So far the NASCAR Cup Series drivers have raced on superspeedways, mid-sized tracks, and a road course race; this week, the drivers begin a series of short track racing starting with the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway.

While the drivers now have a wet weather package for racing, they still don’t practice and qualify under wet conditions; as a result, the rains cancelled out Saturday’s qualifying session.  The field has been set by NASCAR’s metric that includes points, lap speeds, and finishing position from the previous race. 

After having his penalty points returned, Alex Bowman sits at the top of the point standings and will sit on the pole and bring the field to green.  Kyle Busch starts alongside Bowman on the front row.

The Cup Series is capping off a triple header weekend that saw first time winners in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series with Chandler Smith winning in Richmond and Carson Hocevar winning in overtime in Texas.  Could there be a new winner in the Cup Series?

Larry McReynolds joins Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer in the FOX broadcast booth for today’s race.

With no practice or qualifying, NASCAR has called for a competition caution on lap 30.

The starting lineup for the Toyota Owners 400:
Alex Bowman
Kyle Busch
William Byron
Ross Chastain
Tyler Reddick
Austin Cindric
Chris Buescher
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Kyle Larson
Kevin Harvick
Denny Hamlin
Martin Truex Jr
Todd Gilliland
Ty Gibbs
Michael McDowell
Corey LaJoie
Ryan Blaney
Joey Logano
Chase Briscoe
Daniel Suarez
Christopher Bell
Erik Jones
Noah Gragson
Brad Keselowski
AJ Allmendinger
Harrison Burton
Austin Dillon
Bubba Wallace
Justin Haley
Josh Berry
Cody Ware
Aric Almirola
Ryan Preece
JJ Yeley
Anthony Alfredo
Ty Dillon
Chandler Smith

Stage one of the race is 70 laps long, stage two is 160 laps, and stage three is 170 laps long for a total of 400 laps around the ¾ mile track.

Drivers can run about 130 laps on a single load of fuel but tire wear is a more important issue.  Tires can last only 50 to 75 laps.

The drivers have a total of 10 sets of tires for the race including the set on the tires at race start.

Alex Bowman brings the field down for the green flag start of the race from the inside lane with Kyle Busch on the outside with Bowman and Busch going side by side.  Drivers are getting three wide back in the pack.  Alex Bowman gets out in front for the lead.

Prior to race start while on the pace laps Martin Truex Jr reported that this car felt “funny”.

Lap four, Alex Bowman leads the race with William Byron in second; Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap seven, Alex Bowman has a third of a second lead on William Byron; Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.  Drivers are mostly single file.

In just seven laps, the drivers are running a half a second per lap slower then at race start due to tire fall off.

Lp eleven, William Byron comes up from the outside to pass teammate Alex Bowman for the lead; Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap 19, William Byron has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Ross Chastain; Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap 23, William Byron’s is down to just under a second over Ross Chastain; Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr round out the top five.

Drivers are beginning to move up the track and are “rim riding”.

Lap 29, William Byron has increased his lead to two seconds on Ross Chastain; Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr round out the top five.

Lap 31 NASCAR displays the yellow flag for the competition caution.

Pit road at Richmond is very tight with small pit boxes – short and wide.  The drivers must have all four tires inside the pit box to make a legal stop.

William Byron brings the entire field down pit road for fresh tires and service.  In a three wide battle off of pit road, Ross Chastain wins the race off and takes the lead.

Denny Hamlin was caught speeding on pit road.  Todd Gilliland was charged with an equipment violation on pit road.  Both drivers will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr has a fuel leak and after an extended visit on pit road with the hood up, Stenhouse takes his car to the garage.

Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 39.  Drivers get three and four wide across the track with Ross Chastain in the lead.

Lap 42, Ross Chastain has a lead of nearly half a second on William Byron; Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

The caution flag comes out on lap 44 after Denny Hamlin hits JJ Yeley and sends Yeley spinning into the wall.

Some of the drivers take advantage of the caution and come down pit road for service.

