The roar of the V8s at Richmond Raceway was a familiar symphony to most of the drivers, but for Shane van Gisbergen, it was still a new and demanding piece of music. Just a week prior, he had orchestrated a brilliant victory at Watkins Glen, a road course where his instincts and experience gave him an almost unfair advantage. The win was a statement, a reminder that the Kiwi wasn’t just a tourist in NASCAR but a genuine contender. But Richmond was different.
This was a short-track crucible, a place where patience and the fine art of managing tire fall-off mattered more than raw cornering speed. It was a place where a single mistake could cost you not just a position, but the respect of the team. To conquer the demanding short track at Richmond, Shane van Gisbergen’s textbook for the weekend was the No. 11 car, driven by a four-time winner at the circuit. “This week, I’ve kind of been studying Denny and Ross the most,” he said recently.
Denny Hamlin had recently dismissed his greatness, citing his oval struggles. “I think it’s going to be really, really tough to overcome the sports elite on ovals. I don’t think he’s going to be able to do that.” But seeing SVG race at Richmond, Hamlin had a change of heart. There was a hint of a smile in his voice as he made some key observations about the unique strategy SVG implemented on the oval track.
Hamlin evaluates SVG’s oval track strategy
The weekend began with a respectable 27th-place qualifying effort (22.646 seconds), placing him just behind Riley Herbst and ahead of two-time champion Kyle Busch. This mid-pack starting position gave him a solid base for his race strategy. Throughout the race, SVG and his team displayed resilience and strategic thinking. Early pit stops with Cody Ware and later with Erik Jones helped him fine-tune his car for the changing track conditions. His persistence paid off when a caution on lap 193 awarded him a free pass, putting him back on the lead lap and giving him a crucial second chance.
On the track, SVG showed his improving adaptability by consistently running between 15th and 20th for most of the evening. While he may have studied Denny Hamlin’s techniques, SVG understood that real experience on the track required on-the-spot improvisation. His innovative learning approach was not lost on the veteran driver. Appreciating this, Denny Hamlin commented on his Actions Detrimental podcast, stating,“He was doing his own thing.” He added, “That’s cool to see that, you know, usually when you’re trying to learn, you just kind of go run behind everyone else and figure this thing out. And he figured out pretty quickly that I’m just going to go somewhere else. So, very innovative of him.”
Hamlin appreciated SVG for not following the herd mentality, and this steady pace was a testament to SVG’s growing comfort on ovals. While the race wasn’t without its challenges, including a chaotic pit road incident where he was nudged, his disciplined approach to racing was noted by others. The careful way he managed his tires, a critical skill at the brutally abrasive Richmond track, even caught the attention of veteran Denny Hamlin as he said, “I was actually quite paranoid about it chewing up the tires. Usually, when you run on cool, clean asphalt like that, it chews up the tires quicker than running on the bottom. But he was making it work well.” Despite the hurdles, SVG recovered well, and his performance at Richmond adds to a season of gradual but consistent oval progression.
Entering the playoffs with four wins and over 20 bonus points, SVG has already surpassed the expectations of many. While his road course expertise is a significant advantage, his ability to advance deep into the postseason will depend on his performance in the remaining oval races. His journey continues to be a fascinating study of a road course ace learning to master the backbone of NASCAR. While SVG continues to master his oval journeys, the Richmond winner grabs his playoff seat while battling with his injuries.
Austin Dillon secures playoff spot despite injury
Austin Dillon arrived at Richmond Raceway with a painful secret: a broken rib from a recent fall. But his physical pain was nothing compared to the mental weight he carried. A year earlier, at this same track, a controversial win cost him his playoff eligibility and earned him a wave of criticism. After 37 winless races, he was a driver in need of a fresh start. On Saturday night, he finally got it.
Dillon drove a clean, focused race, a sharp contrast to the aggressive style he had been criticized for. He pulled away from the field and crossed the finish line with a convincing lead, securing not only the victory but also his spot in the Cup Series playoffs. In victory lane, he summed his feelings perfectly, saying, “Last year hurt really bad… but this one feels so sweet. Man, I love Richmond.”
Dillon didn’t need a last-lap lunge this time. He crossed the finish line with a commanding lead of 2.471 seconds over runner-up Alex Bowman, a clean victory that proved his skill. With Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Austin Cindric rounding out the top five, the presence of his past critic, Logano, made the moment of personal vindication even sweeter. He had overcome his physical injury and silenced his critics with a flawless performance.
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