Kyle Busch started near the back of the field but finished at the front on Saturday night at Richmond Raceway during the Toyota Owners 400, claiming his third straight victory and strengthening his hold on first place in the regular-season point standings. Busch’s win gave Joe Gibbs Racing a weekend sweep on the three-quarter-mile Fairgrounds oval.
Busch started 32nd in the 37-car field but marched steadily toward the front, posting 6th-place finishes in each of the first two stages and grabbing his first lead just before the mid-point of the final stage. Busch took advantage of a sub-par pit stop by race leader Martin Truex, Jr. on a late caution to move in front for good, keeping the #18 Toyota in front over the final 11 laps to notch his 46th Cup Series win and 5th at Richmond.
Busch’s margin of victory over runner-up Chase Elliott was a half-second. Denny Hamlin (one of Busch’s J-G-R teammates) ran third with Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick completing the top five. Truex started from the pole and led a race-high 121 laps. But a slow pit stop on the next-to-last caution of the night relegated him to a 14th-place finish. The defending Cup Series champion has now finished outside the top ten in three straight races.
Busch’s #32 starting spot is the farthest back a Richmond race winner has qualified since the track first hosted the Cup Series in 1953. The previous mark was held by Clint Bowyer, who lined up 31st for the spring race in 2008.
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– story by John Singler
www.mrn.com
Concord, North Carolina
1. Kyle Busch @ 415 points
2. Joey Logano (-56)
3. Clint Bowyer (-86)
4. Kevin Harvick (-91)
5. Brad Keselowski (-112)
6. Denny Hamlin (-129)
7. Martin Truex, Jr. (-131)
8. Ryan Blaney (-133)
9. Kurt Busch (-133)
10. Kyle Larson (-136)
For the complete driver standings, please visit the official page on nascar.com.
