NASCAR’s post-race inspection is complete following Saturday night’s Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway, but the sanctioning body’s work isn’t finished with four cars.
NASCAR announced Sunday that the cars of Austin Cindric, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell and Shane van Gisbergen will return to the NASCAR Research & Development Center for engine dyno testing.
Meanwhile, Joey Logano’s race-winning No. 22 Team Penske Ford cleared inspection without issue, making his Cook Out 400 victory official.
There is no indication at this point that NASCAR found anything improper with the four cars selected for additional testing.
NASCAR Sends Cindric, Elliott, Bell and van Gisbergen Cars to R&D Center
The four cars NASCAR selected for engine dyno testing are:
- No. 2 Team Penske Ford — Austin Cindric
- No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet — Chase Elliott
- No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota — Christopher Bell
- No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet — Shane van Gisbergen
Elliott’s No. 9 and Bell’s No. 20 are also returning to the R&D Center for additional inspection.
The distinction is important. NASCAR did not announce a rules violation involving any of the four cars, nor did it say they failed the initial post-race inspection. Additional R&D Center inspections and engine dyno testing give NASCAR an opportunity to conduct a more extensive examination than what takes place at the track.
The four drivers represented a wide range of results at Richmond.
Cindric delivered one of the night’s biggest charges, climbing from 23rd on the starting grid to finish third. Elliott finished fifth after starting 13th, while Bell crossed the line seventh.
Van Gisbergen, meanwhile, started 31st and finished 14th, a result that helped him maintain the 16th and final position in the Cup Series standings with two regular-season races remaining.
Joey Logano’s Richmond Victory Is Official
While four cars have more testing ahead, there was no such uncertainty surrounding the race winner.
Logano’s No. 22 Ford passed post-race inspection without issue, officially securing his second victory of the 2026 season.
Logano and Chase Briscoe emerged as the dominant contenders during the 400-lap race. Briscoe led a race-high 171 laps, but Logano took control around the final round of pit stops and never gave the position back.
The Team Penske driver led 95 laps and beat Briscoe to the checkered flag by 0.392 seconds.
Cindric finished third, giving Team Penske two of the top-three positions, while Denny Hamlin and Elliott completed the top five. Kyle Larson, Bell, Josh Berry, William Byron and Alex Bowman rounded out the top 10.
The victory also continued Logano’s rapid climb after a difficult start to the season. He has now won twice in the last four races and jumped four positions to ninth in the Cup Series standings after Richmond.
NASCAR now heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the penultimate race of the regular season before the field travels to Daytona International Speedway for the finale.