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.
“I didn’t necessarily want to go to Cup racing when I did, but it’s what I had to do. I didn’t really have any other opportunities on the table. I’m glad I did, though; I’ve really been enjoying it. “It was go backward or go forward, I chose to go forward.”
If history repeats itself, there will be no surprise winner at Richmond on Saturday night. Going back over the past 10 years, every single driver who has won there is currently locked into the Chase for this year. Except for one.
Edwards took the lead late at Darlington, using a quick pit stop to beat Brad Keselowski on the race’s final caution. Edwards pulled away to grab his second victory of the season.
Recently crowned and seven-time ASCS (American Sprint Car Series) champion, Sam Hafertepe Jr broke the news on Wednesday afternoon that he will be joining a new team for the 2027 Sprint Car season.
