![\"Joey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NASCAR-Joey-Logano-Winner-2026-Ruchmond-NASCAR-GettyImages-2290656205.webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
By Andrew Clarke<\/p>\n
Date posted: 16 August 2026<\/p>\n
Joey Logano has transformed his NASCAR Cup Series season, climbing from a season low 20th in the championship to ninth after claiming his second victory in four races at Richmond Raceway.<\/p>\n
The three time champion defeated Chase Briscoe by 0.392s in the Cook Out 400, leading 95 of the 400 laps and taking a maximum 55 points for the race victory.<\/p>\n
More important than the result alone is the timing. Logano and Team Penske have found speed as the championship approaches its decisive 10 race Chase.<\/p>\n
Logano changes his championship target<\/p>\n
Logano is now only one point behind reigning champion Kyle Larson in eighth and 36 points behind Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell in sixth and seventh.<\/p>\n
He is not mathematically locked into the Chase, but the conversation within the No. 22 team has changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been able to ride some momentum here right now,\u201d Logano said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a nice turnaround. We\u2019ve been able to switch our goals from making the Chase to winning the championship. It\u2019s quite the turnaround in a month and a half\u2019s time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under NASCAR\u2019s 2026 Chase format<\/a>, victories do not provide automatic qualification or create a bank of bonus points.<\/p>\n The top 16 after the regular season finale at Daytona will qualify. Their points will then be reset according to their championship positions.<\/p>\n If the regular season ended now, ninth placed Logano would begin the Chase with 2035 points, 65 behind the top seed.<\/p>\n Each position he gains before Daytona is therefore important. The second victory of his recent surge has pushed Logano four places up the championship order in a single weekend.<\/p>\n He believes a driver inside the top 10 can recover during the Chase, which has no elimination rounds and rewards consistency across all 10 races.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re getting hot at the right time,\u201d Logano said. \u201cIt will be a fun Chase until the end.\u201d<\/p>\n Strategy decides Richmond contest<\/p>\n Briscoe appeared to have the strongest car for much of the race, leading a race high 171 laps in the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.<\/p>\n Logano won the second stage before running Briscoe down ahead of the final green flag pit cycle.<\/p>\n Crew chief Paul Wolfe had planned to bring Logano in earlier to gain time on fresh tyres. Logano passed Briscoe before stopping on the following lap, with a clean service allowing the Team Penske Ford to retain the advantage.<\/p>\n Briscoe closed during the final stint, but a braking problem had already cost him a three second advantage earlier in the run.<\/p>\n \u201cOne bad run was the difference,\u201d Briscoe said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s frustrating to have one slip away like that at the end, but it was still a huge improvement from what I\u2019ve been here.\u201d<\/p>\n Second place secured Briscoe\u2019s position in the Chase and was his first top 10 result at Richmond.<\/p>\n The win also moved Logano level with Rusty Wallace for the most Cup victories recorded for Team Penske. Logano became the 22nd driver to lead 10,000 laps in Cup competition.<\/p>\n 3rd place Cindric creates breathing room<\/p>\n Austin Cindric delivered one of the most important drives of the night, recovering from 23rd on the grid to finish third.<\/p>\n Cindric averaged a top five running position across the race, with qualifying the only significant weakness in his weekend.<\/p>\n The result moved him from 16th to 15th in the championship and increased his margin over the Chase cut from 29 to 57 points.<\/p>\n \u201cAs far as the big picture goes for the season, it was a very important night for us to capitalise on a good car,\u201d Cindric said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were a little too good too late in the runs, but overall it was a much needed run.\u201d<\/p>\n Richmond also underlined the strength of the wider Penske operation.<\/p>\n Logano won, Cindric finished third and Ryan Blaney started from pole, led 88 laps and won the opening stage before finishing 13th. Wood Brothers Racing driver Josh Berry, whose car is prepared through the Penske operation, finished eighth.<\/p>\n Shane van Gisbergen races with Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, Zane Smith and Austin Hill during his recovery from 31st to 14th at Richmond Raceway. Image: GettyImages<\/p>\n SVG recovers to protect Chase position<\/p>\n Shane van Gisbergen\u2019s 14th place finish did not carry the same impact as Logano or Cindric\u2019s results, but it was a valuable recovery from 31st on the grid.<\/p>\n The New Zealander used the outside lane to move through the field during the opening stage, recording top five lap times as his tyres wore.