Top Dog: Zane Smith
Plenty of chatter has been raised concerning the lack of performance of the Next Gen car on short tracks, begging the question: Is there a short track that meshes well with the Gen 7 car?
Look no further than Richmond Raceway, a track notorious for both tire wear and long runs. For the first time since its early years in 1958, the Virginia short track hosted only one race, returning to its slot under the stars for Saturday night (Aug. 17) NASCAR Cup Series racing.
Humid conditions, a softer tire compound, and the resulting tire wear played a large role in the Cook Out 400, factors that typically do not play in the favor of underdog teams. However, there was an element of attrition that played in the dark horses’ favor.
Leading the charge was Zane Smith, racking up an 11th-place finish after starting 29th in his No. 38 Long John Silvers Ford.
The looming question of the weekend was if teams would have enough sets of tires, clearly leading to some cautious approaches early on when most drivers pitted within the first 40 laps. Over the course of the run, Smith gradually moved forward, reaching 18th by the end of the opening stage.
In stage two, the race trajectory called an audible, sparked first by contact between Daniel Suarez, Ty Gibbs, and Tyler Reddick that spent Reddick spinning. Meanwhile, Smith was trapped a lap down by virtue of on-going green flag stops, forcing the Front Row Motorsports driver to take the wave around.
On the restart, Smith avoided a massive pileup in turn 3 when Kyle Busch got into Chase Briscoe, clouding the back half of the field in smoke. Meanwhile, Smith’s “Fish Yeah!” machine was able to emerge unharmed.
Cautions breed cautions, and a follow-up yellow to the melee kept drivers on their toes. Smith would run inside the top 15 during stage two before ultimately settling in 27th at the end of the stage.
Throughout the final stage, Smith scurried past several competitors, and the team executed on pit road to keep the charge going. Largely wrapping the bottom line in the corners, Smith mounted a quiet, but impressive crusade into the top 10, staying there until the end before Denny Hamlin squeezed by to claim the position.
Between the tire fall-off, pit strategy, and long run during the final stage, Smith dismissed any odds against him to construct a strong run, performing as a fixture inside the top 15.
“Really happy with the trajectory we’re on right now,” Smith said. “Had a tough stretch but I feel like we’re getting back to where we were. Bummed we couldn’t pull out the top-10 finish, but overall happy with our progress the last couple of weeks. We know what the goal is at Daytona [International Speedway]- to race our way into the playoffs.”
The Huntington Beach, Calif. native earned his best finish since a seventh-place run at EchoPark Speedway in June. With one last chance to spoil the playoffs next week at Daytona, don’t rule Smith out to be one to crash the party.
Notable Underdog Runs
“You have to walk before you can run.”
That adage certainly holds true at the premier level of NASCAR, but it also previews the potential when one discovers that latter part.
Insert Shane van Gisbergen, who is beginning to ‘run’ on ovals now.
Without any Cup starts at Richmond, van Gisbergen looked like a veteran at the track in his own, unique way. The Trackhouse Racing driver spent the majority of the night ripping the fence, surging off corner exit to make several passes. That strength propelled him from 27th to 14th by the end of the race, matching his best oval result this season (14th at Charlotte Motor Speedway).
SVG had to overcome some adversity of his own in the process. After getting up to 12th in stage two, running with drivers like Kyle Larson and Hamlin, van Gisbergen came to pit road for a scheduled green flag stop. As van Gisbergen entered his box, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was making an exodus from his, leading to the two colliding.
The contact and slower stop resulted in van Gisbergen falling a lap down, returning to the lead lap by receiving the free pass on lap 193.
From there, the New Zealander returned to his spot up against the wall, making headwinds to lead to a top 15 in his Richmond debut, similar to his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at the track last year.
Much debate has surrounded the fact that van Gisbergen will be one of the top seeds when the playoffs commence in two weeks, with detractors citing his mediocrity on ovals. However, the 36-year-old is steadily learning, and even if it leads to an early exit this year, there’s increasing confidence he will be a force to be reckoned with across the board in the coming years.
There have been very few races this year where we can’t go without mentioning Carson Hocevar, no matter the reasoning. Once again, that was the case at Richmond, as Hocevar tallied a solid 15th-place result.
Hocevar rocketed to the top 10 from his 15th-place starting spot, reaching as high as fifth in the opening frame. However, the No. 77 team fell victim to tire fall-off, seeing Hocevar spiral down to 22nd after the opening 70 laps.
