, you’re like, ah, it was a pretty darn good day,\u2019\u2019 conceded Bell, who does have three NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series wins here including a two-race 2018 sweep.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, ultimately, the results that we’ve gotten have meant a lot more this year than what they have in my entire Cup career with the format change. So, it’s been nice to stack some good results together and we’re performing really well right now. I certainly feel like we’re in the mix.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bell\u2019s work at Iowa moved him up four positions in the championship standings to sixth place and he\u2019s only four points behind his teammate Briscoe in fifth. With the accumulation of points now setting the Chase field instead of a win-and-you\u2019re-in situation of recent seasons, top-fives and top-10s are impactful.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey mean more today in this year than they have for the previous format, my entire Cup career and NASCAR career for that matter,\u2019\u2019 Bell said. \u201cThe point standings and where you’re running at in points is super important, but the entire previous championship format was very much win or bust. I think that mentality is still engraved in at least my mind and probably most of the industry’s mind, but in all reality, it’s not win or bust anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamlin on Richmond Qualifying<\/b><\/p>\n

Hamlin, a five-time race winner at his home track, Richmond Raceway, is the last driver to win here from pole position \u2013 claiming the win from the number one starting spot in 2016. <\/p>\n

Asked Friday why the Busch Light Pole Winner has so seldom won the race recently, Hamlin paused and gave a well-thought-out answer about his hometown .75-mile oval.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the average starting position for the winner is somewhere around 6.7, something like that,\u2019\u2019 said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. \u201cSo you just kind of put yourself somewhere in that range. I think a lot of the reason is that qualifying here is extremely, extremely technical. <\/p>\n

\u201cI would say it’s probably the hardest [track] to qualify to hit your marks. \u2026 I think that sometimes whoever’s got the best car doesn’t qualify on the pole because it’s just really, really difficult to put it all together, and sometimes someone with a decent car can just hit the marks just right, and that’s when they get the pole. So, I think the technicality of the actual line that you have to run makes it to where you see comers and goers here.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 37 starts, Hamlin has an amazing 8.9 starting position and has earned four career poles, the last in 2024 when he finished runner-up in the race.<\/p>\n

SVG Feeling the Chase Push<\/b><\/p>\n

To Bell\u2019s point, the new championship format has shifted the focus of competition and Trackhouse Racing\u2019s Shane van Gisbergen is someone, in particular, who feels the new emphasis. The sport\u2019s reigning road course master had earned previous positions in the Chase with his trophy haul on the road course stops on the schedule. <\/p>\n

The 37-year-old New Zealander has a pair of wins in 2026 but sits 15th in points and currently is title-eligible based on the totality of his work, not only his mastery on the road courses. And it\u2019s something Van Gisbergen sad he has consciously worked on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess initially, it’s probably a good thing for the sport,\u201d van Gisbergen said of the championship format change. \u201cI guess initially, I was brought over here for that \u2018win and you\u2019re in\u2019 to guarantee a spot in the playoffs, so yeah, I certainly knew I had to get better at ovals, and I think we’ve done that. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t think my mindset has changed every race. I think maybe these couple of races, I’m points racing a little bit, but the rest of the year, you’re just driving flat out. I don’t think I’ve ever really points raced trying to stay out of trouble. I think that when you’re not driving naturally, you find yourself in trouble. So yeah, I just try and drive every race flat out.\u201d<\/p>\n

His emphasis and work is evident. He already has equaled career single season highs in top-fives (five) and top-10s (seven) with 13 races still remaining on the year. Four of his top-10s have come on traditionally difficult ovals and he\u2019s twice set a career best showing on ovals \u2013 fifth place at both Nashville and North Wilkesboro (N.C.).<\/p>\n

van Gisbergen started his weekend off by winning the pole position for Friday night\u2019s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet\u2013 his first career pole in the series and first pole position of any kind on an oval.<\/p>\n

Elliott Back in the Saddle Again<\/b><\/p>\n

Former full-time NASCAR competitor, Virginia-native Elliott Sadler said he got more than 60 requests from friends and family for tickets for Friday night\u2019s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series\u2019 Black\u2019s Tires 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Richmond Raceway \u2013 the 51-year old\u2019s first race in a NASCAR premier series in seven years and first truck race in 15 years and first truck race at Richmond since 2001.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll drive the No. 25 \u201cFree Agent\u201d Kaulig Racing Dodge Ram on a Virginia \u201cDream Team\u201d this weekend \u2013 Kaulig\u2019s CEO Chris Rice, and Elliott\u2019s teammates Brendan McQueen and Mini Tyrrell are all Virginia natives too.<\/p>\n

Sadler said Rice first approached him about the opportunity in January that his first thumbs-up came immediately from his two teenage children who missed seeing their dad compete.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I retired seven years ago, I retired for one reason and that\u2019s to spend time with my kids, I was travelling so much and missing everything they were doing at home and felt like I\u2019d followed my dream long enough and I wanted to help my kids follow their dream,\u2019\u2019 Sadler said.<\/p>\n

Noting his kids\u2019 reaction and strong approval of the possibility he\u2019d race again, Sadler said, \u201cThey both screamed to the top of their lungs, \u2018We miss the track, we miss the people.\u2019 They miss this part of my life and now that that they are older, 16 and 14 now, they were ecstatic, so I called Chris [Rice] back and said, \u2018you know what, I\u2019m in.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I saw my kids\u2019 faces light up that this would be cool to see their dad race again, it made it a very easy decision.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Odd and Ends<\/b><\/p>\n

Toyota\u2019s 14 wins through the opening 23 races is the most for a manufacturer since Chevrolet won 17 in 2007.<\/p>\n

For the first time in Toyota\u2019s history of NASCAR Cup Series competition, it boasts five drivers among the top-six in the championship standings.<\/div>\n
JGR\u2019s Hamlin, who grew up in nearby Chesterfield, Va. was honored Friday morning by Richmond Raceway, which dedicated two grandstand seats to his family \u2013 longtime season ticket holders at the track.<\/div>\n
Front Row Motorsports announced Friday morning that it has extended its contract with driver Noah Gragson.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service RICHMOND, Va. \u2014 Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Christopher Bell claimed his seventh runner-up finish last weekend at Iowa Speedway tying him with NASCAR legend Harry Gant (1981) for most ever in a single season. His 11 runner-up finishes since 2025 are more than double that of any other competitor \u2013 his JGR […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":60126,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[16,486],"class_list":["post-60124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-richmond-raceway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-fDK","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2290516329-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60124"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60131,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60124\/revisions\/60131"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}