Richmond Event Info:
Date: Saturday, August 15
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Format: 400 Laps, 300 Miles, Stages: 70-230-400
TV: USA Sports
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Weekend Schedule:
Friday: 3:30 p.m. ET, Cup Practice (TruTV, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday: 4:40 p.m. ET, Cup Qualifying (TruTV, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 7:00 p.m. ET, Cup Race (USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
STORYLINES:
Brad Keselowski – Sitting 19th in the Cup Series standings and 49 points below the Chase cutline, Keselowski faces a pivotal moment at this Saturday’s race at Richmond Raceway. With only three regular-season races remaining, he is determined to post a strong performance as he races toward the Chase. Richmond has been a strong track for Keselowski, who has two career wins there and has more recently finished among the top ten 4 out his last 5 visits.
Chris Buescher – Buescher heads to Richmond Raceway in a strong position to secure his place in the Chase, sitting ninth in the standings with a comfortable 140-point cushion above the cutline. Saturday night presents an opportunity to shift the focus toward building momentum. Buescher won this race in 2023, leading 88 laps, and he has finished inside the top three twice in his last six Richmond starts.
Ryan Preece – He is the first driver outside the cutline and continues to put pressure on those clinging to a Chase qualifying spot. Just 29 points shy of the Chase cutoff, Preece is poised to shake up the standings at Richmond Raceway this Saturday. Last year, he won the pole and led 60 laps. With only three races left in the regular season, Preece’s short-track prowess makes him a formidable contender.
Pace Laps:
- Richmond hosts the 26th race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule as they embark on a 300-mile race on Saturday night, the third to last race before the start of the playoffs.
- Jack Roush has 16 wins all-time at Richmond, including six in the Cup Series, with Chris Buescher most recently finding victory lane in 2023.
- Buescher was the 2023 winner at Richmond, leading 88 laps en route to his first of three victories that season, and the first of three in a stretch of five weeks.
- Brad Keselowski has posted two top-10 finishes over his last three races2
- Keselowski has led 1,280 laps at Richmond in 15 different races, his most of any track in his career. He’s also finished inside the top-15 in 18 of the last 20 Richmond races since the spring of 2015.
6 Team Info:
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Crew Chief: Jeremy Bullins
Partner: BuildSubmarines.com
17 Team Info:
Driver: Chris Buescher
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: Kroger / Grab Kleenex
60 Team Info:
Driver: Ryan Preece
Crew Chief: Derrick Finley
Partner: Castrol
Keselowski at Richmond
Starts: 31
Wins: 2 (2014, 2020)
Top-10s: 16
Poles: 2 (2014, 2019)
- Keselowski, a two-time winner at Richmond, makes his 32st Cup start at the ¾-mile track on Saturday. He won the 2020 Richmond race after leading 192 laps, and won back in 2014 after starting on the pole and leading 383 of the 400 laps.
- Last summer, Keselowski finished ninth.
- He’s finished inside the top-15 in 18 of the last 20 Richmond races since the spring of 2015, and in that stretch has led laps in 12 different races.
- His 12.0 average finish holds as one of his best among all tracks with 16 top-10s overall and six finishes inside the top five.
- He also has two poles – 2014 and 2019 – for an average starting position of 11.9, also one of his best marks.
- Keselowski made 17 Xfinity Series starts from 2006-17 earning four victories and 10 top-10s. He won his last NXS start there in 2017 and also went to victory lane in 2010 once and 2013 twice.
Buescher at Richmond
Starts: 18
Wins: 1 (2023)
Top-10s: 3
Poles: —
- Buescher was the 2023 winner of this race at Richmond, having led 88 laps en route to his first of three victories that season, and the first of three in a stretch of five weeks.
- Despite a 21.9 average finish at the track, Buescher has two top-3 finishes in the last six Richmond races. He finished third in the 2022 fall event and won in July of 2023
- Buescher has a 18.8 average qualifying effort with a best effort of seventh (three times).
- Buescher made five NXS starts for Jack Roush from 2011-15, earning three top-10s with a best finish of seventh (2014).
Preece at Richmond
Starts: 10
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: 1
- Preece is set for his 11th Cup start at Richmond this weekend, where he earned a top-five finish in the fall of 2023.
- Preece won the pole at Richmond in 2025 and led 60 laps in the race.
- He holds a 19.3 average starting position at Richmond across his ten starts.
- His average Richmond finish is 23.5, with a best of 5th in the summer of 2023.
- Preece has also made four NXS starts at Richmond, with an average finish of 20.8.
RFK Historically at Richmond
Cup Wins: 6 (Mark Martin, 1990; Jeff Burton, 1998; Matt Kenseth, 2002; Kurt Busch, 2005; Carl Edwards, 2013; Chris Buescher, 2023)
- RFK’s Richmond History: RFK has made 370 starts at Richmond Raceway across NASCAR’s three national touring series, recording 16 wins, 91 top-five finishes and 156 top-10s. The organization has also captured 14 poles and led 5,151 laps at the Virginia short track.
- Xfinity Success: In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, RFK has nine wins, 43 top-five finishes and 66 top-10s at Richmond, with an average finish of 11.8. Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards account for all nine of the organization’s victories at the track.
- Among RFK’s Best Tracks: Richmond ranks fourth among all tracks where RFK has competed in the Xfinity Series in terms of wins. The organization has more victories at Darlington Raceway (15), Charlotte Motor Speedway (12) and North Carolina Speedway (11).
- Cup Series Record: RFK has 229 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond, producing 39 top-five finishes, 79 top-10s and seven poles. Mark Martin (1990), Jeff Burton (1998), Matt Kenseth (2002), Kurt Busch (2005), Carl Edwards (2013) and Chris Buescher (2023) have all delivered Cup victories for the organization at Richmond. Overall, Jack Roush-owned Fords have led 2,633 laps at the .75-mile track.
Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Iowa: It was a hard-fought day for RFK Racing at Iowa Speedway, with all three teams battling to make the most of a challenging race. Chris Buescher led the way, charging from 27th to a 13th place finish in the No. 17 Body Guard Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Buescher and his team may not have had the raw speed they wanted, but they made their strategy count, stretching out a tank of fuel for an impressive 137 laps to salvage a strong finish. Ryan Preece also battled his way forward, climbing from 35th to 20th in the No. 60 Kroger/Force Factor Ford Mustang Dark Horse as the team continued to improve the car throughout the race. Brad Keselowski, fought hard from the very beginning. After starting fourth, the No. 6 Trimble Ford Mustang Dark Horse ultimately crossed the line 27th, battling tire chatter after the team worked Saturday to repair the car following his qualifying crash. It wasn’t the day RFK Racing was looking for, but with three teams showing resilience and finding gains throughout the race, the focus now turns to taking those lessons and carrying that momentum into the final stretch of the season.
Points Standings: Buescher: 9th, Preece: 17th, Keselowski: 19th
