Winners and losers from a classic Richmond NASCAR Cup race

With Richmond in the rearview, only two races remain before the Chase reset in the battle for the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Logano claimed victory, fending off Chase Briscoe in the closing laps of a ‘classic’ Richmond race with long green-flag runs and multi-groove racing.

The Saturday night race saw very low attrition and just one DNF, but lots of movement throughout the standings.

Here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from Richmond:

WINNER: Joey Logano continues his rapid rise ‘4 for the haters’

Watch: ‘For the haters’: Logano on having chip on shoulder

Logano sits ninth in the championship standings and can realistically reach fifth before the Chase reset. To put that into perspective, he was 20th just six races ago. With two wins and three top fives in the last four races, the Penske driver is soaring at the perfect time. He’s also on a mission to win it all “4 the haters” in 2027. The three-time champion has heard the criticism of his past titles under the playoff format, and he’s motivated to win a fourth under the Chase format to silence the doubters.

Joey Logano holds off Chase Briscoe to win NASCAR Cup race at Richmond

LOSER: Carson Hocevar tumbles down the standings

Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports

It’s all going wrong for Hocevar and the Spire team. In just two races, he has fallen from fifth to 11th in the standings. He has given up 25 bonus points after back-to-back finishes outside the top 30. Richmond was especially frustrating as he was running in the 30s due to a lack of pace, and ultimately downshifted to third by mistake, ending his night. Richmond is Hocevar’s first DNF of the entire 2026 season.

WINNER: Austin Cindric with his best run of the season

Watch: Cindric: Logano could finish top five ‘in my rental car’

The Team Penske driver has jumped off the bubble, gaining a lot of ground at Richmond with his best run of the year. As Cindric said, it was the “kick in the ass” the team needed. He finished third (Cindric’s best result of the year) and earned a total of 48 points. He is now 15th in the standings, 57 points above the cut-line.

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Austin Cindric: Richmond was the ‘kick in the ass’ we needed

LOSER: Austin Dillon as he can’t recreate Richmond magic

Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing

Dillon was hoping to become the first driver since 1983 to win three consecutive Richmond Cup races, but they could not recreate the pace of the last two years. Dillon even reached up inside the top ten at one point, but simply could not hold it there. Dillon finished 19th, but led the way for RCR with teammate Austin Hill 23rd.

WINNER: Hendrick Motorsports with all four cars in the top ten

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports

Hendrick has had a dismal year by their own lofty standards, but Richmond was a huge step in the right direction. For the first time in the 2026 season, all four HMS drivers finished inside the top ten. Chase Elliott led the way in fifth, then Kyle Larson sixth, William Byron ninth, and Alex Bowman tenth. However, they weren’t really threats for the win, so there’s clearly still some work to do. Additionally, Larson flew from Richmond all the way to Iowa, winning the rain-delayed Knoxville Nationals in stunning fashion.

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Aided by Mother Nature, Kyle Larson returns to Iowa to win Knoxville Nationals

LOSER: Ryan Preece loses ground in Chase fight despite high hopes

Ryan Preece, RFK Racing

Richmond was supposed to be a night of opportunity for Preece. He earned pole position there one year ago, and started sixth this weekend. Unfortunately, he scored no stage points and finished 16th. The RFK Racing driver had entered the race just 29pts below the cut-line, but leaves it 50 points behind Shane van Gisbergen with just two races to go before the Chase.

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