April 28, 2017
- Final-round surge puts Matt Kenseth on Richmond pole: 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 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 knockout qualifying session.More](4-28-2017)
- Kenseth wins Richmond pole: #20-Matt Kenseth won the Coors Light pole for the Toyota Owners 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway with speed of 121.076mph for his 1st pole of 2017, 2nd at Richmond and 19th of his career. Kenseth has won 4 times from the 18 previous poles.
#21-Blaney will start 2nd followed by #78-Truex, Jr., #17-Stenhouse, Jr., #22-Logano, #4-Harvick, #18-Busch, #14-Bowyer, #41-Busch, #1-McMurray, #19-Suarez, and #88-Earnhardt Jr.
#22-Logano was fastest in both the first and second rounds. He will start 5th.
Driver(s) who will miss the race: none as 38 were entered for 40 spots
See round-by-round qualifying results on the Richmond qualifying results page (pdf) and the complete starting lineup on the Richmond Starting Lineup page (pdf).(4-28-2017) - Richmond International Raceway – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Matt Kenseth won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 63rd Annual Toyota Owners 400 with a lap of 22.300 seconds, 121.076 mph.
This is his 19th pole in 623 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and fifth top-10 start in 2017.
This is his second pole in 35 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Ryan Blaney (second) posted his sixth top-10 start of 2017 and his first in three races at Richmond International Raceway. This is his third front row start of the season (Phoenix, Texas and Richmond).
Martin Truex Jr. (third) posted his 11th top-10 start at Richmond International Raceway. It is his seventh in nine races this season.
Daniel Suarez (11th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(4-28-2017) - Second Round of Qualifying for the Toyota Owners 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is over, after 10 scheduled minutes.
#20-Logano 121.468
#4-Harvick 120.979
#17-Stenhouse, Jr. 120.417
#1-McMurray 120.369
#78-Truex, Jr 120.364
the rest of the top 12: 20 41 18 21 88 19 14
out of the top 12 and not advancing to round 3: 31 24 2 11 48 42 5 77 10 47 37 13
(4-28-2017) - First Round of Qualifying for the Toyota Owners 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is over, after 20 scheduled minutes.
#22-Logano 120.870
#4-Harvick 120.870
#14-Bowyer 120.832
#48-Johnson 120.708
#11-Hamlin 120.434
the rest of the top 24: 78 41 20 24 2 18 31 1 37 42 17 10 5 21 88 77 47 19 13;
out of the top 24 and not advancing to round 2: 43 27 95 34 6 38 23 32 15 83 33 72 51 3
Drivers who will miss the race: none, 38 entered
(4-28-2017) - Dale Earnhardt Jr. press conference transcript: #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. met with members of the media Friday at Richmond International Raceway.[More](4-28-2017)
- Friday practice for the Toyota Owners 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is over, after 85 scheduled minutes, the top-five and notes:
#78-Truex, Jr. 124.178
#77-Jones 123.035
#21-Blaney 122.772
#6-Bayne 122.084
#11-Hamlin 121.726
slowest: #33-Earnhardt 115.701 & #51-Hill 114.889
most laps run: #24-Elliott, 44
Top 10 consecutive lap average: #5-Kahne 119.324
#77-Jones spun early and backed into the wall, but only made minor contact.
See fastest speeds, laps run on the Practice 1 Speeds page (pdf)(4-28-2017) - Sammy Johns to serve as #3 crew chief at Richmond: Richard Childress Racing says Operations Director Sammy Johns will replace Slugger Labbe as the crew chief on the RCR #3 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Chevrolet of Austin Dillon this weekend at Richmond. Labbe will remain at the RCR shop to work on cars for next weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.[More](4-28-2017)
- Richmond Weekend Preview: Kyle Busch in search of first win; Hemric poised for XFINITY run.[More](4-28-2017)
- GearWrench debuts on the #1 at Richmond: After making an announcement at the 2016 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas to partner with Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR), GearWrench will make its debut as a primary partner on the #1 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) Chevrolet SS this weekend at Richmond International Raceway (RIR).[More](4-28-2017)
- Kyle Benjamin paces final XFINITY practice: #20-Kyle Benjamin was quickest in final practice at Richmond International Raceway with a speed of 117.081mph.
#42-Kyle Larson was second, followed by: #48-Brennan Poole, #7-Justin Allgaier, #3-Ty Dillon, #46-Quinn Houff, #62-Brendan Gaughan, #9-William Byron, #11-Blake Koch, and #00-Cole Custer.
All 42 drivers practiced during the session.
See complete results on the Richmond final practice speeds page (pdf).(4-28-2017) - RepairableVehicles.com & Harrison’s WorkWear return to the #51:Jeremy Clements heads to Richmond International Raceway for the third NASCAR XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash race of the season. The #51 JCR Chevy Camaro SS will have RepairableVehicles.com and Harrison’s WorkWear back on board for the ToyotaCare 250 this weekend. [More](4-28-2017)
- Cole Custer fastest in first XFINITY practice: #00-Cole Custer was fastest during opening practice at Richmond International Raceway with a speed of 118.442mph.
The rest of the top 10: #48-Brennan Poole, #3-Ty Dillon, #1-Elliott Sadler, #21-Dniel Hemric, #20-Kyle Benjamin, #33-Brandon Jones, #9-William Byron, #22-Ryan Blaney, and #11-Blake Koch.
40 drivers practiced during the session.
See complete results on the Richmond practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(4-28-2017) - Wastebits joins Tifft as primary sponsor for two more races:Driver Matt Tifft welcomes Wastebits as a sponsor to his #19 Toyota Camry for the remainder of the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) schedule. In addition to the branding run in last week’s Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway event, Wastebits will have two more primary paint schemes this week at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway and next week at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. In addition to the three primary schemes, Wastebits will be featured in an associate position for the remainder of the season. [More](4-28-2017)
- Brandon Jones celebrates Month of the Military Child with special paint scheme: Brandon Jones will race a special paint scheme on his #33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing during this weekend’s event at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The sophomore driver partnered with Hope For The Warriors to have a special red, white and blue paint scheme designed by five-year-old military child, Liam Harshman. Jones has a deep affinity and appreciation for the military and lists it among his top interests, along with youth initiatives. With April designated as the ‘Month of the Military Child’ by the U.S. Department of Defense, Jones decided to merge his two interests with the special paint scheme this weekend. [More](4-28-2017)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles returns for Chicago race entitlement:Chicagoland Speedway and Nickelodeon today announced that the number-one entertainment brand for kids is the entitlement sponsor of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, Sept. 17, dubbed the Tales of the Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. The announcement was made atop the 360 Chicago Observation Deck by Chicagoland Speedway President, Scott Paddock and Nickelodeon Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing, Anthony DiCosmo.[>More](4-28-2017)
- GEICO Partners with Richmond International Raceway for Restart Zone and Campground Sponsorship: Richmond International Raceway’s (Richmond) new look continues to evolve with the return of red stripes and a new wall badge to welcoming GEICO as a naming rights partner to the Restart Zone and it’s four campgrounds. The blue GEICO Restart Zone after turn four will lead drivers back to the green flag following cautions.[More](4-28-2017)
- Three-day ticket package for Homestead Championship weekend on sale now: This year, in addition to hosting the championship race in the Monster Energy Series, Homestead-Miami Speedway will also be the site of another iconic moment. The 2017 Ford EcoBoost 400 is scheduled to be the final Monster Energy Series race in the storied career of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who on Tuesday announced his retirement from the series. 3-Day ticket packages to Ford Championship Weekend, November 17-19, are officially on sale now to the public.[More](4-28-2017)
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