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Lap by Lap: Toyota Owners 400 won by Kevin Harvick

Photo Credit: Barry Albert

With late race pit stops and a late green white checkered, Kevin Harvick would go from seventh to first on the final restart to take the victory in the Toyota Owners 400.

 

Lap 1 Kenseth leads off turn two

Lap 4 Kenseth leads Gordon Vickers Bowyer Kahne Logano Truex Montoya Busch Martin

Lap 6 Busch passes Montoya

Lap 13 Bowyer passes Vickers

Lap 16 Kahne passes Vickers

Lap 22 Kenseth leads Bowyer Kahne Vickers Logano Truex Busch Montoya Gordon Martin

Lap 25 Martin passes Gordon

Lap 26 Ambrose passes Gordon

Lap 32 Truex and Busch pass Logano

Lap 33 Montoya passes Logano

Caution lap 45 Joh Wise goes around after contact from Cassill. Wise was trying to dive underneath Gilliland. Leaders hit pit road. Kenseth leads Bowyer Vickers Montoya Truex Logano Kahne KuBusch Ky Busch. Reuitmann gets the lucky dog

Restart lap 47 Kenseth pulls ahead of field once again going into turn one and two.

Lap 49 Kenseth leads Vickers Truex Bowyer Montoya Kahne KyBusch Ku Busch Logano Martin

Lap 52 KyBusch passes Kahne

Lap 55 KuBusch passes Kahne

Lap 74 Kenseth leads Vickers Truex

Lap 77 Kenseth leads Vickers Truex Bowyer Montoya KyBusch KuBusch Kahne Logano Martin

Lap 95 Kahne passes KuBusch; Johnson and Martin pass Logano

Lap 98 Kenseth leads Vickers Truex Bowyer Montoya KyBusch Kahne KuBusch Johnson Martin

Lap 101 Kahne passes KyBusch

Lap 102 KuBusch and Johnson pass KyBusch

Caution Lap 111 Marcos Ambrose slowed on the backstretch due to lack of oil pressure. Leaders head down pit road. Bowyer leads Vickers Kenseth Johnson Montoya Truex KuBusch off pit road.

Restart lap 116 Bowyer gets the jump on the restart on the field, ahead of Kenseth and Vickers

Lap 118 Bowyer leads Kenseth Vickers Montoya KuBusch Johnson Truex Keselowski Martin Harvick

Lap 133 Bowyer leads Kenseth Montoya Vickers Johnson KuBusch

Lap 136 Bowyer leads Kenseth Montoya Vickers Johnson KuBusch Truex Keselowski Martin Harvick

Lap 141 Johnson and KuBusch pass Vickers

Caution lap 145 debris as fluid suspected due to Michael McDowell having problems. Bowyer leads Kenseth Montoya off pit road. Reuitmann gets the lucky dog.

Restart lap 154 Bowyer gets away on the restart

Lap 157 Bowyer Kenseth Montoya KuBusch Johnson Martin KyBusch Vickers Harvick Truex

Caution lap 158 Keselowski hits the wall in turn two. “Got a flat or something down the straightaway.” Vickers pits with Kahne, Stewart, Gordon, Stenhouse among others. Leaders stay out.

Restart lap 168 Bowyer pulls ahead of Kenseth on the restart

Lap 170 Bowyer leads Kenseth KuBusch Montoya Johnson KyBusch Harvick Martin Truex Logano

Lap 184 McMurray passes Logano

Lap 186 McMurray passes Truex

Lap 208 Bowyer leads Kenseth KuBusch Johnson KyBusch Montoya McMuray Harvick Martin Edwards

Lap 215 Edwards passes Martin

Lap 216 McMurray passes Montoya

Lap 217 Bowyer leads Kenseth KuBusch Johnson KyBusch McMurray Montoya Harvick Edwards Martin

Lap 219 Kenseth passes Bowyer for the lead

Lap 229 Kenseth leads KuBusch Johnson KyBusch Bowyer McMurray Montoya Edwards Harvick Martin

Lap 231 Edwards passes Montoya

Caution lap 232 Biffle goes for the spin after getting loose off turn four. Leaders hit pit road. Kenseth leads KuBusch KyBusch Johnson Bowyer McMurray Edwards

Restart lap 240 Kenseth pulls ahead of the Busch brothers through turns one and two

Lap 243 Kenseth leads KyBusch KuBusch Bowyer Johnson Edwards

Lap 245 Kenseth leads KyBusch KuBusch Bowyer Johnson Edwards Montoya Martin Keselowski Stewart

Lap 250 Harvick passed Stewart

Lap 251 Edwards passes Johnson

Lap 254 Busch looking for the lead by Kenseth, takes it going into turn three

Lap 255 KyBusch leads Kenseth KuBusch Bowyer Edwards Johnson Montoya Martin Keselowski Harvick

Lap 267 KyBusch leads KuBusch Kenseth Edwards Bowyer Montoya Johnson Martin Keselowski Harvick

120 to go KyBusch leads KuBusch Edwards Bowyer Montoya Kenseth Johnson Martin Keselowski Harvick

110 to go Keselowski goes to pit road with a vibration.

