2023 Toyota Owners 400 Explained

Type:	CUST
Description:	Race 7 of 36 in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series
Race Name:	Toyota Owners 400
Details Ref:	^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8]
Year:	2023
Location:	Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia
Course Mi:	0.75
Course Km:	1.2
Distance Laps:	400
Distance Mi:	300
Distance Km:	480
Avg:	91.085mph
Pole Driver:	Alex Bowman
Pole Team:	Hendrick Motorsports
Pole Time:	3.050 (Pandemic Formula)
Most Driver:	William Byron
Most Team:	Hendrick Motorsports
Most Laps:	117
Car:	5
First Driver:	Kyle Larson
First Team:	Hendrick Motorsports
Network:	FS1
Announcers:	Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Larry McReynolds
Radio:	MRN
Booth Ann:	Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and Rusty Wallace
Turn Ann:	Dave Moody (Backstretch)

The 2023 Toyota Owners 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on April 2, 2023, at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Contested over 400 laps on the 0.75 mile (1.2 km) asphalt short track, it was the seventh race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. It was the last full-time start for Cody Ware before he missed the dirt track race and getting suspended by NASCAR after his arrest on April 10.

Report

Background

Richmond Raceway (RR) is a 0.75 miles (1.21 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.^[9] Known as "America's premier short track", it has formerly hosted events such as the International Race of Champions, Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown, and the USAC sprint car series. Due to Richmond Raceway's unique "D" shape which allows drivers to reach high speeds, Richmond has long been known as a short track that races like a superspeedway. With its multiple racing grooves, and proclivity for contact Richmond is a favorite among NASCAR drivers and fans.^[10]

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1		nowrap		Chevrolet
2			Ford
3			Chevrolet
4			Ford
5			Chevrolet
6			Ford
7			Chevrolet
8			Chevrolet
9	Josh Berry (i)		Chevrolet
10			Ford
11			Toyota
12			Ford
13	Chandler Smith (i)		Chevrolet
14			Ford
15			Ford
16			Chevrolet
17			Ford
19			Toyota
20			Toyota
21			Ford
22			Ford
23			Toyota
24			Chevrolet
31			Chevrolet
34			Ford
38			Ford
41			Ford
42	Noah Gragson (R)		Chevrolet
43			Chevrolet
45			Toyota
47	nowrap			Chevrolet
48			Chevrolet
51			Ford
54	Ty Gibbs (R)		Toyota
77			Chevrolet
78	Anthony Alfredo (i)		Chevrolet
99			Chevrolet
Official entry list

Practice

Practice was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Qualifying

Qualifying was cancelled due to inclement weather. Alex Bowman was awarded the pole for the race as a result of NASCAR's pandemic formula with a score of 3.050.

Starting Lineup

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	48			Chevrolet
2	8			Chevrolet
3	24			Chevrolet
4	1			Chevrolet
5	45			Toyota
6	2			Ford
7	17			Ford
8	47			Chevrolet
9	5			Chevrolet
10	4			Ford
11	11			Toyota
12	19			Toyota
13	38			Ford
14	54	Ty Gibbs (R)		Toyota
15	34			Ford
16	7			Chevrolet
17	12			Ford
18	22			Ford
19	14			Ford
20	99			Chevrolet
21	20			Toyota
22	43			Chevrolet
23	42	Noah Gragson (R)		Chevrolet
24	6			Ford
25	16			Chevrolet
26	21			Ford
27	3			Chevrolet
28	23			Toyota
29	31			Chevrolet
30	9	Josh Berry (i)		Chevrolet
31	51			Ford
32	41			Ford
33	10			Ford
34	15			Ford
35	78	Anthony Alfredo (i)		Chevrolet
36	77			Chevrolet
37	13	Chandler Smith (i)		Chevrolet
Official starting lineup

Race

Race results

Stage Results

Stage OneLaps: 70

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	10
2	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	9
3	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	8
4	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	7
5	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	6
6	45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Toyota	5
7	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	4
8	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	3
9	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	2
10	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	1
Official stage one results