However, that fortune flipped in stage two, as Hocevar avoided the accidents and used fresher tires over the final 20 laps to reach seventh, collecting four stage points.
In the final stage, Hocevar and his team took a swing at strategy, pitting earlier than the competition to leapfrog them on fresher tires. That allowed him to assume the lead at one point, but he quickly relinquished on older tires at that point. With no cautions in the final stage, the team had made its bed, and Hocevar would wrap up the night in 15th, his fourth-straight finish of 18th or better.
Hocevar’s Spire Motorsports teammate Michael McDowell, who had to rectify a tussle with his hotshot colleague from Watkins Glen International, also attempted a wild card on strategy in the final stage before finishing 17th.
Initially, McDowell did not split the opening stage in an attempt to save a set of sticker tires for later in the event. The older tires caused him to slip to 25th by the end of the stage. He would then receive the free pass in stage two before improving to 17th in that stint.
Following the stage two conclusion, crew chief Travis Peterson made a two-tire call, sending McDowell out with the lead.
Yet, the older tires were no match for the lead drivers around him, and the restart turned out to be a race-altering moment when eventual race winner Austin Dillon took McDowell and Bubba Wallace three-wide to get to the lead. Overall, McDowell would hold steady during the final stage to earn just his fifth top 20 at the track.
Speaking of Dillon, his younger brother Ty Dillon put up a solid run to score a 20th-place finish. The Kaulig Racing driver flexed impressive speed in practice, ultimately facing a night of adversity on Saturday.
After his opening pit stop, Dillon was hit with a penalty for the crew being over the wall too soon. Then, once he fought back to receive the free pass at the end of stage one, he was greeted back to the lead lap by getting caught up in the lap 198 pileup, though he attained minimal damage.
Despite reporting that he burnt his set of tires on the penultimate run, Dillon rebounded on the final run to cash in on the top 20.
And afterwards, he was able to join his brother for an emotional celebration on the frontstretch.
Underdog Power Rankings
1. van Gisbergen (+1): Though the road courses are the primary factor why van Gisbergen has climbed up the ranks, a top 15 at Richmond shows that he could advance deeper than expected in the playoffs. Before he embarks on his playoff debut, he will take on the high banks of Daytona, where he has yet to land a top 30. But hey, he didn’t even have a Cup start at Richmond…
2. Hocevar (-1): The fanfare hasn’t necessarily dwindled around Hocevar’s approach, but his race execution is beginning to heat up. With four consecutive top 20s, one of the favorites to be a dark horse playoff candidate will have one more opportunity at Daytona, where he finished 11th a year ago.
3. Smith (NR): Another stout showing from Smith has him establishing himself as FRM’s most consistent driver, earning his 14th top 20 of the season at Richmond. Smith has yet to land inside the top 10 at Daytona, but it always feels like the organization shows up with something to say at the superspeedway.
4. AJ Allmendinger (–): Despite an eye-opening third-place starting spot, an early penalty and handling issues set Allmendinger back overall, as he could only recover to 22nd. Once a critic of superspeedway racing, Allmendinger could prove to be a sleeper at Daytona. He finished sixth in both the 2023 and 2024 Daytona 500, and finished third in this race back in 2018.
5. Ty Dillon (NR): It hasn’t been flashy nor pretty at times, but Dillon has put together a solid summer with the exception of a three-race stint outside the top 25 entering Richmond. With four top 20s in the past eight races, keep an eye on the younger Dillon brother to mix it up front at Daytona, where he does have a top five to his credit in the summer race (2019).
Honorable Mentions: McDowell, Cole Custer
Small Team Scheme of the Week
No other car among the underdogs stood out under the lights like Noah Gragson’s No. 4 Ford, debuting ArmorGuard Coatings on his ride.
The royal blue base matched the blue branding of Richmond, and the orange flares made this scheme impossible to miss beneath the stars.
Entering his fifth year with Frontstretch, Luken Glover is the author of The Underdog House, shedding light on the motivation and performance of NASCAR's dark horse teams as they strive to fight to the top. Additionally, Glover reports for the site at various events, and he contributes in the video editing department.
A 2023 graduate of the University of the Cumberlands, Glover is a middle school math and PE teacher, as well as a basketball coach. He is passionate about serving in his church, playing/coaching a wide variety of sports, and researching motorsports history.