Chris Buescher locks in Cup playoff spot at Richmond Raceway with third career victory

Here’s what Chris Buescher and Denny Hamlin had to say to NBC Sports after taking the top two spots at Richmond Raceway.

Buescher: “Yeah, that was smooth sailing there trying to take care of the Mustang. These guys over at RFK, the 17 team, gave me a great hot rod. It was so good. Pretty awesome to pull it off. Proud of everybody. That was a long way from the back this morning. Heck of a race for us. We’ve had this one circled since last fall. I was really hopeful this could be the one that would turn the page for us. Sure enough, right off the truck I thought it was.

“I hate that qualifying went the way it did. I was sitting there beating myself up trying to figure out what we were going to do there. Made it to Victory Lane here in Richmond. I’d have told you to flood this place three years ago. My opinions are changing quite a bit here. What a day, though. That’s awesome.”

Hamlin: “I drove in way too deep (on the last restart). I was trying to get to the outside there. Really had a great run off of turn two on the restart and off of four again. But I was just so close to him there that I wanted to try to squirt a little extra gas to try to get to the outside. Just too much brake.

“Man, I’m happy for Chris, RFK, those guys. I know they worked really hard to get to this point. I can appreciate the struggle that it is to get to this point. Congratulations to them.

“Definitely a great job by this team. Kept me in it all day long. We just lacked a little, little bit to be the best there. So we just need to improve on it. Still a good day.”

Unofficial points and results from Richmond, where Chris Buescher earned his third victory in 279 Cup starts.

Click here for where everyone finished

Click here for the cumulative report

Click here for the penalty report

Points standings: Click here for drivers l Click here for team owners

Some stats about Buescher’s victory:

—His No. 6 Ford led 88 of 400 laps in its ninth top 10 this season.

—This was only Buescher’s second top 10 in 15 races.

—Brad Keselowski led a race-high 102 laps, meaning the Roush Fenway Keselowski Mustangs paced nearly half of the 400-lap race.

—Buescher’s victory is the first for Ford since May 29 when Ryan Blaney won the Coca-Cola 600.

—With a seventh, Martin Truex Jr., maintained a lead of 39 points over Denny Hamlin in the race for the regular-season championship (and an extra 15 playoff points).

—All 36 cars finished the race, the first time that’s happened in the Cup Series since the 2018 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Chris Buescher’s victory slightly changed the playoff picture with four races remaining.

With Buescher becoming the 12th driver locked into the 16-driver field, Kevin Harvick (plus-182 points over the cutline), Brad Keselowski (plus-151), Bubba Wallace (plus-54) and Michael McDowell (plus-18).

McDowell gained a point on the cutline but now is ahead of Ty Gibbs as A.J. Allmendinger dropped to 18th in the standings.

Daniel Suarez dropped to 34 points behind in 19th, and Chase Elliott managed to gain 16 points on the cutline (at minus-40) despite a 13th-place finish.

Chris Buescher earned his third victory in the Cup Series, surviving a late restart at Richmond Raceway.

The Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver won for the first time since last September at Bristol Motor Speedway. His first victory was a a rain-shortened race at Pocono in 2016.

A caution with 10 laps remaining for a Daniel Suarez spin erased a nearly 6-second lead for Buescher, but he “still had a good feeling about it.

“It was smooth sailing trying to take care of this Mustang,” Buescher told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider. “They gave me a great hot rod. This thing was so good. It was a long way from the back.”

Buescher started 26th but made quick work of the field, challenging for the lead with teammate Brad Keselowski before halfway of the 400-lap race.

Becoming the 12th winner this season, Buescher is locked into the playoffs after missing the championship run last year.

Buescher finished 0.549 seconds ahead of Denny Hamlin. Kyle Busch was third, followed by Joey Logano and Ryan Preece.

The race featured only three caution flags, tying a record low at Richmond since its layout changed to a 0.75-mile oval in 1988 (the track previously had been a half-mile that began playing host to NASCAR in 1953).

The race’s first yellow flag for an incident came with 10 laps remaining.

Daniel Suarez spun in Turn 4 after left-rear contact from Noah Gragson.

Chris Buescher had been leading by nearly 6 seconds before the incident. The caution will bring the field in for pit stops.

The top five before the pits opened: Buescher, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Preece, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.

After possibly the last round of green-flag stops, Chris Buescher is in control.

The Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver leads by 4.8 seconds over Martin Truex Jr., who is off-sequence and likely will keep fading.

Denny Hamlin is in third and 6.8 seconds behind as the first driver on the same strategy as Buescher.

