A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on April 02, 2023 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)
Hot News NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR News: Richmond statement on tropical storm threat

Posted by AR1 staff

Richmond Raceway has taken to its X (formerly Twitter) account to alert fans of potential disruptions caused by Tropical Storm Debby to the upcoming Cook Out 400 NASCAR Cup race.

“The projected rainfall from Tropical Storm Debby may force motorists to reroute their entry to Richmond Raceway this weekend. We encourage the fans and industry to monitor the following Henrico County handles on social media for the latest road closures and updates,” the statement read.

Hurricane Debby, now a Category 1 storm, boasts winds that reach up to 80 mph, with gusts surpassing 100 mph. Having first impacted areas in northern Florida and southern Georgia, it is now projected to affect Virginia later this week, potentially disrupting the NASCAR Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway.

NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass commented the following on X:

“NASCAR will monitor the weather and conditions as they have a few days before making any decisions. The garage isn’t scheduled to open until Saturday. (Cup haulers scheduled to enter Friday late afternoon; truck haulers Saturday morning),” Pockrass noted.

“With tropical storm/depression Debby impacting the Richmond area through Friday, all pre-event activities at Richmond Raceway have been canceled through 4 p.m. ET Friday.”

For the first time Cup competitors will have options on Goodyear tires at Richmond

After a short Olympic break, NASCAR is cranking up the engines, and this weekend marks the first time in a NASCAR Cup Series points-paying race that the drivers and teams will have multiple options on the type of tire they would like to compete with in Sunday’s Cook Out 400 (6 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

This weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race will feature two Goodyear tire options available to teams: a baseline “Prime” tire that has a harder rubber compound with potentially less grip but more longevity, and a new “Option” tire that has a softer rubber compound with more short-term grip and speed, but less longevity. The “Prime” tire will be marked with traditional yellow lettering on the sidewalls, while the “Option” tire will be designated with red lettering.

Teams will be allotted six sets of Prime tires and two sets of Option tires for the race, including one Prime set carried over from qualifying. For the race, NASCAR will not mandate when teams use their sets. However, all four tires must match at all times.

NASCAR Cup Series Teams will also have an extended practice session, with one set of each tire type available to use during that 45-minute stint.

The availability of only two sets of Option tires over the course of 400 laps is expected to place an emphasis on strategy, for when teams might opt to utilize them.

“As we continue the cooperative effort of the industry on short track package adjustments, we felt like Richmond was an excellent opportunity to build upon the results of the Option tire used at the All-Star race,” said Goodyear Director of Racing Greg Stucker. “We expect the Option tire to provide a significant lap time gain over the Prime, but fall-off will be greater, and tire management will be important in taking advantage of it at the right time.”

Drivers and crew chiefs alike will look to make the most of this new competition element, particularly those still looking to lock themselves into Playoffs. One of those drivers is last year’s Cook Out 400 winner Chris Buescher.

Final Four: Richmond Raceway the last of the short tracks in the regular season

Only four races remain in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season (Richmond, Michigan, Daytona and Darlington) to decide who will compete in the 16-driver Playoff field, and for the second-time this year the NASCAR Cup Series will roll into Richmond Raceway for some action-packed side-by-side short track racing in the Cook Out 400 on August 11 at 6 p.m. ET on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio – the last short track event of the regular season.

The next four tracks to round out the NASCAR Cup Series regular season are quite different from each other.

This weekend at Richmond Raceway, the Cup Series competitors will face 400 miles on the 0.75-mile short track. Earlier this season, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin tamed the Virginia short track earning his fifth career Cup Series win at Richmond – second-most among active drivers.

Then next weekend the NASCAR Cup Series will head to Michigan International Speedway for another 400 miles on the high-speed, multi-groove, 2-mile track located in the Irish Hills. RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher claimed the win at Michigan last season and is looking for his first Cup victory of 2024.

The Cup Series will then head back to the 2.5-mile behemoth, Daytona International Speedway, for the annual summer 400-miler. Last season at Daytona, RFK Racing pulled-off a 1-2 finish; Chris Buescher took the win with car owner and teammate Brad Keselowski in tow.

The series will then wrap-up the 2024 regular season at the egg-shaped, 1.366-mile Darlington Raceway with the ‘Crown Jewel’ event – the Southern 500 – to decide this season’s Playoff field.

If there is any driver that is excited about these next four summer races its RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher. The Texas native, Buescher, won the summer races in 2023 at the three of the next four tracks on the 2024 schedule – Richmond-2, Michigan and Daytona-2. The only race of the four he didn’t win, the Southern 500 at Darlington, he finished third.