NEWS RELEASE
This Week in Motorsports: August 8-14, 2022
· NCS/NCWTS: Richmond Raceway – August 13-14
· NHRA: Heartland Motorsports Park (Kansas) – August 14
PLANO, Texas (August 10, 2022) – The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Richmond Raceway for their second stop this season, with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competing the night before. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series is also back on track for the first of two straight events as they make their return to Heartland Motorsports Park in Kansas.
NASCAR National Series – NCS | NCWTS
Wallace continues to climb the standings… Bubba Wallace was just one spot away from his second career victory in Michigan as the Alabama-native came home in second. It was a stellar weekend for Wallace as he also drove to his first career pole position on Saturday. Wallace has now scored four consecutive top-10 finishes for the first time in his career. With 13 races still to go this season, Wallace has already achieved career-highs in Cup Series top-five and top-10 finishes. With the recent success, he has moved back inside the top-20 in the point standings as he sits 19th overall.
Truex plans to score another Richmond victory… Martin Truex Jr. was impressive once again at Richmond Raceway in the spring as he led 80 laps and finished in fourth. Truex has won three of the last six races at Richmond Raceway – sweeping the 2019 events – and leading a Toyota podium sweep in this event one season ago. When Truex isn’t winning at Richmond, he’s finishing in the top-five, as the New Jersey-native has seven straight top-five finishes at the track.
Last time we were in Richmond… Denny Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart proved to have the right strategy at Richmond Raceway in the spring as their fresh tires allowed Hamlin to drive through the field to the lead with five laps to go. Hamlin has been very successful at his home track – with four NASCAR Cup Series wins and three NASCAR Xfinity Series victories.
Nemechek looks to go back-to-back… John Hunter Nemechek has been stellar at Richmond Raceway since joining forces with Toyota last season. In NASCAR Xfinity Series action, he earned Sam Hunt Racing their first top-five finish last fall with a third place run and followed that with a runner-up finish in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota GR Supra in the spring. In NASCAR Truck Series action, Nemechek was dominant in last season’s event at Richmond Raceway, which was run in April. Nemechek led nearly half of the race (114 of 250 laps) to win the ToyotaCare 250.
Majeski desires to continue strong performance… Ty Majeski had a disappointing end to the last event for the Truck Series as he led a career-high 71 (of 207) laps at Indianapolis Raceway Park before a late-race caution produced many strategies and an eighth-place finish for him. The Wisconsin-native is making his first career Truck Series start at Richmond Raceway.
Rhodes leads Toyota… After a runner-up finish in Indianapolis, reigning Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes leads Toyota in the point standings in second overall. Currently five Toyota drivers are in position to advance to the next round – Rhodes, Stewart Friesen, Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Majeski – with both Christian Eckes and Matt Crafton just seven points out of the final spot.
NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car
600 for Capps… The reigning Funny Car champion Ron Capps adds another stat to his incredible resume as he competes in his 600th career NHRA event this season. The two-time champion has won 70 times, which is the second-most in NHRA Funny Car history and he has won 826 rounds of racing in his previous 599 events.
Best for Todd… J.R. Todd comes to Topeka off his best weekend of the season as the 2018 Funny Car Champion advanced to his first final round of the season. Todd also came close to a Wally one season ago at Heartland Motorsports Park as the Indiana-native was the No. 1 qualifier before coming up short to John Force in the final round.
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