Sunday, April 2nd, 2023
Richmond Raceway, Richmond, VA
With the benefit of a fast final pit stop, Kyle Larson was able to put his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet out front at Richmond (Va.) Raceway and then hold off the field in the last 25 laps of Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 to earn his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2023 season.
The 30-year old Californian had to out-duel his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Josh Berry on a pair of re-starts in the closing laps to secure the win at the first short track event of the season at the .75-mile Richmond oval. Berry, driving the No. 9 Hendrick Chevy for injured Chase Elliott, finished runner-up capturing his best ever NASCAR Cup Series finish – 1.535-seconds behind Larson to the checkered flag.
Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain, Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell and Stewart-Haas Racing's Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five.
It was the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Larson's 20th career win and the first ever NASCAR Cup Series victory for his interim crew chief Kevin Meendering, who has led the No. 5 team at-track while fulltime crew chief Cliff Daniels – along with the Hendrick team's other three crew chiefs – finish out a suspension penalty from NASCAR.
"It's really cool, we've been close to winning a couple,'' Larson said, adding, "Things just worked out and my pit crew had a great stop.''
It was certainly a Hendrick Motorsports day with Larson and Berry besting the field. And their teammate William Byron leading the most laps (117) and winning his series-best fifth stage. The season's only two-time winner Byron looked poised to have a say in the trophy hoist too, only to be knocked out of contention when he was hit from behind by Christopher Bell on a restart with 20 laps remaining.
"I was just re-starting fourth there, just trying to stay tight to the 9 [Berry] and get a good restart and got tagged in the left rear,'' said a frustrated Byron, who finished 24th. "Just a dive-bomb move on his [Bell] part. It is what it is. I had a great race car.
"The Raptor Chevrolet was awesome all day. We'll just keep bringing fast race cars like that. It was looking like another win before that caution there, but that's the way it goes.''
Larson led four different times, totaling 93 laps on the afternoon and survived contact on pit road with Daniel Suárez's Chevrolet early in the race. It was Larson's second Richmond win (also in 2017) and the fifth for Chevy through the season's opening seven races.
The Toyota contingent looked to give the Chevys a real run, looking especially strong mid-race. Four Toyota drivers combined to lead 154 laps – more than the manufacterer had been out front in the previous six races. Denny Hamlin's No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota paced the Toyotas leading 71 laps and claiming the Stage 2 win, but a pair of pit road penalties – including a costly one on his final stop, took him out of contention. He finished 20th.
"What an awesome Hendrickcars.com Chevy,'' Larson said. "Can't say enough about it. I got into the 99 [Suarez] on pit road there sometime in the second stage, and we were awful after that. I was hoping the damage was the reason why, but they had to calm me down a little bit and get refocused and was able to get it done.
"Thanks to everyone on this team, Cliff Daniels, for everything he does to prepare the team to be as strong as we are without him on the box. So good to get a win, and hopefully many more."
Michael McDowell finished sixth – his first top-10 finish of the year. Reigning series champion Joey Logano was seventh, followed by polesitter Alex Bowman, rookie Ty Gibbs and owner-driver Brad Keselowski. Gibbs ninth place effort marked his third consecutive top-10 finish.
