The NASCAR Cup Series field convenes at the 0.75-mile Richmond Raceway this Sunday for the penultimate race of the 2025 regular season. Three more spots are available in the 16-strong playoff bracket, and several drivers are vying to fill them. But overcoming the trickiness at this short track is not an easy task, for it pulls the covers off impostors with ease.
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Team Penske superstar Austin Cindric pointed this out during media availability recently. In response to being asked if he would approach the race differently, he said, “I think Richmond is one of those racetracks that you have nowhere to hide as far as your performance. Every week I’m trying to win the race. That’s gonna benefit my playoffs and that’s what I’m paid to do.”
However, Cindric did acknowledge that his level of aggressiveness might change depending on his position. He continued, “There isn’t an opening because there’s usually a lot of green flag runs, but because there are a lot of green flag runs and it’s such a tricky racetrack, there’s not really anywhere to hide if you’re not any good. It’s a tough racetrack if you’re really struggling for performance.”
Cindric secured his playoff spot this season by winning at Talladega Superspeedway. Underwhelmingly, it also remains one of his four top-10 finishes in 2025. He sits 12th in the playoff standings and 16th in the regular season points table. He has raced at Richmond seven times throughout his career and never finished inside the top-10 once.
Cindric’s opinion on the tires to be used in Richmond
NASCAR and Goodyear have decided to use the same tires that were used at Bowman Gray, North Wilkesboro, and Martinsville this year at Richmond. The No. 2 driver was asked what he expected from it, given the shape of the track.
Cindric said, “We’ve run that short track tire throughout the year this year, and it’s been a big change on paper. It’s been pretty racy, so I don’t have any big question marks heading into the weekend other than just adjusting for it.”
He continued to point out that this particular variant was largely similar to the red-lettered option tires that were used last season. And so, he expects a lot of similarity in balance and characteristics.
