Boasting a perfect five-for-five in top-10 finishes this season, championship leader Austin Hill has certainly set a blistering pace out front, but the Richard Childress Racing driver arrives at Richmond Raceway for Saturday’s ToyotaCare 250 (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) racing for his first win at the three-quarter mile track.
The two drivers right on Hill’s heels – Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer – have won at Richmond before and would love to close that gap atop the championship lead.
Richmond is certainly a special place for Chandler Smith, who earned his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in this race last year. He added a win this season at Phoenix and is sitting second in the current championship standings to Hill by only nine points.
Custer (2019) and JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, who swept the 2020 COVID doubleheader, are the only other former winners among the full-time contingent. A victory this week for Allgaier would be especially timely for the perennial championship contender and his JRM team—the whole four-car full-time operation is still looking for its first win of 2024.
Allgaier, who has only a pair of top-10 finishes, is ranked eighth, followed by teammate Brandon Jones in ninth. Sammy Smith is 11th and Sam Mayer, who has had a season of tough luck, is ranked 19th heading into Richmond. Mayer’s best short track finish (third place) came at Richmond in 2022.
“We have always had really strong cars on the short tracks at JRM and I see no reason why that won’t be the case again this weekend,” said Allgaier, who has six career short track victories.
“I feel like Richmond is falling at the right time for us to get that positive momentum back going and I know that [crew chief] Jim [Pohlman] and everyone on this No. 7 team is ready to go once we hit the track on Saturday.”
This is not only an important race for the championship, but a win this weekend will qualify a full-time driver for the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash program, which gives drivers a chance to win a $100,000 bonus. The top-four eligible drivers from Saturday afternoon’s race will qualify for the first Dash 4 Cash event – April 6 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
The top-four eligible drivers from Martinsville will then be Dash 4 Cash eligible at the April 13 race at Texas Motor Speedway. The other two Dash 4 Cash events are April 20 at Talladega (Ala.) and April 27 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway.
Of note this weekend, late model superstar Bubba Pollard will be making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. Not only will this be Pollard’s first laps in an Xfinity Series car, but it will also be his first laps at Richmond Raceway.
“I really don’t know what to expect, as it’s all very new to us,” Pollard said. “But I’m very thankful for the opportunity. .. I hope we can make the most of it.”
Also making their series debut is NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series standout Taylor Gray, who will drive the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Late Model standout Logan Bearden in the No. 14 SS-GreenLight Racing Chevrolet and modified standout Morgen Baird, who will steer the No. 4 JD Motorsports Chevrolet.
It’s a busy race day for the Xfinity Series with practice slated for 8:35 a.m. ET Saturday followed by qualifying at 9:05 a.m. ET (FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Source: Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service
