Dash 4 Cash: Who’s taking home the first $100,000 bonus check?
Back once again thanks to its unparalleled popularity, the NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash program returns for another year of unpredictability and drama leading up to and during the four designated races in the program. The Xfinity Dash 4 Cash program encourages an increase in on-track competition, engages fans and rewards / recognizes NASCAR Xfinity Series regular competitors.
The first opportunity for drivers to win the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus will be this Saturday at Richmond Raceway. Last weekend’s race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) was the first qualifier so we will be seeing JR Motorsport’s teammates Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer, Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric and Joe Gibbs Racing’s rookie Sammy Smith dashing for their chance to win.
Of the competition, Allgaier is the most experienced at Richmond Raceway. In 22 starts, he has posted two wins, eight top fives, 11 top 10s and has led 494 laps. His average finish is 12.6.
Allgaier’s JR Motorsports teammate Sam Mayer won last year’s Dash 4 Cash bonus at Richmond Raceway. He has two starts at the .75-mile track with a best finish of third (2022).
Kaulig Racing’s Hemric enters the weekend with six starts at Richmond, posting three top fives and five top 10s.
JGR’s Smith will be making his series track debut at Richmond Raceway this weekend.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: ToyotaCare 250
The Place: Richmond Raceway
The Date: Saturday, April 1
The Time: 1 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,721,030
TV: FS1, 12 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 187.5 miles (250 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 75),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 150), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 250)
Road course ringer AJ Allmendinger does it again
Last year as a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver for Kaulig Racing, AJ Allmendinger was the one to beat on road courses as he found Victory Lane at four of the six road course events on the Xfinity Series schedule (COTA, Portland, Indianapolis RC and Charlotte RC).
This season, Allmendinger has transitioned into a full-time car in the NASCAR Cup Series with his team Kaulig Racing but was given the chance to run the Xfinity Series race at COTA last weekend – and he did not disappoint.
Allmendinger came into the weekend quick out of the gate and won the pole for the Pit Boss 250 presented by USA Today, a position he managed to keep at the end of the 46th and final lap. The win marked his second at COTA and the 16th of his Xfinity Series career.
Although Allmendinger will be sticking strictly to his Cup Series duties this weekend at Richmond Raceway, he will be back for some road course fun in the Xfinity Series at Sonoma Raceway later this season.
In Allmendinger’s stead this weekend in the Kaulig Racing No. 10 Chevrolet will be Derek Kraus who will be making his NASCAR Xfinity Series career debut. Kraus has made 74 career NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series career starts posting four top fives and 26 top 10s; including three Truck Series starts at Richmond where he posed two top-15 finishes.
Richmond Raceway returns
After some road course action last weekend at Circuit of The Americas, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be heading to Richmond Raceway for the ToyotaCare 250 for some side-by-side short track racing. The fun will begin on Saturday, April 1 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio.
There have been 76 NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Richmond Raceway, producing 38 different race winners 40 different pole winners. Sixteen races have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Ty Gibbs (2022).
Kevin Harvick sits as the winningest driver in the Xfinity Series at Richmond with seven victories (2003, 2005, 2006 sweep, 2010, 2012, 2014). He also holds the record for most top fives (18) and top 10s (21); while Kyle Busch has posted the most poles (six) and lead lap finishes (23).
Two previous winners are entered in this weekend’s ToyotaCare 250 – Justin Allgaier (2020 sweep) and Cole Custer (April, 2019).
Allgaier has two Richmond wins under his belt (2020 sweep), eight top fives and 11 top 10s. In last season’s spring Richmond race, he posted a fourth-place finish.
Custer posted his Richmond win in the spring of 2019 and has two top fives and four top 10s in seven starts. His last stint at the .75-mile track was in the fall of 2019 where he finished in the third position.
The Xfinity Series will kick off the weekend with practice on Saturday, April 1 at 8:05 a.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 8:35 a.m. ET.
Drivers to watch: Richmond edition
With two previous winners in the field for the ToyotaCare 250 on Saturday, of course conversations have sparked on who will take home the 2023 win and it’s very possible to see a new face in Victory Lane.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s John Hunter Nemechek has put up some good stats at the Richmond short track, especially in the last couple of years. In his five starts, he’s posted two top fives, three top 10s and has led 171 laps. Last season, he posted a runner-up finish and in 2021, he finished third.
Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric also has put on impressive performances at Richmond, posting a top-10 finish in all but one of his six starts. He also won the pole in his first ever Xfinity Series race at Richmond Raceway.
Stewart Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst has been fighting to post his first Xfinity Series win and Richmond could be the place to make it happen. In his five starts, he’s posted two top fives and four top 10s. In both Richmond Raceway races last season, he posted a fifth-place finish.
A total of six different drivers have posted their first NASCAR Xfinity Series career win at Richmond Raceway – Butch Lindley (1982), Tommy Houston (1982), Bobby Hamilton (1989), Jeff Purvis (1996), Kyle Busch (2004) and Robby Gordon (2004).
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Chris Hacker running at Richmond – Chris Hacker will be making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Richmond Raceway, driving the No. 38 Ford with RSS Racing.
Hacker has made 11 starts in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series with a best-finish of 16th at Martinsville in 2021.
