Joey Logano wins a wild Richmond for second victory of 2014

Joey Logano paid out at 12/1 odds in Las Vegas

While Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski bumped and banged their way to the checkered flag Saturday night, Joey Logano snuck past all three to win a wild Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

Kenseth, Keselowski and Gordon all three swapped positions and traded paint during a furious battle for the lead over the final five laps, allowing Logano to charge from fourth to first for his second win of the season. Logano joined Kevin Harvick as the only two-time winners in the first nine races.

MORE: Ambrose punches mears | Keselowski mad at Kenseth | Results | Photos | Tire problems

Gordon finished second, followed by Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Kenseth.

Tempers flared after the race as Keselowski was furious with Kenseth over their late-race contact, and Marcos Ambrose and Casey Mears got into a fight in the garage. While Keselowski confronted Kenseth on pit road, pointing and yelling at him, Ambrose and Mears got into it in the garage, where Mears shoved Ambrose and Ambrose punched him.

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Kyle Busch has amazing 7.2 average finish at Richmond, four wins

Kyle Busch is 6/1 to win at Richmond

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (April 22, 2014) – Kyle Busch – winner of 130 races among NASCAR’s top three divisions – has never been described as average, much like his primary sponsor M&M’s.

Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), is not only better than average at most venues on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, he’s well above average when it comes to Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, site of Saturday night’s ToyotaOwners 400.

Why would he be described as well above average at Richmond? Busch’s numbers at the .75-mile short track tell the story. His most recent win there in May 2012 was the fourth of his career to go with four runner-up finishes and an amazing 12 top-fives in just 18 careerSprint Cup starts in Virginia’s capital city. The Las Vegas native has an average finishing position of 7.2, tops among active drivers at Richmond, where he sits ahead of JGR teammate Denny Hamlin, whose average finish there is 8.9. Busch has completed all but one of the 7,216 laps available to him at Richmond. Of those laps completed, Busch has run in the top-15 for 6,271 laps (86.9 percent), second-most among active drivers.

Busch’s first Sprint Cup victory there came in May 2009, when he became only the second driver in Sprint Cup history to celebrate a victory on his birthday, a feat first accomplished by Cale Yarborough, who did it twice. Yarborough won on his March 27 birthday at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway in 1977 and at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1983.

While he has been a dominant force over the years at Richmond, which included winning four consecutive spring races at the .75-mile oval, Busch will look to improve on his two outings there last season, which resulted in uncharacteristic finishes of 24th and 19th, respectively.

This weekend, Busch and the M&M’s team will look to get back to their level of performance at Richmond exhibited when they won four consecutive spring races from 2009 to 2012 to best Richard Petty’s previousrecord of three straight spring-race wins at Richmond from 1971 to 1973.

So with those impressive statistics and records to back him up, it’s little wonder that a visit to the “Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia” is one of Busch’s favorite stops on the NASCAR tour. Especially since he’s been anything but average there.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

What does it take to get around Richmond?
“Richmond is getting a little trickier, it seems like, just with the asphalt kind of getting older and the way the carsare and the tire hasn’t really changed there in the last few years – we may be due for an update on that. The consensus of Richmond is, of course, just trying to get your car to turn, but also having really good forward bite. You have to be able to get off the corners at Richmond. You have to have good brakes, as well, and be able to turn the center. All of it correlates, everything that you want as a racecar driver, you’ve got to have most all of it and, if you don’t, then you better hope that you have more forward bite than the rest of them. That’s sort of the equation of Richmond – it’s a fun place to race, it’s really cool. As a driver, you wish that it could widen out and give you more options of being able to run around in different grooves but it hasn’t shown us that the last couple years. We’re hoping to get our M&M’s Camry back to form there from a couple of years ago.”

What is it about Richmond that suits your driving style?
“I love Richmond – it’s one of my favorite racetracks and one of my best racetracks. I love being able to go there and, of course, we put on some pretty good races there. We won four spring races in a row and I would have loved to have made it five last year. It’s a neat racetrack and it’s certainly an excitement track and there is a lot of action that happens under the lights on Saturday night there.”

