Desperate NASCAR star predicts 'trouble' in Cup Series playoff showdown

NASCAR’s top stars will face an extra problem when they battle for prized Cup Series playoff berths at Richmond Raceway tonight (7.30pm Eastern, USA).

The final postseason spots are up for grabs as the Cook Out 400 takes center stage, but teams and drivers came away from Friday’s action with a major new concern - the tires.

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Each team has eight new sets of tires plus the set of tires to start tonight’s race - those are the competition rules, as laid down by NASCAR and Goodyear. But as of now, that may not be enough.

The falloff in tire performance (per Friday’s data from the track) suggests tonight will be a battle of struggle and attrition, and a nailbiting test of nerves.

Keselowski tire fears

Cup Series great Brad Keselowski, when asked about the situation by NBC Sports, was concerned as he explained: “We’re in trouble. I might be wrong. Maybe something will change and we’ll get in the night time and the tires will extend their life cycle more than what we’ve seen in practice. But right now it does not look good.”

So what happens if Keselowski is right, and NASCAR and Goodyear are wrong? According to Blake Harris - pit crew chief for Alex Bowman’s No. 48 car - had a pretty downbeat assessment.

He told NBC: “It’s kind of like the Truck race. They don’t get enough tires and it’s boring. Nobody passes. Nobody can be on off-strategies.

“Everybody doesn’t stop the first stage and everybody two-stops the second and third stage and then you’ve got one set for one caution the whole race. You don’t put tires on until you have to.”

So what was Goodyear’s response to Friday’s action and data? Pretty much the complete opposite of what Keselowski and Harris fear, per product director Rick Heinrich.

“We’re not seeing people showing that they can’t go as far as they’re going to have to go. You’re going to have to put at least 37 laps on a set of tires to be able to make the math work. We’re seeing people go well beyond that.”

Qualifying results: Who is on pole at Richmond?

After Friday's Qualifying session at Richmond, the lineup for tonight's big race looks like this:

1. Ryan Preece, No. 60, RFK Racing, Ford - 22.244secs

2. Tyler Reddick, No. 45, 23XI Racing, Toyota - +0.087secs

3. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet - +0.097secs

4. Denny Hamlin, No. 11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota - +0.103secs

5. Chase Elliott, No. 9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet - +0.117secs

6. Brad Keselowski, No. 6, RFK Racing, Ford - +0.118secs

7. Bubba Wallace, No. 23, 23XI Racing, Toyota - +0.135secs

8. Christopher Bell, No. 20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota - +0.140secs

9. Alex Bowman, No. 48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet - +0.153secs

10. Michael McDowell, No. 71, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet - +0.162secs

11. Austin Dillon, No. 3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet - +0.182secs

12. Chris Buescher, No. 17, RFK Racing, Ford - +0.186secs

13. Austin Cindric, No. 2, Team Penske, Ford - +0.198secs

14. William Byron, No. 24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet - +0.217secs

15. Carson Hocevar, No. 77, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet - +0.257secs

16. Ty Dillon, No. 10, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet - +0.262secs

17. Josh Berry, No. 21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford - +0.272secs

18. Erik Jones, No. 43, Legacy Motor Club, Toyota - +0.282secs

19. Chase Briscoe, No. 19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota - +0.301secs

20. Ryan Blaney, No. 12, Team Penske, Ford - +0.304secs

21. Daniel Suarez, No. 99, Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet - +0.305secs

22. Noah Gragson, No. 4, Front Row Motorsports, Ford - +0.305secs

23. Ty Gibbs, No. 54, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota - +0.309secs

24. Cole Custer, No. 41, Haas Factory Team, Ford - +0.333secs

25. Justin Haley, No. 7, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet - +0.364secs

26. Riley Herbst, No. 35, 23XI Racing, Toyota - +0.364secs

27. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 88, Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet - +0.402secs

28. Kyle Busch, No. 8, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet - +0.435secs

29. Zane Smith, No. 38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford - +0.436secs

30. Kyle Larson, No. 5, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet - +0.448secs

31. Todd Gilliland, No. 34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford - +0.481secs

32. Corey Heim, No. 67, 23XI Racing, Toyota - +0.503secs

33. Ross Chastain, No. 1, Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet - +0.511secs

34. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42, Legacy Motor Club, Toyota - +0.579secs

35. Jesse Love, No. 33, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet - +0.587secs

36. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47, Hyak Motorsports, Chevrolet - +0.598secs

37. Cody Ware, No. 51, Rick Ware Racing, Ford - +0.703secs

38. Joey Logano, No. 22, Team Penske, Ford - NO TIME

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