Weather Forces Double-Header At Richmond

August 16, 2026September 10, 2026 Missed Gear

It was a little wet. Friday.

NASCAR weekend at Richmond Raceway started with a forecast that offered a little heat and a good chance of racing. The Craftsman Trucks practiced and qualified. The Cup practice and qualifying went off for the Cook Out 400. The track was set for the Friday scheduled Black’s Tire 250 presented by BTS Rewards.

Heavy rain and lightning came into Richmond Friday night just about at race time pushing the truck race to Saturday.

Then there was lightning and some drizzle and a hold and then some more lightning and then a drenching downpour with more lightning and a realization that, perhaps, it might not happen.

Saturday. The track was in a hustle for what had become a double-header race day. The Cup Cookout 400 was on for the evening. The Craftsman Trucks were reset with a noon start. Shane van Gisbergen (Yes, that “SVG” guy from Cup) set the front off on the green. He managed a top five across the stages and at the final.

Kaden Honeycutt was the very dominant driver with the stages and the final checkered flag. The points are winding down with one truck race remaining before the series Chase. Layne Riggs is leading the points with Honeycutt behind him. Chandler Smith, Christian Eckes and Gio Ruggiero are in the top five

With Victory Lane celebrations underway, the track and pit stalls were being torn and reset for the Cup race. Fans were scheduled to enter and track walks were a thing and what usually began early in the morning was condensed into a couple of hours to be ready for the Cookout 400 activities.

Teams tearing down the pit stalls immediately after the Trucks crossed the finish. The Cup reset was on tap before the fan track walk was open for pre-race activities.

In short order it was there. Fans were signing the start / finish line where just a few hours earlier The #11 Craftsman Truck of Kayden Honeycutt was racing over at speed. The stands filled in. The Cook Out 400 opening ceremonies set the stage and the main event hit the green flag with the #12 of Ryan Blaney out front.

Blaney kept his Ford up front for stage 1. Joey Logano drove his Ford in for stage 2 and the race win. Chase Briscoe drove his Toyota up front for the most laps. In total, Ford and Toyota were carrying the Cookout as Chevy was only there with Kyle Larson for 2 laps of the 400.

Logano had the win. Briscoe was second. Austin Cindric, Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott rounded the top five. The win for Logano is a kick forward in points to 9th overall with two more races before the Chase field of 16 is set. Denny Hamlin has the current points lead 115 points in front of Ryan Blaney. Ty Gibbs is currently 3rd in points with Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe in the top 5.

Photo Galleries from Saturday, August 15, 2026 at Richmond Raceway.
Craftsman Trucks Black’s Tire 250 presented by BTS Rewards
NASCAR Cup Cook Out 400

Roanoke Drifting In Jappalachia

It is a fine thing when conditions lead to continuity. This particular continuity is also an automotive conundrum in several ways considering the current condition of the existence of the automobile. What….?? The trend that has taken hold, especially here in these United States, is the popularity of the SUV, the crossover variations of five door hatches, the automatic transmission and front wheel drive. All of these would point to a humorless and drab driving culture of A to B with a soccer game or a grocery store on the agenda. The days of fun behind the wheel are drying up. Or are they…? There are a handful of new rear drives out there. Of those, fewer still have a manual transmission. This leads to the continuity of cars of the past being rebuilt and re-born by people who seek the slides and the sideways. Yes, America, drifting may be the saving grace of the manual, rear wheel drive car. On a warm Wednesday tucked in the back corner of an industrial park I was there to bear witness to a mixture of car cultures. The recipe was a good mix of classic British “Top Gear”, American Motor Trend “Roadkill” and a heavy helping of the Japanese origins of drifting. The cars were budget sourced from the pre-owned market and rapidly made “drivable” over the past several days. Now they were here in this slightly barren environment to be compared on a mapped rally / drifting course by (can you guess…?) the same “tame” racing driver. For the sake of a little background… This group of guys have a mission which is building on their combination of talents. What is the mission…? Loosely defined it is a mixture of Japan’s origin culture of drifting and the extreme styling of it with the back roads mountain attitude of American muscle cars. They call it “Jappalachia”. There have been trips to Japan with driving study in the origins of the legendary Daigo Saito drifting style. Japan is distinguished as the genesis of drifting even as the sport has expanded worlwide. The “Jappalachia” handle has been vetted during these visits with positive approvals. The drift is no stranger to these men. A recent visit to NASA Haltech Hyperfest at Virginia International Raceway had a Nissan going tandem on the drift pad competition. On this Wednesday, they have two cars ready to take on the course. These are not their “pro builds” but side projects for the practice and fun of it. One is a late ’80s Corvette and the other is a Nissan 240sx (’89…? ’90…? give or take…) Both of them had less than “garage kept” history. Both put up sideways and dusty shows. I think the Corvette took the time even with bottom scrapes, fuel delivery issues and a lost ass bumper. It was also driven after the 240 so one could say the previous lap in the Nissan gave a nudge of “practice” to the ‘Vette. The “real” cars involved…? These guys are looking ahead to extreme builds in their shop. They are working up another C4 series Corvette and a 3rd generation Ford Mustang. The cars are being treated as homage to the extreme Kaido or Bosozoku style of Japanese drift builds. Big fenders, shovel forward in front of the wheels and wide body wings over the back. These are American muscle cars treated with anime angles. Engines are being built. Chassis and suspensions are being tuned and going into place. A rough timeline has turns on the calendar for the newly re-opened Southampton Speedway later this year as that track is running a drift schedule. This is Jappalachia. Connections…? Roanoke, Charlottesville, Japan, backgrounds in design, mechanics, fabrication, travel… They have formed a friendship from chance encounters, childhood history and love of fun in cars. The “tame” racing driver…? 2016 F4 Champion / 2021 EFO F3 Champion – Cameron Das, visiting from the UK with friends connected through common and crossed paths. His 2016 F4 is in the Jappalachia shop. 2016 USA F4 Champion, Cameron Das, with the season winning car in the Jappalachia shop Das is currently doing a social media series of video showcases of kart racing and tracks. Cameron Das: YouTube InstagramTay Whiteside – Lift Arc StudiosGresh Chapman (Instagram): Jackson WalkerConnor Shupe Visit the Jappalachia Website Photos – A visit to Jappalachia – Industrial Drifting *The dog is “Pickles” – an Alaskan Malamute. He’s a sweetheart in a sweet spot.
Movie Truck Throwback

Hanging out with long time friend from stage and screen who happened to be in a famous truck movie by Stephen King
RoVA-Drive Showcase: Benoit Pigeon

Elite commercial photographer has a fast eye for drag racing
RoVA-Drive Showcase: Bryan Reedy

Late Model Driver (#17) based in Roanoke