NASCAR returns to the East Coast for the seventh regular-season Cup Series race of 2022. The drivers are currently in Richmond, Virginia to take part in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. The race will start at 3:30 p.m. ET and will air on Fox.
One of the more interesting stories of the 2022 season is Joe Gibbs Racing not being off to a great start. Through six races, the team has zero wins and just one driver currently in the top 10 in the Cup Series standings — Martin Truex Jr. who is in seventh. Denny Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 champion, is currently in 22nd place in the standings. In the last three seasons, Hamlin has finished fourth or better, so being outside the top five isn’t familiar territory for him.
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“I’m always excited to go to Richmond,” Hamlin said this week. “I have been fortunate to have had a lot of success there throughout my career and especially the last few years. No matter what car you’re racing, you’re always going to fight the same things there. You have to be able to turn the middle and have good drive off if you want to have any chance, especially on the long run. Richmond is very unique compared to the tracks we have been to so far with this car, so it’s really going to be up to us to unload close and fine tune on it during practice and qualifying to be ready for the race, but I have a lot of confidence in Chris (Gabehart) and our team that we can do that.”
Ross Chastain looks to keep the good times rolling after winning his first Cup Series race last week. In the last four weeks, Chatain has finished in the top three or better, leading him to be in fifth place in the Cup Series Standings. “It’s insane,” Chastain said after his win last Sunday. To go up against some of the best with AJ [Allmendinger], I mean, I know he is going to be upset with me, but we raced hard, both of us, and he owes me one.
“But when it comes to a Cup win, man, I can’t let that go down without a fight. So, Justin Marks, Trackhouse, AdventHealth, the Moose. A million Moose members, they better be celebrating tonight all across the country and the world.
