NASCAR Preview: Chase Elliott Predicting Tough Cup Outing at Richmond

Chase Elliott’s performance at NASCAR’s short tracks speaks for itself. His past 46 races at short tracks hold a tally of one win at Martinsville back in 2020, 14 top-5s, 24 top-10s, two poles, and 1579 laps led. Despite his prowess on this format of tracks, Elliott doesn’t look quite confident in himself as he eyes his 47th Cup Series start at Richmond this weekend.

However, unlike other short tracks, Richmond Raceway isn’t a walk in the park for the Dawsonville native. “Richmond (Raceway) is super tough. You wouldn’t think it would be tough by looking at it and making a lap,” explained the Chevy star. “It’s always been really difficult for me to get ahold of and be able to repeat and be good there time after time. It seems like the window to hit it right at Richmond is as small as it is anywhere that we go.” According to him, very few drivers have been able to bag consistent success at Richmond year after year.

Nevertheless, Elliott has made 10 attempts at the 0.75-mile, D-shaped asphalt racetrack. In those 10 starts, he has recorded three top-5s, one of which is a runner-up, and four top-10s. Now, whether he’ll be able to come up with his first win at Richmond this Sunday is something we’ll have to wait and watch.

Hendrick Motorsports’ tale at Richmond

HMS boasts 12 victories at Richmond Raceway. The very first victory came by the hands of Tim Richmond back in 1986, followed by three more wins picked up by Terry Labonte in 1994, 1995, and 1998, which makes Labonte the winningest HMS driver at Richmond.

But the list doesn’t quite end there. The current Vice Chairman of HMS, Jeff Gordon, secured two wins in 1996 and 2000. Additionally, Joe Nemechek (John Hunter Nemechek’s father) won at the racetrack back in 2003. Adding on to that, the seven-time Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson emerged victorious in 2008.

Meanwhile, in the current HMS lineup, only Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson have been able to secure a victory at Richmond in 2021 and 2023, respectively. Looking ahead into this weekend’s race at Richmond, HMS will try its best to reach the victory lane once again.