The whole race changed after the eleventh and last caution came out in Saturday night’s Toyota Owners 400, as most of the drivers pitted while a few stayed out. When the green flag fell for the restart, craziness ensued and Kevin Harvick came out of nowhere to take the lead with two laps to go. That pass for the lead left him in victory lane after a race that could resulted in at least ten different winners. The ‘Closer’ did it again by doing what he does best and taking the victory after taking the lead late in the race. Carnage was the name of the game leading up to the last restart, but that wild ending will forever be the legacy of this race. Continue reading →
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #22 SKF / Discount Tire Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond International Raceway on April 26, 2013 Photo – Patrick Smith/Getty Images
All night long it was Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Busch battling up-front. The drivers exchanged the lead multiple times over the course of the race. When it was all said and done, Keselowski emerged victorious. All three drivers held the lead at some point with less than 35 laps to go, but the last pass for the lead Keselowski made with ten laps to go led him to victory. It wasn’t a dominant performance by Keselowski, but it was good enough to get him to victory lane. Continue reading →
Kyle Busch leads the last restart of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Capital City 400 Presented by Virginia Is For Lovers at Richmond International Raceway April 28, 2012 Photo – Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
‘Rough,’ ‘tight,’ and ‘close’ are three words that could describe Richmond International Raceway. Fans love this track because of the ‘close’ corridor racing it features. Along with ‘tight’ racing comes carnage and races at Richmond tend to see their fair share of ‘tough’ beating and banging competition.
A driver who just about owns the keys to victory lane at Richmond is Kyle Busch. Busch won the last four Spring races at the track and will be going for five on Saturday night. Busch will do just about anything to win and that is one reason to believe this weekend’s race is a must-watch event.
The Toyota Owners 400 will take place on Saturday, April 27, 2013 and the green-flag will wave at 7:44 PM EST. The winner decision comes after a grueling 400 laps and 300 miles. Saturday night’s weather is forecast as mainly clear with some clouds, a low of 49 F and only a 20% chance of rain. A TV broadcast of the race is on FOX and a radio version of the race is on MRN.
Kyle Busch has absolutely dominated this track in the past and will likely be out front again on Saturday. Even when Busch has a not-so-good season, he still manages to win the Spring Richmond race. With Busch’s teammate, Denny Hamlin, still sidelined due to injury, Busch is the overwhelming favorite for this race. Last year, Busch broke out of his slump and took the victory. This season, he is still on a hot start and could easily dominate this race and end up in victory lane for a fifth straight time on Saturday.
Over the past few weeks, NASCAR has issued several penalties and fines and heading into this weekend, a few teams are waiting out an appeal on their penalties. Last week’s race winner, Matt Kenseth, was the victim of NASCAR’s harshest penalty. He received a dock of 50 driver points and a suspension of his crew chief, Jason Ratcliff, after his engine failed post-race inspection last weekend. Joe Gibbs Racing is appealing the fines and suspensions so Ratcliff will still be at the track until the appeal is heard. Joe Gibbs Racing now joins Penske Racing in the waiting area for their appeal process to take place.
While Kenseth is basically stripped of his win last weekend, Jimmie Johnson continues to stay on top of the point standings. Johnson’s teammate, Kasey Kahne, is now in second place and Brad Keselowski trails both in third. Richmond hasn’t always been nice to Johnson and he could end up losing the points lead after Saturday night’s race. Anything can happen on a short-track and that could mean a major points shake-up after the race.
The racing at Richmond never disappoints and this weekend’s race gives fans reason to expect another good one. Obviously, many are expecting Kyle Busch at his best this weekend, but other Toyota drivers including Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth could easily be competing with Busch for the win. Toyota drivers always seem to do the best at Richmond and it will only be fitting for a Toyota driver to win in a race they sponsor. Action will be the word used most on Saturday night and our anticipation keeps growing for that action. This weekend’s race will be a good one and could feature some fantastic racing which we’ve been accustomed to seeing so far this season. Continue reading →
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 The Home Depot/Husky Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series STP 400 at Kansas Speedway on April 21, 2013 Photo – Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
Another dominant performance by a driver left that driver in victory lane at the end of the day. In the last few races it has been guys like Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch, but today it was Matt Kenseth. Kenseth dominated the race and he held of Kasey Kahne for the victory. At Las Vegas earlier this season, Kenseth won the race by holding off Kahne and that’s what he did again today.
Kenseth started on top and ended on top. He won the pole and started the race by leading for a long period. While he was leading, his teammates were having some difficulties. Kyle Busch brought out the first caution when he spun off turn two and the fourth caution of the day came out by Elliott Sadler ,who was running for JGR today, when he spun in turn four and backed his car into the outside wall. More JGR trouble occurred when Busch spun again, but this time in turn four and when he slid down the track, Joey Logano plowed into his front end. A huge impact destroyed the noses of the two cars and the day for both Busch and Logano was finished. Continue reading →
