RICK WARE RACING
Richmond 400
Date: March 31, 2024
Event: Richmond 400 (Round 7 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Richmond (Va.) Raceway (.75-mile oval)
Format: 407 laps, broken into three stages (70 laps/160 laps/170 laps)
Note: Race extended seven laps past its scheduled 400-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Martin Truex Jr., of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
RWR Race Finish:
● Kaz Grala (Started 35th, Finished 31st/ Running, completed 405 of 407 laps)
● Justin Haley (Started 36th, Finished 32nd/ Running, completed 405 of 407 laps)
RWR Points:
● Justin Haley (32nd with 78 points)
● Kaz Grala (33rd with 71 points)
RWR Notes:
● This was Haley’s seventh career start at Richmond. His best finish remains 21st, earned in September 2022.
● This was Grala’s first NASCAR Cup Series start at Richmond.
Race Notes:
● Denny Hamlin won the Richmond 400 to score his 53rd career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his fifth at Richmond. His margin of victory over second-place Joey Logano was .269 of a second.
● There were five caution periods for a total of 54 laps.
● Twenty-two of the 36 drivers in the Richmond 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Martin Truex Jr., remains the championship leader after Richmond with a 14-point advantage over second-place Kyle Larson.
Sound Bites:
“We were fighting the handling the entire race. Once green-flag pit stops start here, it’s easy to get caught a lap or two down and it just kind of snowballs from there if you don’t make big progress. I think we learned a lot and hopefully we can find something that will work better for us before we come back in August.” – Kaz Grala, driver of the No. 15 N29 Capital Partners Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“Our No. 51 Walmart Health and Wellness Ford Mustang Dark Horse was pretty good during the day. We struggled under the lights getting the balance right and just couldn’t seem to find the right adjustments to get it closer to where it needed to be. Our pit strategy in the second stage got messed up with that caution so maybe it wouldn’t have been quite as bad, but it was still a tough race. We at least have something to work with when we come back for the day race.”– Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Walmart Health and Wellness Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out 400 on Sunday, April 7 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
