09 September, 2017
Facing stiff competition from Kyle Busch and Ty Dillon, Brad Keselowski made a late surge down the stretch to earn a victory at the 2017 Virginia 529 College Savings 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race Friday night.
Unless there's another first-time victor Saturday, Chase Elliott, Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray will lock up the final three spots on points.
Hamlin will likely be without his crew chief tonight and for the first race of the playoffs, but he said he has no problem with the governing body making penalties harsh when cars fail postrace inspection.
This marks the second-to-last race before the Xfinity Series playoffs begin in two weeks. While his answer was short, it spoke volumes.
"It feels very good to do it here at Richmond of all places with my friends and family here", Sadler said. "You could nearly write an article without talking to me. We're on to the next one".
Logano doesn't have enough points going into the last race of the regular season to get in the playoffs. Logano won the April race at Richmond Raceway, but his vehicle failed post-race inspection.
Kasey Kahne • Finished 24th at Darlington.
It was the final series race that Cup veterans are allowed to participate in this season. Have our cars been off a little compared to where they have been in past years? Yes.
"This is a big weekend for us and a high-pressure moment, but I love these moments", he said. Am I satisfied? No. "I am proud of the team and the way we have handled these situations". We just have to get faster. Can the 21-year-old pull of an upset win at Richmond?
With two career wins in 23 starts at Richmond, he's reaching deep to be optimistic.
"When I look at those things, I feel confident that this is a track if we do everything right, (and) it won't be easy by any means, but if we do everything right, we can squeak one out". But we all need to push it to be able to be successful on the race track.
"We just need to go faster", Logano said.
What also works against numerous non-winners is Toyota's late-season surge.
Denny Hamlin will start on the outside of the front row after a top speed of 122.277 miles per hour, with Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson in the second row.
Rounding out the top five were rookie Daniel Suarez (119.925mph), Martin Truex Jr.
Hamlin expects Elliott, Kenseth and McMurray to run close together on Saturday night. "We are certainly in a tight spot". I don't exactly know 100 percent where we are, but I know we are one of the last few spots of non-winners that are still in. That is not a comfortable position to be in because there is always an opportunity for a guy on the outside to win a race and bump you back another position. So, it's tight for sure where we are at. "I don't think it needs to be more severe".
"I've honestly felt just really locked in all week".
The feeling of desperation is shared by so many other drivers. It goes into the next weekend exactly like it came out of the first.
