Toyota Owners 400 highlights: Kyle Larson victorious at Richmond Raceway
The NASCAR Cup Series' April schedule kicked off Sunday with the Toyota Owners 400, as Kyle Larson came out on top at Richmond Raceway, and we had you covered with all the action from start to finish on FS1 and the FOX Sports App!
NASCAR returned to Richmond, Virginia to begin three consecutive weeks of short-track racing. Drivers raced 400 laps around the .75-mile paved oval track, covering a total of 300 miles in Sunday's showdown.
The race was made up of an 80-lap opening stage, followed by 155 laps in the second stage and 165 in the third and final stage. The Toyota Owners 400 marked the 133rd Cup race hosted by Richmond Raceway in the series’ history.
Here are the top moments!
Green!
Alex Bowman was on the pole after qualifying was rained out Saturday. Bowman has a win at Richmond in 13 Cup starts.
Hot start
A battle for the lead was shaping up early, as William Byron ran down Bowman for the top spot right out of the gate.
Byron powered around the outside of Bowman and took the lead on Lap 11.
Trouble on the track
Denny Hamlin got squeezed between J.J. Yeley and Chandler Smith on the exit of Turn 4, sending Yeley spinning.
The green flag was back out on Lap 51, as Larson made a big move to challenge Ross Chastain and Byron for the lead.
Stage 1 in the books
Byron drove away with the win in the opening stage, followed by Larson, Chastain, Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano.
On the move
The green flag returned on Lap 80 to begin a much longer Stage 2 — but it was short-lived. Josh Berry spun off Turn 4 after contact with Ryan Blaney to bring out for the fourth caution of the day.
Elsewhere, Austin Cindric dropped back to being the last car on the lead lap with an apparent engine problem after running in the top 10 earlier in the race.
Follow the leader!
The green flag was out again at Lap 102, as Larson caught Byron for the lead.
Not so fast!
Blaney ran into trouble on his stop after his team couldn't get the wedge wrench out of his car before he drove off.
Contact!
Meanwhile, Larson sustained some right front fender damage from a slight collision with Daniel Suárez on pit road.
Anyone's race
Christopher Bell took the lead coming up on 20 laps to go in Stage 2, overtaking Byron and putting a lap on Tyler Reddick. With 10 laps remaining in the second stage, Bell had driven away from the field, as Hamlin moved into second.
Heating up
A late rally by Hamlin secured him the win in Stage 2 after a bumpy start to Sunday's race. It was the first stage win for Hamlin this season. Bell, Byron, Martin Truex Jr. and Chastain rounded out the top-five finishers in the second stage.
Big miscue
Hamlin's crew had trouble on his pit-road stop in the third stage, but a quick caution came out after Noah Gragson smacked into the wall.
That ended up being a huge break for Hamlin, who was back in 10th place with 88 laps to go at the restart.
Trouble in Turn 2
Reddick went for a spin in Turn 2, just as Truex was giving Byron a run for his money at the front of the field.
Another one!
Bell tagged Byron in Turn 1 on th restart, sending Byron spinning into the outside wall to draw another caution.
Down to the wire
Another restart came with 14 laps to go, as Larson and Berry battled for the late lead and Truex dropped to sixth.
With 10 laps to go, Larson lead continued to grow. It was up to about a second approached five laps remaining.
Winner!
In the end, Larson was able to hang on to secure the win at Richmond Raceway, his first victory of 2023.
He was followed by Berry, Chastain, Bell and Harvick to round out the five top finishers in Sunday's race.
Read more:
- NASCAR Cup Series: Full 2023 schedule, dates, race results
- Ranking all-time best drivers from Virginia ahead of Richmond race
- Daniel Suárez fined $50K for running into back of Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman
- NASCAR appeals board rescinds points penalty to Hendrick drivers
- NASCAR Power Rankings: Tyler Reddick vaults into top 5 after COTA victory
- Road-racing stars get taste of NASCAR Cup Series at COTA: 'The action is amazing'
- NASCAR takeaways: Tyler Reddick puts on dominant road-course display at COTA
- EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix: Tyler Reddick wins in triple OT at COTA
- How Ross Chastain, Trackhouse became a championship contender
- Drivers, teams react to recent penalties handed down by NASCAR
Joey Logano on playoff format: 'To say (title) isn't real, it's a bunch of bull'
Joey Logano enters esteemed company with third Cup title: 'He shows up in the playoffs'
What to know about NASCAR antitrust lawsuit: Preliminary injunction denied
Christopher Bell: 'I feel cheated' out of championship berth
NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison dies at age 86
-
Joey Logano on playoff format: 'To say (title) isn't real, it's a bunch of bull'
Joey Logano enters esteemed company with third Cup title: 'He shows up in the playoffs'
What to know about NASCAR antitrust lawsuit: Preliminary injunction denied
-
Christopher Bell: 'I feel cheated' out of championship berth
NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison dies at age 86