Ryan Preece is fourth and on track for his first top five with Stewart-Haas Racing.

Brad Keselowski, Buescher’s teammate who fell back after some middling pit stops, is fifth.

There still have been only two caution flags, which would be a record for a Cup race on Richmond’s 0.75-mile layout that made its debut in 1988.

Kyle Larson got a small measure of payback on Denny Hamlin during an otherwise disappointing day.

After pitting on Lap 314, Larson zoomed up through traffic and put the bumper to the No. 11 Toyota to move Hamlin aside.

Hamlin, whose tires were 21 laps older, took the shot in stride as he’s running in third.

“I think he was having a frustrating day,” Hamlin said after the race. “I understand that. It’s all good.”

Larson is two laps down in 22nd. He has been a non-factor at Richmond after battling for the win at Pocono with Hamlin, whose controversial winning move left Larson simmering.

With 100 laps remaining, Martin Truex Jr. is leading at Richmond by sticking to the strategy that vaulted him higher in the field.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has been waiting longer than the rest of the lead pack to make his pit stops, but it’s cost him time on a track with heavy tire wear.

Chris Buescher, who has tires that are 50 laps fresher from a Lap 284 pit stop, is bearing down on Truex, who last pitted on Lap 234.

Though its longtime moniker was “The Action Track,” yellow flags have been in short supply lately at Richmond Raceway with today being no exception.

Through 270 of 400 laps, there have been only two yellow flags — both for stage breaks.

That puts the race on track for the fewest yellows at Richmond in more than 40 years. The Sept. 12, 1982 race at Richmond (which was then a half-mile) had two cautions.

Today is on track for the 13th consecutive Cup race at Richmond with single-digit cautions (the last time was Sept. 10, 2016 when there were 16 yellows).

From 2001-09, Richmond had double-digit caution flags in 14 of 18 races.

Chevrolet is the manufacturer with the most entries in the Richmond field, but the leaderboard has told another story.

With 150 laps remaining, Kyle Busch (sixth) is the highest-ranked Chevrolet driver, and Chase Elliott (ninth) and Austin Dillon (10th) are driving the only other Camaros in the top 10.

This has been a mostly forgettable day for Chevrolet’s two strongest teams last year, Hendrick Motorsports (Alex Bowman 18th, Kyle Larson 20th, William Byron 21st) and Trackhouse Racing (Ross Chastain 25th, Daniel Suarez 30th).

The 36-car field includes 16 Chevrolets, 14 Fords and six Toyotas.

Setting the stage for the final 160 laps at Richmond Raceway, where Brad Keselowski leads after winning Stage 2.

Keselowski remained in first after pit stops under yellow.

The rest of the top 10: Christ Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Preece, Martin Truex Jr. and Austin Dillon.

Notable drivers who are a lap down: Kyle Larson (20th), William Byron (22nd), Ross Chastain (24th) and Daniel Suarez (30th).

Brad Keselowski left nearly half the field a lap down in setting a blistering pace in Stage 2.

The No. 6 Ford driver closed the 160-lap segment with a lead of nearly 4 seconds over teammate Chris Buescher, who passed pole-sitter Tyler Reddick for second ahead of Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace.

The stage ended with some dicey moments between Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson in a battle to be the first car one lap down in 18th.

Bowman won the spot and got back on the lead lap when the yellow flew under NASCAR’s free pass rule.

At the halfway mark, Brad Keselowski has seized control at Richmond Raceway.

The 2012 Cup Series champion, who is seeking his first victory in more than two years (April 21, 2021 at Talladega Superspeedway), leads by 5.443 seconds over pole-sitter Tyler Reddick.

Chris Buescher, Keselowski’s teammate, is third. Both Roush Fenway Keselowski drivers are in the playoffs on points but also winless this season.

Keselowski is a two-time winner at Richmond, mostly recently in September 2020 (his fourth and final win that season, the last in which he had multiple wins).

Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace, who rebounded from a poor pit stop round out the top five.

Michael McDowell is in the top five with one of the slowest cars currently in the field.

After inheriting the lead during a green-flag cycle, the Front Row Motorsports elected to delay his pit stop about 20 laps longer than the rest of the lead-lap cars.

McDowell had been turning laps that were 2 seconds slower than those who had pitted before he finally stopped from fourth on Lap 140.

The No. 34 Ford driver entered Richmond on the playoff bubble in 16th, 17 points ahead of A.J. Allmendinger.

The window has opened for the first round of green-flag stops at Richmond in the longer Stage 2.

Ryan Preece was the first of the drivers in the top half of the field to hit the pits on Lap 120, and leader Bubba Wallace followed in with several other contenders three laps later.