Stage TwoLaps: 160

Pos		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	10
2	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	9
3	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	8
4	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	7
5	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	6
6	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	5
7	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	4
8	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	3
9	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	2
10	54	Ty Gibbs (R)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	1
Official stage two results

Final Stage Results

Stage ThreeLaps: 170

Pos	Grid		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	9	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	400	52
2	30	9	Josh Berry (i)	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	400	0
3	4	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	400	48
4	21	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	400	45
5	10	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	400	41
6	15	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	400	31
7	18	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	400	36
8	1	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	400	-23
9	14	54	Ty Gibbs (R)	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	400	29
10	24	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	400	34
11	12	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	400	33
12	19	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	400	26
13	33	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	400	24
14	2	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	400	23
15	13	38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	400	22
16	5	45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Toyota	400	26
17	37	13	Chandler Smith (i)	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	400	0
18	32	41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	400	19
19	26	21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	400	18
20	11	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racinfg	Toyota	400	27
21	16	7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	400	16
22	28	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	400	15
23	20	99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing	Chevrolet	400	14
24	3	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	400	-29
25	27	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	399	12
26	17	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	399	11
27	25	16	A. J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	399	10
28	6	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	399	9
29	29	31	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	399	8
30	7	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford	398	7
31	22	43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet	398	6
32	36	77	Ty Dillon	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	398	5
33	35	78	Anthony Alfredo (i)	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet	396	0
34	31	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	395	3
35	8	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	384	2
36	34	15	J. J. Yeley	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	383	1
37	23	42	Noah Gragson (R)	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet	303	1
Official race results

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 22 among 11 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 8 for 54 laps
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 3 hours, 17 minutes and 37 seconds
• Average speed: 91.085mph

Media

Television

Fox Sports covered their 22nd race at the Richmond Raceway. Mike Joy, two-time Richmond winner Clint Bowyer, and Larry McReynolds called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled pit road for the television side.

Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Rusty Wallace called the race in the booth when the field raced down the frontstretch. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform inside the backstretch when the field raced down the backstretch. Steve Post, Jason Toy, and Brienne Pedigo handled pit road for the radio side.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1		263
	2	Ross Chastain	259 (–4)
4	3	Christopher Bell	229 (–34)
1	4		228 (–35)
1	5	Kevin Harvick	227 (–36)
3	6	Kyle Larson	222 (–41)
2	7	Joey Logano	222 (–41)
4	8	Kyle Busch	215 (–48)
2	9	Martin Truex Jr.	198 (–65)
2	10	Brad Keselowski	196 (–67)
3	11	Ryan Blaney	188 (–75)
2	12	Denny Hamlin	188 (–75)
	13	Tyler Reddick	187 (–76)
4	14	Austin Cindric	175 (–88)
1	15	Chris Buescher	164 (–99)
1	16	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	161 (–102)
Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings

	Pos	Manufacturer	Points
	1	Chevrolet	268
	2	Toyota	239 (–29)
	3	Ford	236 (–32)

• Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2023 schedule . Jayski.com. . October 10, 2022.
2. Web site: Richmond International Raceway. NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC.. March 10, 2023. January 3, 2013. September 3, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150903070908/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/richmond-international-raceway.html. dead.
3. News: NASCAR releases 2023 Cup Series schedule highlighted by new Chicago, All-Star race stops . Taranto, Steven . September 14, 2022 . March 10, 2023 . CBS Broadcasting Inc.
4. News: NASCAR unveils 2023 schedule for its national series . September 14, 2022 . March 10, 2023 . National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC.
5. Web site: Entry List. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 27, 2023. March 27, 2023.
6. Web site: Starting Lineup. NASCAR.com. NASCAR. April 1, 2023. April 1, 2023.
7. Web site: Toyota Owners 400 Results. NASCAR.com. NASCAR. April 2, 2023. April 2, 2023.
8. Web site: Points standings. Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. April 2, 2023. April 2, 2023.
9. Web site: NASCAR Truck Series returning to Richmond in April, 2020 . Richmond Times-Dispatch.
10. Web site: Motorsport.com Tony Stewart's favorite track is Richmond.= .