With three of its four NASCAR Cup drivers still trying to claw their way into the 16-driver playoff field, an uptick in performance was very much welcomed and it was quite noticeable on the ¾-mile short track.
Ryan Preece, Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola all finished in the top-10, with Almirola’s effort coming despite a midrace pit road penalty, and Chase Briscoe just missed the cut in 11th.
Harvick and Preece both ran in the top-10 most of the race, with Preece collecting points in both stages on his way to a season’s best fifth place finish.
Almirola’s eighth was his second-best of the year while Harvick earned his organization-leading 10th top-10 of the season while finishing 10th.
Even Briscoe’s 11th place effort was his second finish of 11th or better in the last two races. He had nine consecutive races of 17th or worse prior to that.
“I think it was a solid day for all our teams, definitely an improvement. I felt we had good cars that we could capitalize on everything that we probably could have as a group. You just got to have perfect days today and everything executed to the fullest,” said Greg Zipadelli, chief competition officer at SHR, told Motorsport.com.
Preece, in the No. 41 Ford, came on strongest at the end of the race at times battling for third and second. A late-race caution set up a restart with three of 400 laps racing which provided an opportunity for more gains, but he ended up fifth.
“You always hope at the end like that you can have a good restart and you might benefit from it,” Zipadelli said. “It hurt Ryan a little bit and the other guys all ended up about where they were running for the most part.
“Solid day, solid effort. Just not close enough.”
Confidence entering Richmond
Zipadelli said everyone at SHR came away from Richmond “with a little bit of confidence.” Preece agreed.
“I think that’s just a product of working hard. Sitting and twiddling your thumbs isn’t going to get you the results that you really want,” he said.
“I know that from racing, so we’ve just been working hard and trying to find what I like, find what Aric likes, Kevin likes, Chase likes and I feel like we’re all trending in that direction.”
Four races remain before the playoff field is set. While Harvick is likely set to advance by points if he doesn’t earn a win, a victory is the only shot Preece, Almirola and Briscoe have of moving on.
“Definitely different race tracks ahead and we need to pay attention to detail, have our t’s crossed and i’s dotted to go run with those other cars,” Zipadelli said. “That’s been our weak spot all year as a group.”
