A playoff position in the NASCAR Cup Series takes place this weekend at Richmond Raceway, one of the oldest tracks on the Cup schedule.
Sunday’s 400-lap, 300-mile race offers drivers who haven’t won the race the chance to visit victory lane and join the 15 winners already on the play-off grid. Ryan Blaney holds his 16th (and last) spot on the grid via points. Martin Truex Jr. is the first driver to go below the cutoff line.
Kevin Harvick won last week’s race at Michigan International Speedway to end his 65-race winless streak and join the playoff group.
After Richmond, the only races remaining in the regular season are Watkins Glen, New York (August 21) and Daytona Beach, Florida (August 27). The playoffs are slated to begin on September 4th at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.
Chase Elliott will be able to lock the regular season championship on Sunday. He remains at the top of the points standings and the NBC Sports NASCAR Power Rankings.
Sunday’s race (3pm ET) will be televised by the USA Network. The Camping World Truck Series playoffs take place Saturday at 8pm in Richmond.
Here’s the schedule for this weekend.
Richmond Raceway (Cup and Tracks)
weekend weather
Saturday: Sunny. 80 at most.
Sunday: Partly cloudy. 84 at best.
Saturday, August 13th
(always eastern)
garage open
- 10am — Camping World Truck Series
- Noon – 7:30 PM — Cup Series
Track activity
- 3:05 – 3:35 pm — Camping World Truck Series Practice (FS1)
- 3:35 – 4:30 pm — Camping World Truck Series Qualifier (FS1)
- 17:05 – 17:50 — Cup Series practice (USA Network)
- 5:50 PM – 7:00 PM — Cup Series Qualifiers (USA Network, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- 8:00 PM — Camping World Truck Series Race (250 Laps, 187 Miles, FS1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday, August 14th
garage open
Track activity
- 3:00 PM — Cup Series Race (400 Laps, 300 Miles, USA Network, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)