Why is Joe Gibbs Racing so strong at Richmond?
“I think a lot of it comes from Denny (Hamlin), being that it’s his home track. I’ve been good there in Hendrick and JGR cars. But Denny and I really feed off each other an awful lot at Richmond. We use each other a ton there just to be sure we can beat the rest of the competition, of course. We do like similar setups there, unlike some other places we run. Richmond is one of those places where we both know what it takes to get around and we’re both similar to one another in that we both run well. And with Matt (Kenseth) with us now, JGR has a lot of experience there we can look to for help.”

What would it mean to win the Toyota-sponsored race at Richmond?
“It would be cool. You always want to win any single race out there and I’ve won a few races at Richmond. It would really be special to have a Toyota in victory lane in Toyota’s race. I think all of us always want to see that. It’s no different than M&M’s would like to win an M&M’s race if they sponsored one. It certainly helps rally everyone at Toyota when we win. The goal each time we go out there and race is to get our sponsors to victory lane. Also, just being a racetrack that we’ve won a lot at over the years, whether it’s been Denny (Hamlin), myself or even the 20 car, I know they haven’t won there, but even if Matt (Kenseth) does win, it would be better having a Toyota there than someone else.”

Are you looking forward to running three races at Richmond this weekend?
“I get a chance to start on Thursday in the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at South Boston – his charity race. It’s just a fun race and you get to go out there and race with the best of the local Late Model racers from across that area and we always seem to put on a pretty good show. I like that race and think South Boston is a great place to be able to run at, too. And then we get to race the Nationwide car on Friday night and the Cup cars on Saturday night, so just a big three-day race weekend for me. I’m used to those, so it shouldn’t be anything different than what I’m accustomed to.”

Do you enjoy the atmosphere at Richmond?
“I think the coolest thing about Richmond is the grandstands being all the way around the racetrack and it’s at the fairgrounds. People love coming there and supporting that racetrack. It’s been around for a long time. It’s a fast racetrack. It’s only a three-quarter-mile oval, but it has really high speeds that makes it fun for us drivers and makes excitement that’s fun for a fan. Martinsville is a short track and it’s slow, but Richmond is pretty quick.”

 

KYLE BUSCH’S RICHMOND SPRINT CUP SERIES PERFORMANCE PROFILE

Year	Date	Event	Start	Finish	Status/Laps	Laps Led	Earnings
2013	4/27	Toyota Owners 400	8	24	Running, 406/406	40	$121,468
	9/8	Federated Auto Parts 400	13	19	Running, 400/400	0	$122,718
2012	4/28	Capital City 400	5	1	Running, 400/400	32	$247,783
	9/8	Federated Auto Parts 400	15	16	Running, 399/400	0	$120,118
2011	4/30	Crown Royal Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400	20	1	Running, 400/400	235	$239,591
	9/10	Wonderful Pistachios 400	13	6	Running, 400/400	0	$137,066
2010	5/1	Crown Royal Heath Calhoun 400	1	1	Running, 400/400	226	$264,506
	9/11	Air Guard 400	32	2	Running, 400/400	0	$203,256
2009	5/2	Crown Royal Russ Friedman 400	14	1	Running, 400/400	53	$257,248
	9/12	Chevy Rock & Roll 400	8	5	Running, 400/400	0	$147,598
2008	5/3	×Crown Royal Dan Lowry 400	7	2	Running, 410/410	0	$171,100
	9/7	†Chevy Rock & Roll 400	1	15	Running, 400/400	53	$94,425
2007	5/6	Crown Royal Jim Stewart 400	34	2	Running, 400/400	27	$171,225
	9/8	Chevy Rock & Roll 400	3	20	Running, 400/400	0	$87,875
2006	5/6	Crown Royal 400	21	5	Running, 400/400	7	$113,600
	9/9	Chevy Rock & Roll 400	12	2	Running, 400/400	248	$184,550
2005	5/14	Chevy 400	10	4	Running, 400/400	0	$119,300
	9/10	Chevy Rock & Roll 400	7	4	Running, 400/400	10	$127,800

× Race length extended due to green-white-checkered finish.

† Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.

- True Speed Communication for Kyle Busch Motorsports/Joe Gibbs Racing

STANLEY Racing to Donate $1 Million to Children’s Miracle Network Through Ace Hardware Foundation if Ambrose Wins

Ambrose is 300/1 to win at LVH Super Book

This Saturday night, Marcos Ambrose and the No.9 STANLEY Racing have a million reasons to win. If Ambrose earns his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) partner STANLEY will donate $1 million to the Children’s Miracle Network through the Ace Hardware Foundation to benefit sick and injured children. If Ambrose finishes second or third, a donation of $500,000 and $250,000 will be made respectively. The incentive is part of the annual “Racing for a Miracle” campaign by STANLEY and the Ace Hardware Foundation. Ambrose has a best finish of fifth at the track.

