Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Toyota Owners 400

Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, going into the Toyota Owners 400 this Sunday, March 31 at 7 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

RICHMOND-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

(Driver stats below are from 2005 – Present)

Christopher Bell (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

• Four top fives, five top 10s
• Average Finish of 7.714, third-best
• Average Running Position of 11.464, fourth-best
• Driver Rating of 94.5, sixth-best
• 1,985 Laps in the Top 15 (70.9%), sixth-most

Josh Berry (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford)

• One top five, one top 10
• Average Finish of 2.000, series-best
• Average Running Position of 19.578, 13th-best
• Driver Rating of 82.6, 11th-best
• 124 Laps in the Top 15 (31.0%), 13th-most

Kyle Busch (No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet)

• Six wins, 19 top fives, 28 top 10s; one pole
• Average Finish of 7.083, second-best
• Average Running Position of 7.885, second-best
• Driver Rating of 108.0, second-best
• 12,751 Laps in the Top 15 (88.4%), series-most

William Byron (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

• One top five, two top 10s
• Average Finish of 16.000, 11th-best
• Average Running Position of 13.373, ninth-best
• Driver Rating of 83.7, 10th-best
• 2,606 Laps in the Top 15 (59.2%), 10th-most

Austin Dillon (No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet)

• One top five, six top 10s
• Average Finish of 16.316, 12th-best
• Average Running Position of 16.784, 12th-best
• Driver Rating of 74.1, 13th-best
• 3,490 Laps in the Top 15 (45.8%), 12th-most

Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

• Five top fives, six top 10s
• Average Finish of 11.267, sixth-best
• Average Running Position of 11.895, sixth-best
• Driver Rating of 89.7, eighth-best
• 4,336 Laps in the Top 15 (72.1%), fourth-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

• Four wins, 18 top fives, 22 top 10s; three poles
• Average Finish of 8.529, fourth-best
• Average Running Position of 7.707, series-best
• Driver Rating of 109.0, series-best
• 11,718 Laps in the Top 15 (86.0%), second-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 6 RFK Racing Ford)

• Two wins, six top fives, 14 top 10s; two poles
• Average Finish of 12.143, eighth-best
• Average Running Position of 9.820, third-best
• Driver Rating of 99.1, third-best
• 9,066 Laps in the Top 15 (80.8%), third-most

Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

• Two wins, four top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
• Average Finish of 11.333, seventh-best
• Average Running Position of 12.198, seventh-best
• Driver Rating of 90.1, seventh-best
• 5,203 Laps in the Top 15 (72.1%), fifth-most

Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford)

• Two wins, 13 top fives, 18 top 10s; two poles
• Average Finish of 10.034, fifth-best
• Average Running Position of 11.728, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 94.8, fifth-best
• 7,720 Laps in the Top 15 (66.4%), eighth-most

Tyler Reddick (No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota)

• Three top 15s; one pole
• Average Finish of 17.286, 13th-best
• Average Running Position of 15.984, 11th-best
• Driver Rating of 76.3, 12th-best
• 1,390 Laps in the Top 15 (49.6%), 11th-most

Martin Truex Jr. (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

• Three wins, nine top fives, 17 top 10s; one pole
• Average Finish of 15.343, 10th-best
• Average Running Position of 12.511, eighth-best
• Driver Rating of 94.9, fourth-best
• 9,732 Laps in the Top 15 (69.4%), seventh-most

NASCAR Cup Series 2024 Top 16 in the Driver Standings at Richmond Raceway

* – Based on last 37 races at Richmond Raceway (2005 – 2023).

At Richmond Raceway Stats & Tidbits:

TRACK DATA

Location: Richmond, Virgina

Track Size: 0.75-miles

Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 14 degrees

Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 14 degrees

Banking/Frontstretch: 8 degrees

Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees

Frontstretch Length:  1,290 feet

Backstretch Length:  860 feet

RACE INFO

Season Race #: 7 of 36 (03-31-24)

Race Purse: $7,886,627

Race Length: 400 Laps / 300 Miles

Stage 1 Length: 70 laps

Stage 2 Length: 160 laps (ends on Lap 230)

Final Stage Length: 170 laps (ends on Lap 400)

 QUALIFYING & RACE RECORDS

Track Qualifying Record:

Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 130.599 mph, 20.674 secs., September 4, 2013

 2023 Spring Race Pole Winner:

Qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather (April 1, 2023). Alex Bowman started from the first position.