<\/p>\n He climbed to 21st by the end of the first stage before an early stop during Stage 2 left him a lap down when the caution appeared on lap 126.<\/p>\n Van Gisbergen took the wave around and recovered to 21st by the end of the stage.<\/p>\n Crew chief Stephen Doran elected to keep the No. 97 Chevrolet on track during the final stage break. The strategy gave van Gisbergen track position and placed him 13th when the next caution arrived on lap 283.<\/p>\n He remained inside the top 15 for the final 117 laps and finished 14th.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were better than what we qualified,\u201d van Gisbergen said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe strategy put us into the top 15 and gained us a lot. The line I used during the Truck race seemed to work for us, especially when the tyres wore out.\u201d<\/p>\n SVG remains 16th in the championship, holding the final Chase position by 50 points over Ryan Preece.<\/p>\n His two victories do not automatically qualify him under the new format. He must remain inside the top 16 through New Hampshire and Daytona.<\/p>\n The margin is useful, but not decisive. A clean result at New Hampshire would reduce the pressure before the unpredictable regular season finale at Daytona.<\/p>\n Ross Chastain led Trackhouse Racing home in 12th after running as high as seventh. He remains 18th in the championship, 63 points behind van Gisbergen.<\/p>\n Connor Zilisch started 11th but received a speeding penalty during a green flag stop and finished 25th, three laps behind the leaders.<\/p>\n Hamlin maintains championship control<\/p>\n Denny Hamlin finished fourth and retained a 115 point championship lead over Blaney.<\/p>\n Chase Elliott finished fifth, his first top 10 in 10 races, and secured his place in the Chase.<\/p>\n Larson was sixth, followed by Bell, Berry, William Byron and Alex Bowman.<\/p>\n Hamlin, Blaney, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Briscoe, Elliott and Bell have mathematically secured their Chase positions.<\/p>\n The Cup Series continues at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday 23 August before the regular season finale at Daytona.<\/p>\n For Logano, the task is no longer survival. It is about improving his seed and carrying his current form across the 10 races that will decide the championship.<\/p>\n Cook Out 400 results<\/p>\n Richmond Raceway, Saturday 15 August 2026<\/p>\n Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Source: NASCAR official race results<\/a>.<\/p>\n NASCAR Cup Series championship<\/p>\n Top 16 after 24 races<\/p>\n Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16![\"Shane](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NASCAR-McDowell-van-Gisbergen-Larson-Smith-Hill-2026-Richmond-GettyImages-2290653633.webp\")
<\/p>\n
\nCar
\nDriver
\nLaps<\/p>\n
\n22
\nJoey Logano
\n400<\/p>\n
\n19
\nChase Briscoe
\n400<\/p>\n
\n2
\nAustin Cindric
\n400<\/p>\n
\n11
\nDenny Hamlin
\n400<\/p>\n
\n9
\nChase Elliott
\n400<\/p>\n
\n5
\nKyle Larson
\n400<\/p>\n
\n20
\nChristopher Bell
\n400<\/p>\n
\n21
\nJosh Berry
\n400<\/p>\n
\n24
\nWilliam Byron
\n400<\/p>\n
\n48
\nAlex Bowman
\n400<\/p>\n
\n45
\nTyler Reddick
\n400<\/p>\n
\n1
\nRoss Chastain
\n399<\/p>\n
\n12
\nRyan Blaney
\n399<\/p>\n
\n97
\nShane van Gisbergen
\n399<\/p>\n
\n54
\nTy Gibbs
\n399<\/p>\n
\n7
\nDaniel Su\u00e1rez
\n399<\/p>\n
\n60
\nRyan Preece
\n398<\/p>\n
\n4
\nNoah Gragson
\n398<\/p>\n
\n3
\nAustin Dillon
\n398<\/p>\n
\n23
\nBubba Wallace
\n398<\/p>\n
\n17
\nChris Buescher
\n398<\/p>\n
\n42
\nJohn H Nemechek
\n398<\/p>\n
\n33
\nAustin Hill
\n397<\/p>\n
\n35
\nRiley Herbst
\n397<\/p>\n
\n88
\nConnor Zilisch
\n397<\/p>\n
\n6
\nBrad Keselowski
\n397<\/p>\n
\n43
\nErik Jones
\n396<\/p>\n
\n71
\nMichael McDowell
\n396<\/p>\n
\n41
\nCole Custer
\n396<\/p>\n
\n34
\nTodd Gilliland
\n396<\/p>\n
\n47
\nRicky Stenhouse Jr.
\n396<\/p>\n
\n10
\nTy Dillon
\n394<\/p>\n
\n16
\nAJ Allmendinger
\n394<\/p>\n
\n51
\nCody Ware
\n392<\/p>\n
\n66
\nJosh Bilicki
\n391<\/p>\n
\n38
\nZane Smith
\n366<\/p>\n
\n77
\nCarson Hocevar
\n279<\/p>\n
\nCar
\nDriver
\nManufacturer
\nPoints
\nBehind
\nWins<\/p>\n
\n11
\nDenny Hamlin
\nToyota
\n969
\n0
\n4<\/p>\n
\n12
\nRyan Blaney
\nFord
\n854
\n115
\n2<\/p>\n
\n54
\nTy Gibbs
\nToyota
\n842
\n127
\n2<\/p>\n
\n45
\nTyler Reddick
\nToyota
\n831
\n138
\n5<\/p>\n
\n19
\nChase Briscoe
\nToyota
\n715
\n254
\n1<\/p>\n
\n9
\nChase Elliott
\nChevrolet
\n695
\n274
\n2<\/p>\n
\n20
\nChristopher Bell
\nToyota
\n695
\n274
\n0<\/p>\n
\n5
\nKyle Larson
\nChevrolet
\n660
\n309
\n0<\/p>\n
\n22
\nJoey Logano
\nFord
\n659
\n310
\n2<\/p>\n
\n17
\nChris Buescher
\nFord
\n653
\n316
\n0<\/p>\n
\n77
\nCarson Hocevar
\nChevrolet
\n645
\n324
\n1<\/p>\n
\n24
\nWilliam Byron
\nChevrolet
\n630
\n339
\n0<\/p>\n
\n7
\nDaniel Su\u00e1rez
\nChevrolet
\n618
\n351
\n1<\/p>\n
\n23
\nBubba Wallace
\nToyota
\n587
\n382
\n0<\/p>\n
\n2
\nAustin Cindric
\nFord
\n574
\n395
\n0<\/p>\n
\n97
\nShane van Gisbergen
\nChevrolet
\n567
\n402
\n2<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AA-MREC_300x250.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AA-MREC_300x250-37.jpg\")
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