Eleventh place may not seem like anything to brag about until you realize that everyone ahead of him has Sprint Cup backing. Surrounded by names like Roush Fenway Racing, JR Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing and Joe Gibbs Racings, Jeremy Clements Racing is David to their Goliath.
So it begins. Sixteen drivers, each trying to avoid being one of the four eliminated from contention for the championship after each round of three races.
Kenseth led 352 of 400 laps and cruised to an easy win in the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond. The win was Kenseth’s fourth of the season, and places him atop the points standings for the start of the Chase.
Richmond, where the final battle royal would take place to decide the final line-up for the Chase. Richmond, where we discovered that only six cars mattered at all the entire night, and all of them already had their tickets punched to the party.
In the last race of the regular season and the one to set the Chase contenders here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 48th annual Federated Auto Parts 500 at Richmond International Raceway.
Matt Kenseth won the Federated Auto Parts 400 in a dominant fashion on Saturday night. Kenseth led 352 laps and skated to a clean victory ahead of Kyle Busch in second and pole-sitter Joey Logano.
Last weekend's race at Darlington used the low downforce package used at Kentucky in July, along with a softer tire compound. On Friday at Richmond, many in the NASCAR community, from the drivers to fans, seemed to be in support of the program.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the XFINITY Series head to Richmond International Raceway this weekend. All on-track action can be seen on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. The Camping World Truck Series is off.
The 22-year-old Kvapil from Mooresville, North Carolina, has completed his full-time O'Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule in 2026 by adding a four-race campaign at DGM Racing with his remaining starts at JR Motorsports.
Niece Motorsports drivers showed flashes of speed in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) season opener in Daytona and look to parlay that success in the second super speedway style race at Echo Park Speedway in Atlanta.
Green Savoree Racing Promotions is proud to announce a dynamic new partnership with OnlyBulls, naming the digital wallet and mobile app as the entitlement sponsor for the upcoming NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series event.
Zane Smith, driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford Mustang Dark Horse, is coming off a sixth-place finish in Sunday’s Daytona 500, a race that also saw him win the first stage.