2022 Spring Race Pole Winner:

Ryan Blaney, Ford, 119.782 mph, 22.541 secs., April 2, 2022

 Track Race Record:

Dale Jarrett, Ford, 109.047 mph, (02:45:04), September 6, 1997

2023 Spring Race Winner:

Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 91.085 mph, (03:17:37), April 2, 2023

2022 Spring Race Winner:

Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 97.447 mph, (03:04:43), April 3, 2022

HISTORY

• Originally known as the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds, Richmond Raceway held its first race in 1946 as a half-mile dirt track.
• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway was held on April 19, 1953 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Lee Petty in a Petty Enterprises Dodge with an average speed of 45.535 mph.
• In 1955, Paul Sawyer and former driver Joe Weatherly bought the property. The track was then known as the Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds.
• The spring 1964 race was run on a Tuesday night under temporary lighting.
• The track name changed to Virginia State Fairgrounds in 1967.
• The track surface was changed from dirt to asphalt between races in 1968.
• The track name changed to Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in 1969.
• The track was re-measured to .542-mile in 1970.
• The track was rebuilt as a three-quarters-mile D-shaped oval following the February 21, 1988 race.
• The first race under permanent lights was September 7, 1991.
• In 1999, International Speedway Corporation purchased the raceway and surrounding property. It was the first season with both races as night races and the track was renamed to Richmond International Raceway.
• In 2017, the track underwent renovations to upgrade the amenities for fans and in the process changed the name of the track to Richmond Raceway.
• In total, there have been 134 NASCAR Cup Series races at Richmond Raceway, one event from 1953 – 1958 and two races per year since 1959 to 2019. Due to the pandemic in 2020, the series only raced at Richmond once that season.

 STARTS

• A total of 528 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway; 351 drivers have competed in more than one Cup race at Richmond.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in starts at Richmond Raceway with 63 appearances.
• Top Five In Richmond Cup Series Starts All-Time: Richard Petty (63), Mark Martin (56), Ricky Rudd (55) Terry Labonte (55), Kyle Petty (54).
• Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in starts at Richmond with 36 appearances.
• A total of 51 different drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series have made their series debut at Richmond Raceway; the most recent was Chandler Smith on April 2, 2023.

• Of the 51 drivers who have made their first career NASCAR Cup Series start at Richmond Raceway, Harold Carmac posted the best finish – sixth on April 1, 1962.
• Dick Rathmann leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Richmond Raceway with a 2.0 in two starts.
• Kyle Larson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Richmond Raceway with an 8.889 in 18 starts.

Top 10 in Average Starting Position at Richmond Raceway (All-Time & Active)

POLES

• A total of 58 different drivers have won at least one pole at Richmond Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series; 31 have won multiple poles.
• A total of eight of the 58 NASCAR Cup Series Richmond Raceway pole winners are active this weekend.

• NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty (1961, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 sweep, 1974, 1975) and Bobby Allison (1972 sweep, 1973 sweep, 1974, 1976, 1979, 1982) lead the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Richmond with eight each.
• Denny Hamlin (2006, 2008, 2016) lead all active Cup Series pole winners at Richmond Raceway with three poles.
• Buck Baker won the inaugural pole at Richmond Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series in 1953 with a speed of 48.465 mph in an Oldsmobile owned by Bob Griffin.
• Nine different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have posted their first career pole at Richmond Raceway – none are currently active – the most recent was Brian Vickers on May 15, 2004.

 A total of 11 different drivers have won consecutive poles at Richmond in the NASCAR Cup Series  – Buck Baker (1953, 1956), Ned Jarrett (1960 sweep, 1964 sweep), Rex White (1962, 1963), Richard Petty (1969, 1970 sweep, Bobby Allison (1972-1974), Darrell Waltrip (1983, 1984 sweep, 1985), Alan Kulwicki (1987 sweep), Ted Musgrave (1994 sweep), Joey Logano (2015 sweep), Matt Kenseth (2017 sweep) and Kevin Harvick (2018, 2019) – Logano is the only active driver to accomplish the feat.

• Bobby Allison holds the record for most consecutive poles at Richmond Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series with five straight from 1972-1974.
• Darrell Waltrip has the second-most consecutive poles at Richmond with four-straight from 1983-1985.
• Youngest Richmond Cup pole winner: Brian Vickers (May 15, 2004 – 20 years, 6 months, 21 days).
• Oldest Richmond Cup pole winner: Mark Martin (April 28, 2012 – 53 years, 3 months, 19 days).
• A total of 49 different owners have won a pole in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway.
• Seven active organizations have won a pole in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway.

• Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Richmond Raceway with 18 poles among 10 different drivers: Geoff Bodine (1985, 1989), Ricky Rudd (1990), Ken Schrader (1993), Jeff Gordon (1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2013), Terry Labonte (1996, 2003), Jimmie Johnson (2002, 2007), Brian Vickers (2004), Mark Martin (2009), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2012) and Kyle Larson (2022).
• A total of nine different manufacturers have posted at least one pole at Richmond Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series; led by Chevrolet (47); followed by Ford (35), Dodge (11), Toyota (11), Pontiac (six), Plymouth (five), Mercury (three), Buick (two) and Oldsmobile (two).
• Chevrolet leads the NASCAR Cup Series in consecutive poles at Richmond Raceway with eight straight from 1982 – 1986.

WINS

• A total of 54 different drivers have won a NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway; 34 of the 54 NASCAR Cup Series Richmond Raceway winners have multiple victories at the track.
• The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway was held on April 19, 1953 and won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Lee Petty in a Petty Enterprises Dodge with an average speed of 45.535 mph.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Richmond Raceway with 13 victories (spring 1961, 1967 sweep, fall 1968, fall 1970, 1971 sweep, 1972 sweep, 1973 sweep, fall 1974 and spring 1975).
• Petty’s 13 wins at Richmond are the third-most wins by a single driver at a single track in series history behind Petty’s 15 wins at Martinsville and North Wilkesboro.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison has the second most Cup wins at Richmond with seven.
• Kyle Busch leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in wins at Richmond Raceway with six victories (spring 2009, spring 2010, spring 2011, spring 2012, 2018 sweep).
• A total of eight of the 54 different NASCAR Cup Series Richmond Raceway winners are active this weekend.

• A total of 11 different drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Richmond Raceway:

o   Joe Weatherly (1962-1963)

o   David Pearson (1965, 1966 sweep)

o   Richard Petty (1970, 1971 sweep, 1972 sweep, 1973 sweep)

o   Cale Yarborough (1976-1977)

o   Bobby Allison (1982, 1983 sweep)

o   Dale Earnhardt (1987 sweep, 1990-1991)

o   Rusty Wallace (1989 sweep)

o   Terry Labonte (1994-1995)

o   Jimmie Johnson (2007 sweep)

o   Kyle Busch (2018 sweep)

o   Martin Truex Jr. (2019 sweep)

• Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in consecutive wins at Richmond Raceway with seven consecutive victories from the fall race of 1970 to the fall race of 1973.
• Youngest Richmond Cup winner: Richard Petty (April 23, 1961 – 23 years, 9 months, 21 days).
• Oldest Richmond Cup winner: Harry Gant (September 7, 1991 – 51 years, 7 months, 28 days).
• Five drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Cup Series win at Richmond Raceway – Kasey Kahne (2005), Tony Stewart (1999), Kyle Petty (1986), Neil Bonnett (1977) and James Hylton (1970)
• A total of 27 different starting positions on the grid have led to victories in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway.
• The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the NASCAR Cup Series field, producing more winners than any other starting position at Richmond Raceway with 24 victories (18.18%).
• A total of 15 different drivers have won a NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway from the pole or first starting position, led by Richard Petty with six wins.
• Only three active drivers have been able to win from the pole or first starting position: Kyle Busch (2010), Brad Keselowski (2014) and Denny Hamlin (2016).

NASCAR Cup Series Wins by Starting Position at Richmond Raceway

• The deepest in the field that a NASCAR Cup Series race winner has started at Richmond Raceway is 32nd, by Kyle Busch in the spring race of 2018.
• AJ Allmendinger leads the NASCAR Cup Series among active drivers with the most series starts at Richmond Raceway without visiting Victory Lane at 26; followed by Michael McDowell at 25.
• In total 37 different organizations have won at Richmond Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series; seven of the 37 are active this weekend.
• Joe Gibbs Racing leads the NASCAR Cup Series in victories at Richmond Raceway with 18 wins among six drivers – Tony Stewart (1999, 2001, 2002), Denny Hamlin (2009, 2010, 2016, 2022), Kyle Busch (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018 sweep), Matt Kenseth (2015), Carl Edwards (2016), Martin Truex Jr. (2019 sweep, 2021).