Caution 109 to go Travis Kvapil hits the wall. Leaders hit pit road. KuBusch leads KyBusch Edwards Kenseth Bowyer Montoya Johnson off pit road.

Restart 105 to go Ku Busch gets the jump on the restart on Kyle Busch while Carl Edwards jumps into second

101 to go KuBusch leads Edwards KyBusch Bowyer Johnson Harvick Kenseth Martin Montoya Stewart

98 to go Edwards and KuBusch battle for the lead as Johnson passes Bowyer

96 to go KuBusch leads Edwards KyBusch Johnson Bowyer Harvick Kenseth Martin Montoya Truex

Caution 93 to go Kvapil slow on the apron. Leaders hit pit road. Some took two tires, some took four tires. Commitment violation on Busch Vickers and Cassil. NASCAR changes mind on Kyle Busch penalty with regards to the line.

Restart 80 to go Kurt Busch and Edwards go into one side-by-side and Busch comes off turn two with the lead.

74 to go KuBusch leads Edwards Kenseth…..Stewart and Johnson go around, Busch collected for the caution. Stewart gets loose and slides up to Johnson and Busch no where to go, hits Johnson. Some of the leaders pit, others stay out. Busch leads Edwards Kenseth Earnhardt Bowyer off pit road. Top six drivers stayed out.

Restart 66 to go Montoya gets the jump on the restart ahead of Harvick and Truex

64 to go Montoya leads Harvick Truex Keselowski KuBusch Kenseth Bowyer Martin Logano Burton

63 to go Mark Martin and Kasey Kahne wreck on the backstretch. Mark got loose, Kahne underneath caused contact and both spun, Vickers hits Martin. Kyle Busch gets the lucky dog. Harvick gives up second spot to pit.

Restart 57 to go Montoya leads the field off turn two ahead of Truex

Caution 56 to go Truex goes for the spin after closing the door on KuBusch in a battle for second behind Montoya. “I was giving him the bottom; I guess he was just being impatient.” Truex on KuBusch

Restart 51 to go Montoya gets the jump on the restart

49 to go Montoya leads KuBusch Kenseth Bowyer Logano Almirola Gordon Harvick Edwards Keselowski

42 to go Montoya leads KuBusch Kenseth Bowyer Logano Harvick Almirola Gordon Edwards Keselowski

40 to go Harvick passes Logano for fifth

38 to go Harvick passes Bowyer for fourth

36 to go Harvick passes Kenseth for third

30 to go Bowyer passes Kenseth for fourth

23 to go Keselowski falls out of the top 20 as he is off the pace. He has dropped a cylinder.

22 to go Montoya leads KuBusch Harvick Bowyer Kenseth Logano Almirola Burton Gordon Edwards

Keselowski is given the blackflag due to not reaching minimum speed with being down 7 cylinders. 21 to go Montoya leads Kurt Busch & Harvick

19 to go Harvick passes Kurt Busch for second.

14 to go Montoya leads Harvick KuBusch Bowyer Kenseth Logano Burton Almirola Edwards McMurray

Caution 6 to go Vickers gets into the wall. Leaders head down pit road. Edwards leads Stewart Montoya Harvick Kenseth off pit road. Burton stays out to take the lead.

Restart Burton gets the restart Dinger goes for the dive but misses harvick makes his way around them and makes the pass on Burton for the lead.

White flag.

Kevin Harvick takes the win.

Unofficial Race Results
Toyota Owners 400, Richmond
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/cup/race.php?race=9
=========================================
Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
=========================================
1 17 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 47
2 5 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 43
3 7 22 Joey Logano Ford 41
4 6 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet 41
5 16 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 40
6 28 99 Carl Edwards Ford 38
7 1 20 Matt Kenseth Toyota 39
8 34 43 Aric Almirola Ford 36
9 14 78 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 36
10 19 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 34
11 3 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 33
12 26 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 32
13 29 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 31
14 24 51 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet 30
15 15 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 29
16 12 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. # Ford 28
17 9 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 27
18 21 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 26
19 32 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 25
20 20 34 David Ragan Ford 24
21 4 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 23
22 22 83 David Reutimann Toyota 22
23 18 7 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 21
24 8 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 21
25 31 33 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 19
26 13 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 18
27 37 38 David Gilliland Ford 17
28 27 35 Josh Wise(i) Ford 0
29 30 10 Danica Patrick # Chevrolet 15
30 40 13 Casey Mears Ford 14
31 25 30 David Stremme Toyota 13
32 39 36 JJ Yeley Chevrolet 12
33 23 2 Brad Keselowski Ford 11
34 42 32 Timmy Hill # Ford 10
35 2 11 Brian Vickers(i) Toyota 0
36 33 16 Greg Biffle Ford 8
37 36 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 7
38 10 55 Mark Martin Toyota 6
39 41 87 Joe Nemechek(i) Toyota 0
40 43 52 Brian Keselowski Toyota 4
41 35 98 Michael McDowell Ford 3
42 11 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 2
43 38 19 Mike Bliss(i) Toyota 0

Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 6 Richmond International Raceway – Toyota Owners 400 – April 27, 2013

It doesn’t get much better than short-track racing under the lights at one of NASCAR’s oldest tracks. Richmond International Raceway has been a part of the tour since Lee Petty won the first NASCAR Grand National Division race at then Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds back in 1953, and each year proves why it has occupied two spots on the series schedule since 1959. Chevrolet leads the series in wins at Richmond with 35 victories, followed closely by Ford with 28, but Toyota has won 7 of the last 8 races at the three-quarter mile oval in Virginia’s capital city.

The story of the week surrounds the team of Matt Kenseth as NASCAR passed down one of its stiffest penalties in history as it slapped the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team with a 50 point penalty, a $200,000 fine, and suspended Crew Chief Jason Ratcliff for the next seven races. NASCAR took everything away from the Dollar General team but the trophy from their win last week at Kansas. The garage was buzzing on Friday at RIR with responses to the penalty coming from Kenseth, Ratcliff, and team-owner, Joe Gibbs.

Kenseth said the penalties passed down from NASCAR were “grossly unfair” and expressed his concern for Ratcliff and Gibbs’ chances of winning the owner’s championship due to the penalties, “To crush Joe Gibbs like that and say he can’t win an owner’s championship with the 20 this year, I just can’t wrap my arms around that,” Kenseth said. “It just blows me away. The same for Jason Ratcliff. I don’t feel bad for myself at all, but for Jason and Joe, I couldn’t feel any worse. There are no more reputable, hard-working, honest guys than them two. I feel really bad for them.

Well, the penalties haven’t slowed the pace of the No. 20 team, as Kenseth claimed his 10th career pole in 481 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. It’s his second of the season, first at Richmond International Raceway, and fifth top-10 start of 2013.

Richmond Picks

Nothing to recap from last week as I had an off week, so on to my picks for tonight’s Toyota Owners 400.

Winner Pick
On Wednesday, I joined Greg DePalma on the Prime Sports Network to preview tonight’s race from RIR. My pick before the cars unloaded and the starting lineup was set was Kyle Busch. He was the favorite on Wednesday going into the weekend, and with his 8th starting position, remains the favorite going into the race tonight. Busch lead late in the race last night in the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ Toyotacare 250, but was passed with 10 laps to go by eventual race-winner Brad Kesolowski.

Looking back at Kyle Busch’s stats in the Sprint Cup Series at Richmond, he’s won the past four spring races at Richmond, has finished in the top 5 in 12 of his 16 starts at the .75 mile short track, and out of the 23 tracks the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits each year, Richmond is his best. Kyle is the guy to beat this week.

Dark Horse Pick
The stand-in driver for the No. 11 FedEx Toyota team is Brian Vickers again this week. He has done a tremendous job in keeping the Joe Gibbs Racing team afloat in the absence of Denny Hamlin. Vickers qualified the No. 11 Toyota outside the front row for tonight’s Toyota Owners 400 and has shown a ton of speed in both the practice sessions on Friday, 5th fastest in first practice and 3rd in Happy Hour. Though Vickers has struggled throughout his career on the short tracks, he has finished in the top-10 in three of his last four short track starts, including a top-5 at Bristol last August.

I like the job Vickers has done so far in the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and with a front-row starting position tonight, he’s put himself in position for a solid finish.

That’s all for this week, so until we strap on the restrictor plates….You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!