Interview
NASCAR Cup Richmond II
SHR's Zipadelli on Richmond: "Solid day. Just not close enough"
It wasn’t a much-needed win, but Stewart-Haas Racing’s best collective run of the 2023 season Sunday at Richmond (Va.) Raceway was well-timed.
Jim Utter
Edited: Jul 31, 2023, 4:14 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
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.
Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing, Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang
Photo by: Rusty Jarrett / NKP / Motorsport Images
“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.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Hamlin admits "I drove in way too deep" in battle for the win
Next article Keselowski: RFK "went from irrelevant to relevant"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jim Utter
Erik Jones agrees to multi-year contract extension with Legacy Motor Club
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Erik Jones agrees to multi-year contract extension with Legacy Motor Club
Goodyear's option tires at Richmond "were like Mario Kart with a star"
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
Goodyear's option tires at Richmond "were like Mario Kart with a star"
NASCAR: Austin Dillon move was "really close to crossing the line"
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
NASCAR: Austin Dillon move was "really close to crossing the line"
Latest news
Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
4 h
Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
7 h
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
8 h
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
9 h
Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe