Tonight’s Cup race at Richmond: Start time, lineup and more

By Sep 22, 2018, 11:00 AM EDT
0 Comments

The Cup Series is back under the lights tonight for the playoff race at Richmond Raceway.

The race is the last chance for playoff drivers to secure a spot in the second round before next week’s cutoff race on the unpredictable Charlotte road course.

Here’s all the info you need for tonight’s race.

(All times are Eastern)

START: Tim Trudnowski, president of Automotive Jobber Supply in Spokane, Washington, will give the command to start engines at 7:27 p.m. The green flag is scheduled to wave at 7:33 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 400 laps (300 miles) around the 0.75-mile speedway.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends on Lap 100. Stage 2 ends on Lap 200.

PRERACE SCHEDULE: Garage opens at Noon. Driver/crew chief meeting is at 5:30 p.m. Driver introductions are at 6:50 p.m.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: The President’s Own United States Marine Band will perform the anthem at 7:21 p.m.

TV/RADIO: NBCSN will broadcast the race beginning at 7:30 p.m. Coverage begins with NASCAR America at 6 p.m. on NBCSN. Countdown to Green airs at 7 p.m. on NBCSN. Motor Racing Network’s radio broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. and can be heard at mrn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have the MRN broadcast.

FORECAST: wunderground.com calls for a high of 74 degrees and a 10 percent chance of rain at the start of the race.

LAST TIME: Kyle Busch won the spring race over Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin. Kyle Larson won this race last year over Joey Logano and Ryan Newman.

STARTING LINEUP: Click here for the provisional lineup (lineup will be official after inspection Saturday)

Martin Truex Jr. charges late to win Clash at the Coliseum

By Feb 5, 2023, 10:38 PM EST
0 Comments

Martin Truex Jr., who struggled through a winless season last year, opened 2023 in style Sunday night, winning the Clash at the Coliseum with a late-race charge.

Truex bumped by Ryan Preece to take the lead with 24 laps to go and led the rest of the way.

Truex, Alex Bowman and Preece appeared to have the strongest cars over the race’s closing segment. Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch joined the struggle at the front in the final 10 laps

With seven laps to go, Dillon shoved Bubba Wallace into the wall as they raced for second place.

Dillon, Busch, Bowman and Kyle Larson followed Truex to the finish.

The race was the second Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

“It was just a really good race car.,” Truex told Fox Sports. “Last year was a pretty rough season for us with no wins. To kick it off this way was great for these guys. We found ourselves in the right spot at the end.”

As the first three finishers, Truex (gold), Dillon (silver) and Busch (bronze) were presented medals in a podium celebration, an oddity for NASCAR but a nod to the coliseum’s Olympic history.

The second half of the race was pockmarked by contact and subsequent spins as the field was slowed time after time for cautions. The yellow flag flew 16 times across the race’s 150 laps.

Wallace, who wrestled the lead from Denny Hamlin on the first lap of a restart, was in first place at the race’s halfway point as the field parked for service.

Following Wallace at the break were Truex Jr., Dillon, William Byron and Tyler Reddick. In the second five were Preece, Busch, Bowman, Joey Logano (last year’s winner) and Larson.

The race’s first caution flew after 17 laps as Erik Jones spun out after contact from Michael McDowell. Jones parked for the night.

Seven laps later, 11th-place Ryan Blaney spun out in heavy traffic to prompt the second caution.

Among drivers who failed to qualify for the 150-lap feature were RFK Racing entries Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher. Both also missed the race last year.

Read more about NASCAR

Jimmie Johnson Chicago
Jimmie Johnson to run Chicago Street Course Cup race
Kevin Harvick Fox
Kevin Harvick to join Fox booth in 2024
AUTO: FEB 05 NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum
RFK Racing drivers fail to qualify for Clash at the Coliseum

Jimmie Johnson to run Chicago Street Course Cup race

By Feb 5, 2023, 8:12 PM EST
0 Comments

LOS ANGELES – Jimmie Johnson says that one of his Cup races this season with Legacy Motor Club will be the July 2 Chicago Street Course race, which will air on NBC.

The seven-time champion will run select Cup races this season after spending the past two seasons in the IndyCar Series. Johnson, who left NASCAR in 2020, will return in two weeks at Daytona International Speedway as a driver and part owner of Legacy MC. His No. 84 car does not have a charter and he’ll have to secure one of the four spots for non-chartered cars.

