Watkins Glen was a familiar site for race fans and competitors alike as Shane van Gisbergen drove away to a commanding 11.1-second win over Christopher Bell for his fourth consecutive win on a road/street course, tying him with Chase Elliott and Dan Gurney for the second-most in series history.
With only two races left before the playoffs begin, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Richmond Raceway on Saturday night for the running of the Cook Out 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
With Richmond's 0.75-mile layout and Daytona's unpredictability awaiting the following week, it is crunch time as drivers below the current playoff field try to pull one last Hail Mary. Each of the three short track races this season have been won by a different driver with Denny Hamlin taking Martinsville, Kyle Larson dominating Bristol and most recently, William Byron saving enough fuel to win at Iowa.
While Richmond is known for its long green-flag runs and lack of surprise winners in recent years, Austin Dillon was one of the exceptions last season in a wild finish to the summer race. For these three drivers, that could bode well as they look to rebound at Richmond and get back on track with the playoffs quickly approaching.
Kyle Larson, No. 5 (Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
Larson's tumultuous summer stretch continued at Watkins Glen with a last-place finish in 39th as a result of a brake issue. For a driver with two prior wins there, that was one of the biggest surprises of the entire weekend. Not to mention, that was his second consecutive finish of 28th or worse and his third such finish in the last five races, dropping him to fifth in the standings and essentially out of the hunt for the regular-season championship.
Richmond was not a great track for Larson before his Hendrick Motorsports driving days with one win and seven finishes outside the top 10. Since joining HMS in 2021, Larson tacked on an additional win in the 2023 spring race and has five top-10s in eight starts. If he does not run toward the front this weekend, it will be a huge surprise given his recent track record at the 0.75-mile track.
Chase Elliott, No. 9 (Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
Elliott entered Watkins Glen — a track he had two wins at — riding a streak of 23 consecutive top-20 finishes this season. A 26th-place finish put an end to that and left him at a 42-point disadvantage to Byron in the standings after recently overtaking him for the top spot. The result was particularly surprising considering Elliott had finished in the top five in three of the previous four road/street races this season.
Richmond has not been one of Elliott's better tracks in his career, but he has improved in recent years. He scored a pair of top-10s last season and has three top-fives in the last six races there. A win may not be in the cards, but there is a good chance Elliott begins another streak this weekend as he looks to respond to the adversity at Watkins Glen.
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 (Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
Hamlin's weekend at the 2.45-mile Upstate New York road course was not much better in 25th. The four-race winner this season has now finished outside the top 20 two weeks in a row after posting back-to-back top-fives, including a win at Dover. Much like Larson and Elliott, Hamlin has lost significant ground to Byron in the regular-season title battle as he now sits 81 points below the HMS driver, who has a win and a fourth at Watkins Glen the last two weeks.
If there was ever a track for Hamlin to right the ship at, it is Richmond. Hamlin, who is from nearby Chesterfield, Virginia, has won five times there, most recently in the 2024 spring race. He has finished first or second each of his last three starts there while a 20th-place result in the 2023 spring race is his only finish outside the top four in the last eight races. Richmond has been Hamlin's playground of late and history points to that being the case once again on Saturday night.