Ambrose and the team will head to Richmond early on Thursday to visit the patients at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. Ambrose and his No.9 RPM pit crew will interact with the children through various games and demonstrate pit stops.

The No.9 will also have a different look to it this weekend. The car will be unveiled this Friday morning at Richmond International Raceway during a special presentation at 8:00 a.m. at the amphitheater.

Ambrose Weekend Chatter:
“This is always a big weekend for STANLEY, Ace Hardware and the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. And, it’s always a big weekend for RPM and our No 9 team. We haven’t won the million dollars in the different years that we’ve participated in the program, but we want nothing more than to do so. If we can’t win, finishing second or third will still be a big donation and go a long way to help these children. Either way, STANLEY will make a donation to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals this Friday morning at the track.

“It’s just a special cause for everyone, and we feel pretty honored to be in a position to race for this donation. We’re going to visit some of the patients this Thursday morning in Richmond before the race weekend starts. We’re just looking to put a smile on their face and show them something different. Hopefully, they get excited, but hopefully, we’re all a lot more excited at the end of the race Saturday night.”

About Richard Petty Motorsports:
A performance and marketing driven company, Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and successful business entrepreneurs Andrew Murstein and Douglas Bergeron, is one of the most recognized brands in all of motorsports. With a history of over 200 wins and business partnerships with national and global leaders, today the race operation fields two teams in competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Aric Almirola pilots the famous No. 43 Ford Fusion with primary partners Smithfield Foods, U.S. Air Force, STP, Strike Ten Entertainment and Fresh From Florida, and Marcos Ambrose drives the No. 9 machine with primary partners STANLEY, DEWALT, Mac Tools and Twisted Tea. In addition, Dakoda Armstrong wheels the No. 43 WinField Ford Mustang full-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The team is headquartered in Concord, N.C.

- Breaking Limits Marketing for Richard Petty Motorsports

Logano and Truex Jr withstand Richmond, make 2013 Chase

Martin Truex Jr. just barely made the Chase

Carl Edwards won the race Saturday night at Richmond but Joey Logan and Martin Truex Jr. won the more important battle.

Despite struggling all night, Logano gained positions on the final restart and three-lap shootout to stay in the top 10 in points and knock Jeff Gordon out of the Chase.

Truex also hung on to claim the final wild-card spot. Kasey Kahne had already clinched one wild-card spot and claimed it when he was unable to race his way back into the top 10 in points.

The big losers were Gordon, who missed the Chase for just the second time in his career, and Ryan Newman, who must missed getting the second wild card despite finishing third.

Newman, who had not been a factor most of the race, moved to fifth when the leaders pitted on Lap 344 and then ran down Carl Edwards for the lead. Had he held on for the win, he would have earned the second wild card over Truex.

Newman held the lead until Clint Bowyer spun, bringing out a caution flag with just seven laps remaining.

Paul Menard and Edwards won the race off pit road and Edwards beat Menard to take the lead on the final restart with three laps remaining. The win was Edwards’ second of the season and first since Phoenix in February.

Kurt Busch finished second to race his way into the Chase finishing the regular season in the top 10 in points. Newman finished third in the race followed by Jamie McMurray.

Gordon wasn’t the only big name to miss the Chase. He was joined by defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski, who is still winless this season and entered the race 15th in points.

Keselowski led 142 laps but was angered by a close battle for second with Kevin Harvick late in the race and then fell behind due to an untimely caution flag on Lap 342. Harvick ran Keselowski up the track after the two had raced side by side for several laps.

Harvick and Bowyer, who was leading at the time, also fell back when the caution flag flew during green-flag pit stops.

Gordon led the first 49 laps but fell two laps down when he had to pit under green for a loose wheel. He spent the rest of the race fighting to catch up and race his way into the top 10 in points.

He was in the top 10 on the track and in the points standings until losing ground on the final pit stop and restart.