Denny Hamlin elected to go longer after inheriting the lead, pitting on Lap 129.

There were pit stop penalties for Christopher Bell (too fast entering) and Aric Almirola (crossing over the commitment box).

After a 70-lap opening stage, the second stage is 160 laps through Lap 230 of 400.

Though Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick have dominated Richmond so far, some other Camry drivers surprisingly have struggled.

Though Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs are in the top 10, Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell (17th) and Martin Truex Jr. (21st) have yet to be a factor.

Bubba Wallace has been fighting to make the playoff on points, but a victory would work, too.

The 23XI Racing driver passed pole-sitter and teammate Tyler Reddick (who led the first 78 laps) for first place shortly after the restart to begin Stage 2 and quickly opened up a gap. Through 100 laps, Wallace has the most fastest laps (24) in this race.

This is Wallace’s 11th Cup start at Richmond, where his previous best finish was 11th last year. He had led only one lap here prior to this race.

Wallace entered Richmond in 15th on the playoff grid, 27 points above the cutoff. He has two career victories in Cup, most recently at Kansas Speedway last September.

The top five remained unchanged in the first round of yellow flag pit stops after Stage 1.

Michael McDowell, who is on the playoff cut line in points standings, quietly has moved into the top 10.

Pole-sitter Tyler Reddick led all 70 laps to win Stage 1.

Bubba Wallace, Reddick’s 23XI Racing teammate finished second (and picked up nine points in his battle for a playoff spot), followed by Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Preece, William Byron, Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski and Ty Gibbs.

Reddick has 14 of the fastest laps (only Almirola with 16 has more) and put seven cars a lap down in the first stage. Daniel Suarez narrowly missed falling a lap down in 29th.

The first round of pit stops are set to begin under the yellow flag for the stage break.

seven cars a lap down, suarez narrowly missed

After starting from the pole position for the first time on a short track in the Cup Series, Tyler Reddick has stayed comfortably in the lead.

But there have been some shuffles behind him, notably Denny Hamlin moving past Kyle Busch into second place. Hamlin trails the car he co-owns with Michael Jordan by 0.605 seconds.

The rest of the top five: Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott.

Reddick is about 10 laps from catching traffic and lapping cars.

Tyler Reddick led the field to the start of 400 laps at Richmond Raceway, where one of the pole-sitter’s car owners got a rude welcome from some of his hometown fans.

Denny Hamlin, who co-owns Reddick’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota with NBA legend Michael Jordan, received a mix of boos and cheers from a crowd that typically universally supports the driver who grew up 20 minutes south in Chesterfield, Virginia.

“This has been building all year long,” NASCAR on NBC analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. said about the fan reaction.

Hamlin seemed to have fun with the haters during his ride around the track in a pickup track, making a rock-paper-scissors motion to the grandstands.

After being put on pause during the pandemic, NASCAR returned to having prerace drivers meetings this season.

This reporter attended his first drivers meeting in nearly four years, and it was a familiar sight: Sponsor VIPs, drivers smiling for photo ops with fans and a crowded room.

One major difference: Crew chiefs no longer attend the gathering, which is mostly a perfunctory summation of the ground rules for the race.

Joey Logano brought some family members to the drivers meeting in appropriate attire.

Denny Hamlin poses with a fan.

Richmond Raceway president Lori Waran addresses the crowd.

Kyle Larson was the last driver to arrive but still had time for a quick photo.

NASCAR executives Ben Kennedy and Steve Phelps share a laugh after the meeting.

The narrative naturally starts with Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson.

In the wake of Hamlin moving him out of the lead for his 50th career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series, Larson still is going through some things.

There’s a lot to process — aside from losing out on his third victory of the season (and five more playoff points), Pocono marked his latest run-in with a close friend who is his golfing buddy off the track and seemingly the bane of the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s existence on the track.

And it has other drivers re-evaluating the lengths they’ll go to earn a victory.

Other angles to watch in Richmond:

—Since the track moved to two annual daytime races last season, Richmond has become a race laden with strategy predicated on tire degradation. NASCAR on NBC analyst Steve Letarte will need to be on top of the myriad calls for two and four tires over 400 laps.

—Though they were less high-profile, Pocono also delivered skirmishes between Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick and Ryan Preece and Corey LaJoie. NASCAR met with all four drivers Saturday to defuse any lingering tensions, but it still is worth monitoring.

—Kevin Harvick’s most recent victory was at Richmond last August. With 15 races remaining in his Cup carer, is the future NASCAR Hall of Famer poised to end his winless streak in 2023?