ENTRY | # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | DOB | AGE | MAKE | SPONSOR | TEAM | CREW CHIEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Los Gatos, CA | Dec 16, 1981 | 42 | Chevrolet | Action Industries | Kaulig Racing | Matt Swiderski |
2 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Tampa, FL | Mar 14, 1984 | 40 | Ford | Smithfield | Stewart-Haas Racing | Drew Blickensderfer |
3 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Auburn Hills, MI | Feb 12, 1984 | 40 | Ford | Solomon Plumbing | RFK Racing | Matt McCall |
4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Chesterfield, VA | Nov 18, 1980 | 43 | Toyota | Shingrix | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chris Gabehart |
5 | 15 | JJ Yeley | Phoenix, AZ | Oct 5, 1976 | 48 | Ford | CW & Sons Infrastructure | Rick Ware Racing | Billy Plourde |
6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Middleton, CT | May 24, 1990 | 34 | Ford | Shell Pennzoil | Team Penske | Paul Wolfe |
7 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Bakersfield, CA | Dec 8, 1975 | 48 | Ford | GEARWRENCH | Stewart-Haas Racing | Rodney Childers |
8 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Las Vegas, NV | May 2, 1985 | 39 | Chevrolet | 3CHI | Richard Childress Racing | Randall Burnett |
9 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr | Mayetta, NJ | Jun 29, 1980 | 44 | Toyota | Auto-Owners Insurance | Joe Gibbs Racing | James Small |
10 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Phoenix, AZ | Dec 21, 1984 | 39 | Ford | Love's Travel Stops | Front Row Motorsports | Travis Peterson |
11 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Lewisville, NC | Apr 27, 1990 | 34 | Chevrolet | BREZTRI | Richard Childress Racing | Keith Rodden |
12 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Olive Branch, MS | Oct 2, 1987 | 37 | Chevrolet | Kroger/Kraft Mac & Cheese | JTG Daugherty Racing | Mike Kelley |
13 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Sacremento, CA | Jul 31, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | HendrickCars.com | Hendrick Motorsports | Kevin Meendering |
14 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Tuscon, AZ | Apr 25, 1993 | 31 | Chevrolet | Ally | Hendrick Motorsports | Greg Ives |
15 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | High Point, NC | Dec 31, 1993 | 30 | Ford | Menards\Moen | Team Penske | Jonathan Hassler |
16 | 7 | Corey Lajoie | Kannapolis, NC | Sep 25, 1991 | 33 | Chevrolet | BlueGreen Vacations | Spire Motorsports | Ryan Sparks |
17 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Lewisville, NC | Feb 27, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | NationsGuard | Spire Motorsports | Kevin Bellicourt |
18 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Prosper, TX | Oct 29, 1992 | 31 | Ford | Castrol Edge | RFK Racing | Scott Graves |
19 | 43 | Erik Jones | Byron, MI | May 30, 1996 | 28 | Chevrolet | U.S. AIR FORCE | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB | Dave Elenz |
20 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Berlin, CT | Oct 25, 1990 | 33 | Ford | United Rentals | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chad Johnston |
21 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Monterrey, Mexico | Jan 7, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | Quaker State | Trackhouse Racing | Travis Mack |
22 | 51 | Cody Ware | Greensboro, NC | Nov 7, 1995 | 28 | Ford | Biohaven/Jacob Co. | Rick Ware Racing | Jerry Kelley |
23 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Alva, FL | Dec 4, 1992 | 31 | Chevrolet | Jockey | Trackhouse Racing | Phil Surgen |
24 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Mobile, AL | Oct 8, 1993 | 31 | Toyota | Leidos | 23XI Racing | Bootie Barker |
25 | 24 | William Byron | Charlotte, NC | Nov 29, 1997 | 26 | Chevrolet | RaptorTough.com | Hendrick Motorsports | Brian Campe |
26 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | Corning, CA | Jan 11, 1996 | 28 | Toyota | SiriusXM Radio | 23XI Racing | Billy Scott |
27 | 31 | Justin Haley | Winamac, IN | Apr 28, 1999 | 25 | Chevrolet | LeafFilter Gutter Protection | Kaulig Racing | Trent Owens |
28 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Norman, OK | Dec 16, 1994 | 29 | Toyota | Rheem | Joe Gibbs Racing | Adam Stevens |
29 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Columbus, OH | Sep 2, 1998 | 26 | Ford | Discount Tire | Team Penske | Jeremy Bullins |
30 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mitchell, IN | Dec 15, 1994 | 29 | Ford | Mahindra Tractors | Stewart-Haas Racing | Johnny Klausmeier |
31 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Huntersville, NC | Oct 9, 2000 | 24 | Ford | Menards \ Dutch Boy | Wood Brothers Racing | Brian Wilson |
32 | 42 | Noah Gragson | Las Vegas, NV | Jul 15, 1998 | 26 | Chevrolet | Sunseeker Resort | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB | Luke Lambert |
33 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | Ridgefield, CT | Mar 1, 1999 | 25 | Chevrolet | DUDE WIPES | Live Fast Motorsports | David Ingram |
34 | 9 | Josh Berry | Hendersonville, TN | Oct 22, 1990 | 33 | Chevrolet | NAPA Auto Parts | Hendrick Motorsports | Tom Gray |
35 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Charlotte, NC | Oct 4, 2002 | 22 | Toyota | Monster Energy | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chris Gayle |
36 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Sherrills Ford, NC | May 15, 2000 | 24 | Ford | Quincy Compressor | Front Row Motorsports | Ryan Bergenty |
37 | 13 | Chandler Smith | Talking Rock, GA | Jun 26, 2002 | 22 | Chevrolet | Quick Tie Products, Inc. | Kaulig Racing | Eddie Pardue |