The Wide World of Dirt

A new aero package in Austin last weekend brought about a new winner in 2023.

Hotter than the flames on the side of his Camaro, William Byron put the familiar #24 car at the top of the grid in qualifying with first-year 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick flanking him to the outside.

Though drivers were able to slice and dice their way through the field, the lower downforce package was no match for the engineering of Hendrick and 23XI.

Byron and Reddick fought each other at the front of the field for nearly 80% of this race around the FIA Grade 1 course, being able to pass each other at will.

A broken axle on Brad Keselowski’s machine with 12 laps on the board brought most of the contenders into the pits with some recently-pitted cars staying out.

A fantastic race was then reduced to chaos.

NASCAR’s lax approach to driving standards reared its ugly skull yet again, seeing the field tack on 25 more miles to the scheduled distance due to restart collisions.

Because of the constant re-racking, Reddick and his closest contenders in Byron and Trackhouse drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez were thrown back into a vicious, unrelenting whirlpool behind them five times.

Chastain was cast aside like driftwood on the first Overtime restart but managed to plow his way back into the 4th over the final two restarts.

Suarez was not so lucky, having been plowed through by his melon-farming teammate on the second Overtime restart and dropping him out of the top-20.

In a surprising twist, Kyle Busch, one of the drivers that stayed out with 11 laps to go, managed to hang on and get by Byron to line up behind Reddick on the final dash.

Despite a similar level of contact to the previous restarts, NASCAR held the yellow for the first time all day with Reddick claiming his first win of the year and 23XI.

The Cup Series travels back east to the capital of Virginia for the Toyota Owners 400 where Denny Hamlin claimed the checkered flag last spring.

Without any further ado, here are my Friday 5 for Richmond:

1. Chris Buescher

Buescher might not seem like a shoo-in choice fitting of the Friday 5 when you look at his career averages at Richmond.

His recent performance at the track gives me confidence to say he might contend this weekend. He shook the monkey off of his back at the Bristol (asphalt) night race by claiming the sword in victory lane.

With a stronger overall program this year, RFK looks poised to take a leap this year with Buescher and Keselowski and what better place than Richmond.

Buescher put the pressure on Kevin Harvick last summer before letting the veteran get away and finishing 3rd.

His win at Bristol can only bolster his performance at the Action Track, so look out for the 17 car this weekend.

2. Kyle Busch

The six-time Richmond winner rolls back into town for the Toyota Owners 400, but this time, it’s in a Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing.

The former Joe Gibbs Racing driver has almost won more times (6) than he’s finished outside the top-10 (7) in his 34 races at the Virginia short track.

Busch’s career also includes a current 10-race top-10 streak at Richmond, so I don’t foresee that getting broken on Sunday.

At the other oval with this package, Busch hung around the back of the top-10 all day before finishing the West Coast swing with an 8th-place run.

The Las Vegas native might even have enough of a car on Sunday to park the 8 car in victory lane to become the second two-time winner this season.

3. Christopher Bell

The dirt racing phenom exploded onto the scene in 2018 when he scored a slew of victories in his debut Xfinity season, and two of the slew were at the D-shaped oval.

Bell proceeded to win three of his four Xfinity races as a full-time driver before jumping up to Cup in 2020.

Since his first Cup race at the track in 2020, Bell hasn’t finished worse than 6th in his successive starts, including passing Buescher before running out of time to catch Harvick last summer.

The Oklahoman also put together a strong run at Phoenix earlier this season, a track with a similar profile to Richmond.

Don’t be surprised if the bell tolls for the 20 car when checkered flag falls.

4. Kevin Harvick

Call it an emotional pick because I’m an open Kevin Harvick fan, but I saw Harvick slowly dissect his way through the field at Phoenix and line himself up for triumph.

Sadly, a late caution derailed what would’ve been the first Harvick win I would’ve seen up close and personal with William Byron handing us yet another loss at the hands of a smarter Hendrick Motorsports pit call.

Enough lamenting what was taken from me by Goodyear and Harrison Burton, Harvick returns to the site of his most recent win with a full head of a steam.

He clearly showed he can bring a fast car to a short, flat track in the desert, and having won at Richmond four times throughout his 23-year career.

If you don’t think Rodney Childers and the Bakersfield Basher won’t put together a decent car at Richmond, you are likely to be proven wrong.

5. Brad Keselowski

The ever-determined Keselowski hasn’t finished outside the top-20 in Richmond since the first Obama Administration, and he’s liable to keep it that way.

The second-year team owner grinded his way to a pair of top-15 finishes in last year’s Richmond events, and with Buescher showing race-winning speed last July, I imagine the legendary #6 car will bounce back for a good run as well.

The Michigan man has only visited Richmond victory lane twice in Cup but found himself consistently in the mix when the Cup car had more horses under the hood.

Seeing as Buescher and Bad Brad have kicked off 2023 on the right foot, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Brad be in contention, especially considering the 2012 champ collected points in both stages at Phoenix before falling back late.

Hungry for his first win as a driver and owner, look out for Keselowski to punch his playoff ticket with a Richmond win.

Dirt’s Favorite: Kevin Harvick

He’s the most recent winner at the track and nearly won at Phoenix in the first race with this new low-downforce aero package.

I hope to see the 4Ever Tour kick off in Virginia with his 61st career win and a spot locked into the Playoffs.

Risky Business: Austin Dillon

Richard Childress’ grandson saw moderate success at the former fairground track, even scoring a top-10 in last year’s spring race.

That said, he could only muster a 16th-place run in the summer. If Kyle Busch runs poorly out of nowhere, expect to see 3 on the side of Dillon’s car and the number of laps down he is by Stage 3.

Dark Horse: Ryan Preece

Kevin Harvick is his teammate, and having that intel from the 4 team likely helped pull the 41 out of the midpack in the second half of the Phoenix race to wind up 12th.

Much like Buescher, Preece’s stint in lesser equipment muddies his stats, but don’t let him fool you: the man knows how to get around a short track.