Active Organizations with Cup Series Wins at Richmond Raceway

• A total of nine different manufacturers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway.
• Chevrolet leads the series in wins at Richmond with 40 victories; followed by Ford (35), Dodge (17), Toyota (16), Pontiac (11) Plymouth (10), Buick (two), Oldsmobile (two) and Chrysler (one).
• Chevrolet holds the record for the longest streak of consecutive wins in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway with six consecutive victories from 2006-2008. Plymouth has the second longest wins streak at Richmond with five straight victories from 1970-1972.

 ADDITIONAL FINISHING POSITIONS

Runner-Up Finishes:

• A total of 60 different drivers have finished runner-up in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway.
• NASCAR Hall of Famers Bobby Allison and Richard Petty are tied for the series-most runner-up finishes at Richmond with nine each; followed by Jeff Gordon with eight.
• Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in series runner-up finishes at Richmond with seven second-place finishes.

Top Five in Runner-Up Finishes at Richmond Raceway (All-Time & Active)

Top-Five Finishes:

• A total of 143 different drivers have finished in the top-five in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Richmond with 34.
• Kyle Busch leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in top-five finishes at Richmond with 19.

Top Five in Top-Five Finishes at Richmond Raceway (All-Time & Active)

Top-10 Finishes:

• A total of 245 different drivers have finished in the top-10 in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Richmond with 41.
• Kyle Busch leads all active series drivers in top 10s at Richmond with 28 top-10 finishes.

Top Five in Top-10 Finishes at Richmond Raceway (All-Time & Active)

Average Finishes:

• Lee Petty (seven series starts) leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Richmond Raceway with a 4.857.
• Kyle Busch (36 series starts) leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Richmond Raceway with a 7.083.

Top 10 in Average Finishing Position at Richmond Raceway (All-Time & Active)

LAP LEADERS

• A total of 146 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have led at least one lap at Richmond Raceway.
• Richard Petty leads the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at Richmond Raceway with 5,136 laps led in 63 starts.
• Denny Hamlin leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in laps led at Richmond Raceway with 2,226 laps led in 34 starts.
• The most laps led by the NASCAR Cup Series race winner at Richmond Raceway was 488 laps led of the scheduled 500 (97.6%) by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty on September 13, 1970; he started from the pole.
• The most laps led by a NASCAR Cup Series driver that did not win the race at Richmond Raceway was 381 laps led of the scheduled 407 (93.6%) by Denny Hamlin on May 3, 2008; he started from the pole but finished 24th.
• The fewest laps led by the NASCAR Cup Series race winner at Richmond Raceway was three laps of the scheduled 406 by Kevin Harvick on April 27, 2013; he started the race 17th.

Top 15 Lap Leaders in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway (All-Time & Active)

FEMALE COMPETITORS

• Two female drivers, Danica Patrick and Janet Guthrie have competed at Richmond Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series. Below are their stats at Richmond:

 TRACK / EVENT SPECIFIC STATS

• Since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993, Richmond Raceway has produced 35 NASCAR Cup Series races with a Margin of Victory of less than a second.
• The closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway was the race on September 12, 1998 – won by Jeff Burton with a Margin of Victory of 0.051 second over second-place finisher Jeff Gordon.

 Top 10 Closest Margin of Victories at Richmond in the NASCAR Cup Series

• Five NASCAR Cup Series races have resulted in NASCAR Overtime at Richmond Raceway:

• Four of the 134 NASCAR Cup Series races at Richmond Raceway have been shortened due to weather conditions:

• Qualifying has been cancelled in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway 12 times:

NASCAR IN VIRGINIA

• There have been 556 NASCAR national series races among 10 tracks in the state of Virginia.
• Martinsville Speedway hosted the very first NASCAR national series race in the state of Virginia on Sept. 25, 1949 – the NASCAR Cup Series event was won by Red Byron (Oldsmobile).

NASCAR tracks in Virginia

 VIRGINIA IN NASCAR

• A total of 188 different drivers with their home state recorded as Virginia have made at least one start in a NASCAR national series race.
• A total of 20 different drivers from Virginia have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series. Eleven of the 20 Virginia native NASCAR winners have won in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• In total the drivers from Virginia have won 274 NASCAR national series races combined.

NASCAR National Series Winners From Virginia

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