With the benefit of a fast final pit stop, Kyle Larson grabbed the lead late at Richmond Raceway on Sunday and went on to earn his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2023 season.
Larson 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 .75-mile Richmond oval. Berry, driving for injured Chase Elliott, finished runner-up, capturing his best ever series finish – 1.535-seconds behind Larson to the checkered flag.
Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top five.
It marks Larson’s 20th career win and the first ever 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. “Things just worked out and my pit crew had a great stop.”
It was a Hendrick Motorsports day with Larson and Berry besting the field. And their teammate William Byron led the most laps (117) and won 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’s) part. It is what it is. I had a great race car.”
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 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 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.
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.
NASCAR Cup Series
Richmond Raceway – Richmond, VA
Toyota Owners 400 – April 2, 2023
1. (9) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 400.
2. (30) Josh Berry(i), Chevrolet, 400.
3. (4) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 400.
4. (21) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 400.
5. (10) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 400.
6. (15) Michael McDowell, Ford, 400.
7. (18) Joey Logano, Ford, 400.
8. (1) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 400.
9. (14) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 400.
10. (24) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 400.
11. (12) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 400.
12. (19) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 400.
13. (32) Aric Almirola, Ford, 400.
14. (2) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 400.
15. (13) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 400.
16. (5) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 400.
17. (37) Chandler Smith(i), Chevrolet, 400.
18. (33) Ryan Preece, Ford, 400.
19. (26) Harrison Burton, Ford, 400.
20. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 400.
21. (16) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 400.
22. (28) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 400.
23. (20) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 400.
24. (3) William Byron, Chevrolet, 400.
25. (27) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 399.
26. (17) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 399.
27. (25) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 399.
28. (6) Austin Cindric, Ford, 399.
29. (29) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 399.
30. (7) Chris Buescher, Ford, 398.
31. (22) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 398.
32. (36) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 398.
33. (35) Anthony Alfredo(i), Chevrolet, 396.
34. (31) Cody Ware, Ford, 395.
35. (8) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 384.
36. (34) J.J. Yeley(i), Ford, 383.
37. (23) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, Accident, 303.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 91.085 mph.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 17 Mins, 37 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.535 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 8 for 54 laps.
Lead Changes: 22 among 11 drivers.
Lap Leaders: A. Bowman 0;K. Busch 1;A. Bowman 2-9;W. Byron 10-33;R. Chastain 34-49;W. Byron 50-123;K. Larson 124-160;D. Hamlin 161-166;K. Larson 167-196;W. Byron 197-206;C. Bell 207-227;D. Hamlin 228-234;C. Bell 235;D. Hamlin 236-293;B. Wallace 294;M. Truex Jr. 295-307;K. Larson 308;M. Truex Jr. 309-351;C. Bell 352-355;B. Keselowski 356;J. Berry(i) 357-366;W. Byron 367-375;K. Larson 376-400.
Leaders Summary: (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led) William Byron 4 times for 117 laps; Kyle Larson 4 times for 93 laps; Denny Hamlin 3 times for 71 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 2 times for 56 laps; Christopher Bell 3 times for 26 laps; Ross Chastain 1 time for 16 laps; Josh Berry(i) 1 time for 10 laps; Alex Bowman 1 time for 8 laps; Brad Keselowski 1 time for 1 lap; Kyle Busch 1 time for 1 lap; Bubba Wallace 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 24,5,1,4,22,45,48,20,6,14
Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,20,24,19,1,6,48,5,4,54
Playoff Standings: 1. William Byron – 228 (2 Wins); 2. Kyle Larson – 222 (1 Win); 3. Joey Logano – 222 (1 Win); 4. Kyle Busch – 215 (1 Win); 5. Tyler Reddick – 187 (1 Win); 6. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 161 (1 Win); 7. Alex Bowman – 263; 8. Ross Chastain – 259; 9. Christopher Bell – 229; 10. Kevin Harvick – 227; 11. Martin Truex, Jr. – 198; 12. Brad Keselowski – 196; 13. Ryan Blaney – 188; 14. Denny Hamlin – 188; 15. Austin Cindric – 175; 16. Chris Buescher – 164.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
