Remember when Ricky Rudd and Dale Earnhardt spun at North Wilkesboro on the final lap battling for the win in 1989? How about when Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth crossed the line in nearly a dead heat at Rockingham back in 2004?
Hey, it was Saturday night racing! Well, it was, but I am not one of those old school short track kind of fans. Hell, growing up Saturday night was reserved for Hockey Night in Canada. I tuned in Friday night to Richmond seeking a preview of what might be expected.
As the Toyota Owners 400 was drawing to a close, it looked like Kevin Harvick would catch Juan Pablo Montoya for the lead, making for a thrilling battle between them. However, all heck broke loose when a caution would come out with six laps to go when Brian Vickers would get into the wall.
With late race pit stops and a late green white checkered, Kevin Harvick would go from seventh to first on the final restart to take the victory in the Toyota Owners 400.
The story of the week surrounds the team of Matt Kenseth as NASCAR passed down one of its stiffest penalties in history as it slapped the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team with a 50 point penalty, a $200,000 fine, and suspended Crew Chief Jason Ratcliff for the next seven races.
Following a post-race incident on track, things escalated in the driver motorcoach lot between Richard Childress Racing and Turner-Scott Motorsports, resulting in two individuals being arrested.
Brad Keselowski won the 26th Annual ToyotaCare 250, his 21st victory in 196 NASCAR Nationwide Series races and his first victory of the season. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers and Regan Smith rounded out the top 5.
Following his win at Kansas Speedway, NASCAR deemed Matt Kenseth's motor to be illegal. A connecting rod was found to be approximately 2.7 grams underweight when NASCAR weighed it during the tear down of the race winning No.20 car from Kansas. The other seven connecting rods were each a few grams to the good and perfectly legal.
In the past two weeks we've seen two big teams get hammered by NASCAR for illegal parts. The administration certainly isn't messing around this year, if you are found in violation of their rules no matter what the circumstances surrounding it are, you will be punished harshly.
NASCAR heads back to its roots this weekend with some Saturday night short track action! Richmond International Raceway (RIR) has been around for a long time and always produces fantastic races.
Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse, will be making the 400th start of his NASCAR Cup Series career this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
Anthony Alfredo and Parker Retzlaff will continue to pilot the Nos. 96 and 99 Chevrolet entries, respectively, for the 2027 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season amid a breakout year in 2026.
This race marks a significant milestone for Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing as driver Chris Buescher makes his 400th Career Start after leading 53 laps this past weekend in Talladega.