Johnson said on Fox before Sunday’s Clash at the Coliseum that he looked to do more Cup races beyond Daytona and Chicago but did not announce any others. He will drive the NASCAR Garage 56 entry in June in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Read more about NASCAR

NASCAR Clash
Martin Truex Jr. charges late to win Clash at the Coliseum
Kevin Harvick Fox
Kevin Harvick to join Fox booth in 2024
AUTO: FEB 05 NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum
RFK Racing drivers fail to qualify for Clash at the Coliseum

 

Kevin Harvick to join Fox booth in 2024

By Feb 5, 2023, 7:47 PM EST
0 Comments

LOS ANGELES – Kevin Harvick will move from the car to the TV booth next year when he joins Fox Sports.

Harvick, who is in his final season driving in Cup, will join Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer in the booth for the NASCAR races on Fox in 2024.

“I’m looking forward to that,” Harvick said on Fox on Sunday. “We’re coming right to the booth. I couldn’t be happier. For me, the timing in life has just been absolutely perfect with everything on the driving side and now to have this opportunity to tell people about racing, there’s not anything I love more and I can’t wait.”

The announcement was made before Sunday night’s Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Harvick advanced to the Clash through his heat race.

Read more about NASCAR

NASCAR Clash
Martin Truex Jr. charges late to win Clash at the Coliseum
Jimmie Johnson Chicago
Jimmie Johnson to run Chicago Street Course Cup race
AUTO: FEB 05 NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum
RFK Racing drivers fail to qualify for Clash at the Coliseum

RFK Racing drivers fail to qualify for Clash at the Coliseum

By Feb 5, 2023, 6:56 PM EST
0 Comments

After heat races and a pair of last chance qualifiers, RFK Racing drivers Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher failed to qualify for the NASCAR Clash at the Coliseum for the second straight year.

Former champion Chase Elliott led wire-to-wire Sunday to win the second last chance qualifier to move on to the feature. He was joined by second-place Ty Gibbs and third-place AJ Allmendinger.

Michael McDowell led all 50 laps in the first last chance qualifier race to advance to the feature. Also moving on to the 150-lap main event were Christopher Bell and Todd Gilliland.

MORE: Clash at the Coliseum starting lineup

Among those failing to advance from the first last chance race were Harrison Burton, whose late-race slide cost him several spots, and Ty Dillon.

Austin Cindric got the provisional starting spot and will be 27th — and last — at the green flag. The race is scheduled for an 8:20 p.m. ET start.

William Byron led all 25 laps in winning the fourth heat race.

Also transferring to the feature from the fourth heat were Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece and Erik Jones, who took the fifth and final spot with two laps to go.

Denny Hamlin dominated the third heat, leading 20 of the 25 laps to win. Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suarez followed in the top five to transfer to the main event.

The biggest loser in the third heat was Bell, who spun out after late-race contact and finished sixth.

Martin Truex Jr. took the lead from Kyle Busch late in the second heat and won easily. Busch was second, Austin Dillon third and Kyle Larson fourth.

Kevin Harvick, starting his final season in Cup, made a strong last-lap move and edged Elliott for fifth and the final transfer spot to the feature.

Aric Almirola, who failed to make the Clash feature last season, took the lead late in the first heat race and won the 25-lapper in front of Alex Bowman and Justin Haley.

“It was about being more prepared,” Almirola told Fox Sports. “There was no way to be prepared a year ago. I was really disappointed to watch this race from the grandstands last year.”

Rookie Noah Gragson and defending race and reigning series champion Joey Logano also finished in the top five to join the first three in the feature.

Burton spun out early in the first heat.

MORE: Heat race 1 results

MORE: Heat race 2 results

MORE: Heat race 3 results

MORE: Heat race 4 results

Last Chance Qualifier race 1 results

Last Chance Qualifier Race 2 results

Read more about NASCAR

NASCAR Clash
Martin Truex Jr. charges late to win Clash at the Coliseum
Jimmie Johnson Chicago
Jimmie Johnson to run Chicago Street Course Cup race
Kevin Harvick Fox
Kevin Harvick to join Fox booth in 2024