Winless streak ends for Chase Elliott at the 35th annual Virginia529 College Savings 250

Chase Elliott celebrates in Victory Lane at Richmond on Friday night, breaking his 39-race winless streak
Photo; Carol D'Agostino for Skirts and Scuffs
With 32 laps to go, reigning NASCAR XFinity Series Champion Chase Elliott took the lead by virtue of being the first off pit road under caution and went on to win Friday's race at Richmond, with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch nipping at his heels. In the end, Busch didn’t have enough speed to overtake Elliott. The race had six leaders and six cautions.

For Elliott, this was his fourth victory in 58 NASCAR XFinity Series races, and his first victory and 20th top-10 finish in 2015. This is Elliott’s first victory and fourth top-10 finish in four races at Richmond International Raceway.

Not that breaking a 39-race drought isn’t big news, but the Richmond NASCAR Xfinity Series debut of late model racer Josh Berry nearly stole the show. Berry had only one previous start at Richmond in 2014 in the K&N Series. He is the fifth driver to race in JR Motorsports' No. 88. Berry qualified 5th and finished the race in 7th.

“I ran twice last year in the Xfinity Series and wasn’t sure I’d have the opportunity to do it again, but luckily Speedco came on board for the race. I’m really thankful for their support and for the opportunity Dale, Kelley, L.W. (Miller) and everyone at JRM are giving me,” Berry said.

Berry is not scheduled to run any more races this year. JRM Motorsports is seeking sponsorship.

The final results of  the Virginia529 College Savings 250 are:
1. Chase Elliott 
2. Kyle Busch 
3. Brian Scott 
4. Joey Logano 
5. Erik Jones 
6. Regan Smith 
7. Josh Berry 
8. Ty Dillon 
9. Austin Dillon  
10. Chris Buescher 
11. Brennan Poole 
12. Daniel Suarez  
13. Ryan Reed 
14. Darrell Wallace Jr.  
15. Ross Chastain   
16. Brendan Gaughan  
17. Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet 
18. Landon Cassill 
19. Blake Koch 
20. JJ Yeley 
21. Dakoda Armstrong
22. Cale Conley  
23. Harrison Rhodes  
24. Elliott Sadler 
25. Dylan Kwasniewski 
26. Eric McClure 
27. Joey Gase 
28. Josh Reaume  
29. Mike Harmon 
30. John Wes Townley
31. Ryan Truex 
32. Hermie Sadler 
33. Matt Waltz 
34. Jeremy Clements 
35. Ryan Ellis 
36. Carl Long 
37. David Starr 
38. Benny Gordon 
39. Jimmy Weller 
40. Jeff Green 

Winless streak ends for Chase Elliott at the 35th annual Virginia529 College Savings 250 Winless streak ends for Chase Elliott at the 35th annual Virginia529 College Savings 250 Reviewed by Carol D'Agostino on Saturday, September 12, 2015 Rating: 5