The 2024 Toyota Owners 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 31, 2024, at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Contested over 407 laps -- extended from 400 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 0.75 mile (1.2 km) asphalt short track, it was the seventh race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin won the race. Joey Logano finished 2nd, and Kyle Larson finished 3rd. Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five, and Christopher Bell, William Byron, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top ten.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 36 in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | March 31, 2024 | ||
| Location | Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.75 mi (1.2 km) | ||
| Distance | 407 laps, 305.25 mi (488.4 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 400 laps, 300 mi (480 km) | ||
| Average speed | 94.076 miles per hour (151.401 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 22.438 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 228 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Kevin Harvick | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle | ||
| Turn Announcers | Mike Bagley (Backstretch) | ||
Report
editBackground
editRichmond Raceway (RR) is a 0.75 miles (1.21 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.[9] Known as "America's premier short track", it has formerly hosted events such as the International Race of Champions, Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown, and the USAC sprint car series. Due to Richmond Raceway's unique "D" shape which allows drivers to reach high speeds, Richmond has long been known as a short track that races like a superspeedway. With its multiple racing grooves, and proclivity for contact Richmond is a favorite among NASCAR drivers and fans.[10]
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
editKyle Larson was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 22.161 seconds and a speed of 121.836 mph (196.076 km/h).[11]
Practice results
edit| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 22.161 | 121.836 |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 22.224 | 121.490 |
| 3 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 22.229 | 121.463 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editKyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 22.438 and a speed of 120.332 mph (193.656 km/h).[12]
Qualifying results
editRace
editRace results
editStage Results
editStage One Laps: 70
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 4 | Josh Berry (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 160
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Josh Berry (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
editStage Three Laps: 170
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 407 | 46 |
| 2 | 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 407 | 48 |
| 3 | 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 407 | 50 |
| 4 | 7 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 407 | 52 |
| 5 | 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 407 | 36 |
| 6 | 29 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 407 | 36 |
| 7 | 13 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 407 | 32 |
| 8 | 23 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 407 | 29 |
| 9 | 14 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 407 | 32 |
| 10 | 19 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 407 | 28 |
| 11 | 30 | 4 | Josh Berry (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 407 | 37 |
| 12 | 17 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 407 | 25 |
| 13 | 5 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 407 | 36 |
| 14 | 27 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 407 | 23 |
| 15 | 3 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 407 | 25 |
| 16 | 8 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 407 | 21 |
| 17 | 4 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 407 | 28 |
| 18 | 32 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 407 | 19 |
| 19 | 12 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 407 | 18 |
| 20 | 15 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 407 | 17 |
| 21 | 6 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 407 | 21 |
| 22 | 20 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 407 | 15 |
| 23 | 9 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 406 | 14 |
| 24 | 22 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 406 | 13 |
| 25 | 18 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 406 | 12 |
| 26 | 31 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 406 | 11 |
| 27 | 25 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 406 | 10 |
| 28 | 16 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 406 | 10 |
| 29 | 33 | 16 | Ty Dillon (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 406 | 0 |
| 30 | 34 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 405 | 7 |
| 31 | 35 | 15 | Kaz Grala (R) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 405 | 6 |
| 32 | 36 | 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 405 | 5 |
| 33 | 24 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 405 | 4 |
| 34 | 26 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 405 | 3 |
| 35 | 28 | 71 | Zane Smith (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 404 | 2 |
| 36 | 21 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 404 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
edit- Lead changes: 16 among 7 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 5 for 54 laps
- Red flags: 1 for 2 minutes and 16 seconds
- Time of race: 3 hours, 14 minutes and 41 seconds
- Average speed: 94.076 miles per hour (151.401 km/h)
Media
editTelevision
editFox Sports covered the race on the television side. Mike Joy, two-time Richmond winner Clint Bowyer, and four-time Richmond winner Kevin Harvick called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled pit road for the television side, and Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
| Fox | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analyst |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer Color-commentator: Kevin Harvick |
Jamie Little Regan Smith |
Larry McReynolds |
Radio
editMRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden & Jeff Striegle called the race in the booth when the field raced down the frontstretch. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform inside the backstretch when the field raced down the backstretch. Steve Post, Jason Toy, and Chris Wilner handled pit road for the radio side.
| MRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle |
Backstretch: Mike Bagley | Steve Post Jason Toy Chris Wilner |
Standings after the race
edit
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "2024 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ^ "Richmond International Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on September 3, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ Sturniolo, Zach (October 4, 2023). "NASCAR reveals 2024 Cup schedule as Atlanta, Watkins Glen move to playoffs". NASCAR. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 25, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ "Practice Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. March 30, 2024. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ "Qualifying Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. March 30, 2024. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ "Toyota Owners 400 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. March 31, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 31, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "NASCAR Truck Series returning to Richmond in April, 2020". Richmond Times-Dispatch. 3 April 2019.
- ^ "Motorsport.com Tony Stewart's favorite track is Richmond.=". 6 September 2012.
- ^ Utter, Jim (March 30, 2024). "Kyle Larson leads Saturday's Cup practice at Richmond". Motorsport.com. Richmond, Virginia: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
- ^ Utter, Jim (March 30, 2024). "Larson beats Elliott to Richmond Cup pole for all-Hendrick front row". Motorsport.com. Richmond, Virginia: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 30, 2024.