NASCAR Monday Mash-Up: Saturday night show in Richmond

When the Cup Series was done with practice, Brad Keselowski was uncertain. Tires were wearing out quickly, and Keselowski didn’t know if teams would have enough rubber to get to the end of the race on Saturday.

Keselowski questioned if the math was mathing, but it all turned out just fine. Crew chiefs played with the math and made it work.

Corey Heim wins, Jake Garcia locks up playoff spot

Surprise! Corey Heim won again. Actually, it is a surprise, because it is his first short track win of the season.

Jake Garcia managed to take the final playoff spot. When the Truck Series goes racing next, it will be for the Round of 10, and to see who has a hot start to the playoffs or who is going home early.

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series coming in 2026

Starting in 2026, the secondary series in NASCAR will be known as the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. A new deal was officially announced today, but there were reports over the weekend.

This gives NASCAR a motorsports-related sponsor for the series. With how well things are going on The CW this season, it isn’t a shock that another company would take up the entitlement sponsorship from Xfinity.

Ross Chastain walked around in his underwear

The things that Trackhouse Racing makes their drivers do… Jockey made Ross Chastain a special firesuit for the weekend.

So, Chastain was walking around in his underwear for two days in Richmond. What’s wrong with that?

You get a pit road penalty, you get a penalty, you get a…

The first set of pit stops under caution after Stage 1 ended were eventful. It felt like NASCAR threw out penalties to half of the field.

Drivers like Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, AJ Allmendinger, and Ty Gibbs were all hit with penalties. Some managed to bounce back while others did not.

Kyle Busch causes the big one, keeps it going

Poor Kyle Busch… the RCR driver seems lost on the track lately. He was also partially responsible for the big one at Richmond.

Busch didn’t just cause the big one; he kept it going in extra time. The 8 car managed to accidentally hook Chase Elliott and give the 9 team its first DNF of the season, well after the wreck had settled on the track.

Chase Briscoe’s team pitted another car…again

For the second time this season, a team had a lost/loose wheel on pit road, and the 19 team came to the rescue. Chase Briscoe’s team helped out Bubba Wallace after he lost a left-side wheel going down pit road.

It resulted in a penalty for pitting out of the box. Despite leading the most laps, Wallace was trapped two laps down and never recovered. But Briscoe’s team saved the 23 crew a couple of suspensions.

Austin Dillon repeats at Richmond in convincing fashion

In a result that few saw going into the race, Austin Dillon won. Again. At Richmond. It was like we got to see what would have happened without that late caution last season.

It was a fairly dominant run in the second half of the race. Dillon kept it together and drove it home for the win. Big upset in the NASCAR Playoffs, too.