NASCAR heads to Richmond Raceway this weekend for the Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 Sunday afternoon and the Camping World Truck Series is back after a two-week break on Saturday for the ToyotaCare 250.
The Xfinity Series will return to competition on April 24 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Kyle Busch has the series-best driver rating (110.6) and the most wins of any active driver with six. Richmond could potentially provide the best opportunity for Busch to grab his first victory this season.
But don’t discount Martin Truex Jr. who has won two of the past three races at the 0.75-mile track. Brad Keselowski, who won in 2020, will also be one to watch. And don’t forget Denny Hamlin. Richmond is one of Hamlin’s best tracks. In 28 Cup Series starts he has three poles, three wins, 13 top fives and 17 top 10s.
There have only been 12 Truck Series races at Richmond. Last year was the first series race since 2005 and was won by Grant Enfinger. This weekend, Enfinger, who is running a part-time schedule, will be wheeling a ThorSport Racing entry. Starting third, he hopes to become the first repeat winner since Tony Stewart in 2002-2003.
There will be no practice or qualifying sessions due to COVID-19 protocols established by NASCAR.
The starting lineups are determined by the following metrics formula:
• 25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
• 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
• 35 percent: Team owner points ranking
• 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race
All times are Eastern.
Saturday – April 17
1:10 p.m.: Truck Series Driver Intros (Drivers standing by their trucks)
1:30 p.m.: Truck Series ToyotaCare 250 (Stages 70/140/250 Laps=187.5 Miles)
FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Pole: Ben Rhodes
Sunday – April 18
2:45 p.m.: Cup Series Driver Intros Drivers Standing by their cars)
3 p.m.: Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 (Stages 80/235/400 Laps=300 Miles)
FOX/MRN/TSN/Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
Pole: Martin Truex Jr.
Richmond Raceway Data
Season Race #: 9 of 36 (04-18-21)
Track Size: 0.75-miles
Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 14 degrees
Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 14 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 8 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 1,290 feet
Backstretch Length: 860 feet
Race Length: 400 laps / 300 miles
Stage 1 Length: 80 laps
Stage 2 Length: 155 laps
Final Stage Length: 165 laps
Richmond Raceway Qualifying Information:
Track Qualifying Record: Jeff Gordon at 130.599 mph (20.674 secs) on September 4, 2013.
2020 pole winner: None – The Spring 2020 race was moved due to the pandemic and the NCS only competed at the track once in September 2020.
- Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active drivers in the NCS in starts with 39 each.
- Kyle Larson leads all active drivers with an average starting position of 9.0, followed by Denny Hamlin at 9.9.
- Hamlin leads all active pole winners with three poles (2006, 2008 and 2016).
- Joey Logano is the only active driver that have won consecutive poles (2015 sweep).
- Only three active drivers have been able to win from the pole: Kyle Busch (2010), Brad Keselowski (2014) and Hamlin (2016).
Richmond Raceway Race Information:
Track Race Record: Dale Jarrett at 109.047 mph (02:45:04) on September 6, 1997.
2020 Playoff Race Winner: Brad Keselowski 101.868 mph (02:56:42) on September 12, 2020.
- Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in wins with six victories (spring 2009, spring 2010, spring 2011, spring 2012, 2018 sweep).
- A total of 27 different starting positions have led to wins, but the first starting position is the most proficient starting position than any other starting position with 24 wins.
- Joe Gibbs Racing(JGR) leads in victories with 16 wins. Tony Stewart (1999, 2001, 2002), Hamlin (2009, 2010, 2016), Busch (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018 sweep), Matt Kenseth (2015), Carl Edwards (2016), and Martin Truex Jr. (2019 sweep).
- A total of nine different manufacturers have won at Richmond Raceway. Chevrolet leads in wins with 38 victories, followed by Ford (33), Dodge (17), Toyota (14), Pontiac (11) Plymouth (10), Buick (two), Oldsmobile (two) and Chrysler (one).
- Busch leads all active drivers in average finishing position at 6.9 in 27 series starts.
- Hamlin leads all active drivers in laps led with 1,704 laps led in 28 starts.
Top 12 Driver Ratings at Richmond
Kyle Busch – 110.6
Kevin Harvick – 110.3
Denny Hamlin – 106.8
Brad Keselowski – 100.9
Kurt Busch – 94.2
Martin Truex Jr – 92.2
Joey Logano – 92.2
Kyle Larson – 89.2
Ryan Newman – 87.3
Chase Elliott – 86.3
Aric Almirola – 77.5
Tyler Reddick – 76.5
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2020 races (31 total) among active drivers at Richmond Raceway.