- Sporting News

Kyle Busch Going For Fifth Straight Richmond Spring Win

Kyle Busch is 9/2 to win Saturday night

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (April 23, 2013) – Every year in late April across the United States, signs of spring begin to appear all around. Flowers and trees start to come into bloom, the grass begins to grow, the weather becomes warmer – and, of course, Kyle Busch posts a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

The driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) returns to Richmond for Saturday night’s Sprint Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 looking for his fifth consecutive spring event win at the .75-mile oval. Last April, the Las Vegas native brought home his fourth straight spring victory at Richmond to go with four runner-up finishes and an amazing 12 top-fives in just 16 career Sprint Cup starts in Virginia’s capital city.

Busch’s average finishing position of just 5.4 is tops among all active drivers at Richmond, including JGR teammate Denny Hamlin, whose average finish there is 8.1. Busch has completed all but one of the 6,410 laps available to him in his 16 career Richmond starts. Of those laps completed, Busch has run in the top-15 for 6,607 (87.5 percent) of them – second-most among active drivers at the track.

While he has always had strong runs at Richmond since joining the Sprint Cup ranks in 2005, Busch’s first Sprint Cup victory didn’t come until May 2009, when he became only the second driver in Sprint Cup history to celebrate a victory on his birthday, a feat first accomplished by Cale Yarborough, who did it twice. Yarborough won on his March 27 birthday at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway in 1977 and at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1983. Since his first Richmond victory in 2009, Busch has finished out of the top-five just once, coming home fifth, second, sixth, and 16th, respectively, in the fall races the past four seasons after winning the spring race each year.

While his May 2 birthday isn’t until five days later this year, the soon-to-be 28-year-old would like nothing more than to add another Richmond win to his resume and celebrate his birthday a little early in victory lane Saturday night in the “Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia” – and, yes, continue this very special rite of spring.

KYLE BUSCH QUOTES

Is Richmond a race you always feel confident you can win?
“It always seems to be a race kind of between Denny (Hamlin) and myself. We’ll see how Richmond goes, but I love going to Richmond, for some reason. I’ve just kind of taken to that place. I know what I need in my car to run well there. The guys have done a good job making good adjustments through practice and sometimes we try to dial ourselves out, but we get honed back in on what we know works there. By having a good notebook, I think that really helps. A couple guys have been there testing and what not – the speeds seem to be fast. It should be exciting when we get back there with this new 2013 M&M’s Camry.”

What is it about Richmond that suits your driving style?
“I love Richmond – it’s one of my favorite racetracks and one of my best racetracks. I love being able to go there and, of course, we put on some pretty good races there. We’ve won four in a row with the last four spring races and I would love to make it five this time around. It’s a neat racetrack and it’s certainly an excitement track and there is a lot of action that happens under the lights on Saturday night there.”

Why is Joe Gibbs Racing so strong at Richmond?
“I think a lot of it comes from Denny (Hamlin), being that it’s his home track. I’ve been good there in Hendrick and JGR cars. But Denny and I really feed off each other an awful lot in Richmond. We use each other a ton there just to be sure we can beat the rest of the competition, of course. We do like similar setups there, unlike other mile-and-a-half tracks or two-mile tracks where we don’t run very similar setups. Richmond is one of those places where we both know what it takes to get around and we’re both similar to one another in that we both run well.”

What are the differences you might expect with the NASCAR Gen-6 2013 Toyota Camry at Richmond this weekend?
“I think the new Gen-6 race car with the 2013 Camry that I’m driving be a little bit faster. We’ve seen the testing speeds from Richmond being quicker than in years past and I think that’s just these new cars being a little bit lighter. They are also carrying a little more downforce than what they had in years past. That’s good though and that’s fun when the cars drive well and you can run side-by-side a little bit more and race a little bit more and put on a good show.”

Are you looking forward to running three races at Richmond this weekend?
“I get a chance to start on Thursday in the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown – his charity race. It’s just a fun race and you get to go out there and race with the best of the local Late Model racers from across that area and we always seem to put on a pretty good show. I like that race. And then we get to race the Nationwide car on Friday night and the Cup cars on Saturday night, so just a big three-day race weekend for me. I’m used to those, so it shouldn’t be anything different than what I’m accustomed to.”

