Richmond International Raceway Tag

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway was a mixed bag for the 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year (ROTY) contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. All of the rookies have had previous experience at Richmond in other NASCAR Series. Two of the ROTY contenders ran relatively well, others fell short. Daniel Suarez had the best starting position of the five rookies, placing his No. 19 ARRIS Toyota Camry 11th on the starting grid. Early in the final stage, Suarez nearly hitRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer There’s something about the number six for Darrell Wallace, Jr. Last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, Wallace missed a chance to tie a record for consecutive finishing positions. In five of the first six races this season, Wallace had finished in sixth and the driver looked to rebound at Richmond International Raceway after a crash at Bristol. In the first practice for the NASCAR Xfinity Series ToyotaCare 250, Wallace placed his No. 6 Mello Yello Ford Mustang 24th on the speed charts. He improved toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For the second year in a row, Justin Allgaier found himself in the lead late at Richmond International Raceway only to not end the day in victory lane. In Saturday’s ToyotaCare 250, Allgaier was the dominant car throughout the event, but came up short of his second win of the season, having to settle for a second-place finish instead. Taking the lead for the first time at lap 27 after starting in sixth place, Allgaier would finish the first stage in second place behind AustinRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service RICHMOND, Va. – Matt Kenseth won’t have to come from the middle of nowhere, as he did last Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he started 22nd, charged toward the front in the closing laps and finished fourth. Quite the contrary. In Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 (on FOX at 2 p.m. ET) at Richmond International Raceway, Kenseth will lead the field to the green flag in the ninth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season after winning the pole during Friday’s knockoutRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor When looking through the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garage area, the number of drivers that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has had an impact on throughout his career is countless. Martin Truex, Jr. is a prime example of that, as Truex may have never gotten his shot to make it to the Cup Series contending for wins and championships if not for the connection between himself and Earnhardt. Having made only a handful of starts for his family team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series between lateRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer Last week’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway brought Darrell ‘Bubba’ Wallace Jr.’s streak of sixth place finishes in his No. 6 Ford Mustang to an abrupt end. Late in the race, he spun to avoid one accident and was nailed by the No. 0 of Garrett Smithley who had nowhere to go. As the NASCAR Xfinity Series moves on to Richmond International Raceway for the ToyotaCare 250, Wallace’s Roush-Fenway Racing Ford Mustang will have a new look. For the first time thisRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer  The last time the NASCAR Xfinity Series visited Richmond International Raceway, Kyle Busch took home the victory in dominant fashion, beating Erik Jones by 6.453 seconds. The last time a NASCAR Xfinity Series regular won at Richmond was Chase Elliott in the Fall race in 2015. There are no former winners in this weekend’s race, guaranteeing a different winner for the fifth Richmond race in a row. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers in the field this weekend include Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heading back to another short track this weekend at Richmond International Raceway after a rain-delayed Monday race at Bristol, we’re set for another edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater” to take a look back at the 2008 Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond, which showcased racing at Richmond at its finest. Heading into the race weekend, there were several storylines that were the talk of the sport, including Denny Hamlin seeking his first win at hisRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After a rain delayed race at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend produced one of the best races of the season, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series packs up and heads to another short track, the third in the last four races, with Sunday’s running of the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Often described as the perfectly designed race track by drivers, the 0.75 mile track lends itself to not only short track characteristics of beating and banging, but also the characteristics of aRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After enduring a tumultuous first season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series back in 2014, Martins Motorsports and driver Tommy Joe Martins took an absence from NASCAR’s second tier series over the past two seasons, but on Friday, the team announced that they would be making a return beginning with the April 22nd event at Bristol Motor Speedway. “The timing was right,” team owner Craig Martins said. “We had a tremendous opportunity to make this move, and we took it. A return to Xfinity was aRead More