Martin Truex Jr. wins Playoff race at Richmond Raceway: Martin Truex Jr. received a penalty on the opening lap of the race for crossing the start/finish line in front of polesitter Denny Hamlin at the green flag. But 400 laps later Truex led the field across the line again – this time as the race winner of Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. The convincing 1.317-second margin of victory over his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Hamlin and Christopher Bell marked Truex’s third win in the last five races at Richmond, his fourth win of the 2021 season and, most importantly, gave him that coveted automatic bid into the next round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.[Read More](9-11-2021)

#19-Martin Truex, Jr. won the Federated Auto Parts Salute to American Heroes 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway. The win is his 4th win of the year, 3rd win at Richmond and 31st career win.
#11-Hamlin finished 2nd followed by #20-Bell, #9-Elliott, #22-Logano, #5-Larson, #42-Chastain, #4-Harvick, #18-Busch, and #12-Blaney
Pole sitter #5-Larson was forced to start at the rear for inspection failures but finished 6th.
Truex, Jr. took the lead after the final around of green flag pit stops and led the final 50 laps to win by more than a second.
Of the 16 Playoff drivers, only one did not finish the race: #1-Kurt Busch cut a tire on lap 41 and spun into the outside wall.  He finished 37th.
Stage 1 and 2 were both won by #11-Hamlin.
There were 21 lead changes among 8 drivers and 5 cautions for 30 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 98.307mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Drivers Points Standings, Owners Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.

Race Fast Facts – Richmond:
Martin Truex Jr. (P) won the 64th Annual Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders, his 31st victory in 577 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his fourth victory and 15th top-10 finish in 2021.
This is his third victory and 14th top-10 finish in 31 races at Richmond Raceway.
Denny Hamlin (P) (second) posted his 19th top-10 finish in 30 races at Richmond Raceway. It is his 19th top-10 finish in 2021.
Christopher Bell (P) (third) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Richmond Raceway.
Chase Briscoe (16th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Joe Gibbs Racing leads the NASCAR Cup Series in victories at Richmond Raceway with 17 wins – Tony Stewart (1999, 2001, 2002), Denny Hamlin (2009, 2010, 2016), Kyle Busch (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018 sweep), Matt Kenseth (2015), Carl Edwards (2016), Martin Truex Jr. (2019 sweep, 2021).
(NASCAR)(9-11-2021)

Where the 2021 Cup Series Playoff drivers finished at Richmond:
#19-Martin Truex, Jr., 1st
#11-Denny Hamlin, 2nd
#20-Christopher Bell, 3rd
#9-Chase Elliott, 4th
#22-Joey Logano, 5th
#5-Kyle Larson, 6th
#4-Kevin Harvick, 8th
#18-Kyle Busch, 9th
#12-Ryan Blaney, 10th
#48-Alex Bowman, 12th
#2-Brad Keselowski, 13th
#10-Aric Almirola, 14th
#8-Tyler Reddick, 15th
#24-William Byron, 19th
#34-Michael McDowell, 28th
#1-Kurt Busch, 37th

Cup Series Playoff Standings after Richmond:
(Race 28 of 36 in the season; Race 2 of 3 in the Round of 16)
1) #11-Denny Hamlin, 2127 [Locked into Round of 12]
2) #19-Martin Truex, Jr., 2113 [Locked into Round of 12]
3) #5-Kyle Larson, 2151 [Locked into Round of 12 on points]
4) #22-Joey Logano, 2093, +40 ahead of 13th
5) #12-Ryan Blaney, 2081, +28
6) #4-Kevin Harvick, 2078, +25
7) #9-Chase Elliott, 2072, +19
8) #20-Christopher Bell, 2070, +17
9) #2-Brad Keselowski, 2066, +13
10) #18-Kyle Busch, 2061, +8
11) #10-Aric Almirola, 2056, +3
12) #48-Alex Bowman, 2053, 0 points head of 13th
Currently below the Round of 12 cutoff
13) #1-Kurt Busch, 2053, 0 points behind 12th
14) #8-Tyler Reddick, 2048, -5
15) #24-William Byron, 2035, -18
16) #34-Michael McDowell, 2015, -38
See the Driver Points Standings and Owners Point Standings.

Paint Schemes

Cars to the rear: #5-Larson (multiple inspection failures), #41-Custer (multiple inspection failures), #51-Smithly (driver change)

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Federated Auto Parts Salute to American Heroes 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway have been made.
Pole winner #5-Larson chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #11-Hamlin took the 6th stall, with an opening in front of it.
See all pit choices on Pit Stall chart.(9-8-2021)

#5-Kyle Larson will start from the pole for the Federated Auto Parts Salute to American Heroes 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway.
#11-Hamlin will start second, followed by #19-Truex, Jr., #1-Busch, #4-Harvick, #22-Logano, #2-Keselowski, #12-Blaney, #10-Almirola, and #20-Bell.
The lineup was set by the qualifying metrics, based on race finish, points position, and fastest race lap.
See the complete starting order on the Federated Auto Parts Salute to American Heroes 400 Starting Lineup page.(9-8-2021)

Crew Rosters

Goodyear Tire Notes

The Entry List for the Federated Auto Parts Salute to American Heroes 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway is posted, 37 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Some of the drivers entered include:#15-Gase, #51-Ware, #53-Yeley, #77-Haley.
See the full entry list on the Federated Auto Parts Salute to American Heroes 400 Entry List page.

There will not be practice or qualifying at Richmond.

2021 Cup Series: Federated Auto Parts Salute to American Heroes 400 at Richmond TandemDraft Stats