Do you enjoy the atmosphere at Richmond?
“I think the coolest thing about Richmond is the grandstands being all the way around the racetrack and it’s at the fairgrounds. People love coming there and supporting that racetrack. It’s been around for a long time. It’s a fast racetrack. It’s only three-quarter-mile oval, but it has really high speeds that makes it fun for us drivers and makes excitement that’s fun for a fan. Martinsville is a short track and it’s slow, but Richmond is pretty quick.”

- True Speed Communication for M&M’s Racing/Joe Gibbs Racing

Chevy Rock & Roll 400 @ Richmond Facts

compiled by Mike Forde
NASCAR Media Services

At Richmond International Raceway:
History
• Originally known as the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds, Richmond International Raceway held its first race in 1946 as a .5-mile dirt track.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on April 19, 1953.
• 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.
• Track was re-measured to .500 miles in April; then to .542 miles in September 1969.
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Richmond was Feb. 20, 1982.
• The track was rebuilt as a .750-mile D-shaped oval following the spring race on Feb. 21, 1988.
• The first race under permanent lights was held Sept. 7, 1991.
• The first season with both races as night races was 1999.

Notebook
• There have been 106 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond since the track opened in 1953.
• The current 400-lap race length was established on the .542-mile measurement in March 1976.
• Buck Baker won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole in 1953.
• Lee Petty won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race in April 1953.
• Davey Allison won the first .750-mile race at Richmond from the pole.
• There have been 46 different pole winners, led by Bobby Allison and Richard Petty (eight).
• Jeff Gordon (five) leads active drivers with five poles.
• 46 different drivers have posted victories at Richmond, led by Richard Petty (13).
• Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson (three) lead the active race winners.
• Petty Enterprises has won 15 races at Richmond, more than any other car owner.
• 60 of 106 races at Richmond have been won from the top five starting positions, including 21 from the pole.
• The last driver to win from the pole was Jimmie Johnson in September 2007.
• 11 of the past 13 races have been won from the top 10. Though, two of the last three race winners have started from outside the top 10, including this May’s winner, Kyle Busch.
• The furthest back in the field that a race winner started was 31st, by Clint Bowyer in 2008’s spring race.
• Kyle Petty became the first third-generation NASCAR race winner when he won his first race, at Richmond, on February 23, 1986. Richard Petty posted his first Richmond victory in 1961 and Lee won the very first Richmond race in 1953.
• Two active drivers have a finish inside the top 10: Kyle Busch (6.1) and Denny Hamlin (9.6).

NASCAR in Virginia
• There have been 264 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Virginia.
• 158 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Virginia.
• There have been 18 race winners from Virginia in NASCAR’s three national series:

Chase Clinch Scenarios For Richmond

Eight spots remain in the 2009 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup  and 11 drivers are mathematically in contention for securing one. Below are the clinch scenarios for Richmond, the final race before the Chase field is set:

#99-Carl Edwards is currently 105 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
24th or better
25th and leads at least one lap or
27th and leads most laps.

#9-Kasey Kahne is currently 96 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
21st or better
23rd and leads at least one lap or
24th and leads most laps.

#2-Kurt Busch is currently 95 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
20th or better
22nd and leads at least one lap or
24th and leads most laps.

#42-Juan Pablo Montoya is currently 88 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
18th or better
20th and leads at least one lap or
21st and leads the most laps.

#39-Ryan Newman is currently 81 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
16th or better
17th and leads at least one lap or
19th and leads the most laps.

#5-Mark Martin is currently 69 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
12th or better
14th and leads at least one lap or
15th and leads the most laps.

#16-Greg Biffle is currently 68 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
11th or better
13th and leads at least one lap or
15th and leads the most laps.

#17-Matt Kenseth is currently 20 points ahead of 13th place.
Regardless of any other driver's finish, he will clinch if he finishes:
Second and leads at least one lap.

#83-Brian Vickers currently sits 13th, 17 points ahead of #18-Kyle Busch. He would need to gain 21 points on Kenseth and stay ahead of Busch to clinch a Chase spot. Busch, 37 points behind 12th, needs to gain 17 points on Vickers and 37 points on Kenseth to clinch. #00-David Reutimann, 132 points behind Kenseth, has an outside shot at clinching. He would have to gain 133 points on Kenseth. A maximum of 161 points can be made up in a given race.(NASCAR Public Relations)(9-7-2009)