NASCAR’s 2025 Cup schedule has yet to be released, but rumors have Richmond Raceway losing a race.
The three-quarter-mile track occupies a special place in Denny Hamlin’s heart. After all, the Virginia native has won five Cup races at the facility where he watched races as a youngster. However, he says he “kind of” understands NASCAR’s decision if the rumors are true.
“If the fans turned out here and we sold out every race, then there would be two races,” Hamlin said. “It is crazy because it is always one of our top five markets that watch us on TV, but don’t actually come to the race track itself. There is plenty of racing fans around here but getting them to the race track has been challenging in the past.
“I know they have spent significant money at the race track with the fan experience … but sometimes these are the cycles that you have to go through. Hopefully, it is a learning lesson for the track, and everyone involved. It is a shame if it goes to one week, but the audience here has made it warranted.”
Two-Week Break Helps Busch’s Wrist Heal
Kyle Busch sprained his wrist in a wreck in the closing laps of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and he said the two-week break gave him the time he needed to heal.
“Without the two weeks off, I wouldn’t have been able to race,” Busch said during preparations for the Cookout 400 at Richmond Raceway.
Busch attributed the injury to the current Cup car.
“Snapped the wheel and snapped your wrist,” said Buch, who noted the wrist wasn’t broken.
Busch, who qualified 12th for Sunday’s race with a 118.069 mph lap, said he wouldn’t need a relief driver in Sunday’s race.
“Grip it and rip it,” Busch replied when asked how he would deal with the injury during the race.
Busch’s injured wrist was first noticed in a family photo posted on social media during the two-week break.
Adam Stevens will miss at least two weeks on the pit box since he must keep his legs straight.
Diving Board Injury Sidelines Stevens
Joe Gibbs Racing crew chief Adam Stevens was enjoying family time during the two-week break when suddenly a diving board escapade sent him to the hospital and into surgery for work on both of his knees.
Stevens will now miss at least two weeks on the pit box since he must keep his legs straight.
“He sent a message to our team chat that we have and said that he got banged up pretty bad, and he’s going to be missing a couple of weeks on the travel schedule,” Christopher Bell said when asked how he learned of his crew chief’s injury. “It definitely caught us off guard. I don’t think any of us were expecting that.”
Stevens will spend his race weekends in JGR’s “war room” while Chris Sherwood handles at-track duties for Bell’s team. Bell said he was comfortable with Sherwood because they have a “long history” together, noting Sherwood was a mechanic on his NASCAR Xfinity Series entry 2018-19.
“Adam is basically going to be doing his job,” Bell said. “The communication will be through Sherwood because Adam can’t be here.
“The thing that’s very interesting about Richmond is it is a place filled with late pit strategy calls. With Adam not being on the pit box, if there’s any sort of delay from the information he’s getting in Huntersville, North Carolina, to what we’re actually doing here in Richmond, it could be a little tricky because this place, the name of the game, is executing your pit strategy. There’s a lot of last-minute decisions that have to be made here at Richmond.”
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.
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