Ross Chastain brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 51 from the inside lane with William Byron on the outside.  Kyle Larson makes it a three wide battle for the lead.  Larson and Byron battle for the lead; Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Lap 53, William Byron retakes the lead.  Drivers are three wide through the track.

Lap 55, the top five are William Byron, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick.

Martin Truex Jr is reporting some steering and handling issues with his car.

Lap 59, William Byron has a one second lead on teammate Kyle Larson; Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Lap 63, JJ Yeley is 10 laps down and Ricky Stenhouse Jr is 14 laps down; the rest of the field is on the lead lap.

Lap 64, Kyle Larson has closed the gap on leader William Byron to under a second; Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick, Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick are reporting issues with brake shake.

Lap 67, Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano battle for fifth place.

William Byron wins stage one for his fifth stage win of the season.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
William Byron
Kyle Larson
Ross Chastain
Kevin Harvick
Joey Logano
Tyler Reddick
Alex Bowman
Christopher Bell
Brad Keselowski
Chase Briscoe

Kevin Harvick reports issues with the drive off.

Drivers come down pit road for service and adjustments.  William Byron wins the race off of pit road with Kyle Larson coming out second.

Ryan Blaney and AJ Allmendinger were caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

William Byron brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 80 and holds on to the lead as the drivers spread out across the track.

Lap 81, William Byron leads the race with Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain battling for second; Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Lap 85, William Byron has a lead of nearly a second on Ross Chastain; Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Lap 89, Kyle Larson continues to battle with Ross Chastain for second place.

Lap 90, William Byron has a lead of over a second and a half on Ross Chastain; Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Lap 94 William Byron has pulled out to a lead of nearly two and a half seconds.

Josh Berry spins out at the start/finish line after some contact from Ryan Blaney and brings out the fourth caution flag of the race.

Drivers come down pit road for service with William Byron winning the race off of pit road.

Kevin Harvick had a slow pit stop after a right tire change issue.

Joey Logano had to make a second stop down it road to tighten up a tire.

William Byron brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 102 and holds on to the lead.  Drivers are three wide cross the track.

Lap 103, William Byron continues to lead the race with Kyle Larson in second; Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.  There are 35 cars on the lead lap with JJ Yeley nine laps down and Ricky Stenhouse Jr 13 laps down.

Lap 109, After restarting the race back in the pack, Kevin Harvick has entered the top 15 in 14th.

Lap 110, William Byron has a lead of over half a second on Kyle Larson; Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 123, Kyle Larson has caught up to leader William Byron and comes up on the outside to battle for the lead.  Kyle Larson takes the lead.

Lap 125, the top five are Kyle Larson, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, and Alex Bowman.

Lap 130, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a lead of over a second on William Byron; Ross Chastain is nearly two and a half second with Christopher Bell, and Alex Bowman rounding out the top five.

Lap 132, leaders have reached the slower traffic.

Lap 135, Chris Buescher is the first driver to make a green flag pit stop for fresh tires.

Lap 137, leader Kyle Larson has begun lapping slower traffic.

Lap 143, Kyle Larson has a two second lead on William Byron, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.

There are 26 cars on the lead lap with all 37 cars stil on the track.

Lap 147, Kyle Larson continues to increase his lead on William Byron and is now nearly two and a half seconds out in front.

Daniel Suarez reports a vibration in the brakes – possible rotor issue and he has some handling issues with the car.

Lap 157, Kyle Larson continues to increase his lead and is now over three seconds out in front of William Byron.

Lap 160, drivers come down pit road for green flag pit stops including leader Kyle Larson.  Denny Hamlin is the new leader.

Kyle Laron makes contact on pit road with Daniel Suarez.

Deny Hamlin Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Dillon have yet to make a pit stop.

Ryan Blaney was charged with leaving his pit box with equipment, wrench was still in the car.

Denny Hamlin makes his pit stop on lap 166.  Kyle Larson retakes the lead.

Lap 168, Kyle Larson leads the race with William Byron in second; Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

There ae 23 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 172, Kyle Larson has a half second lead on William Byron; Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Lap 185, Kyle Larson holds a half second lead on William Byron; Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Drivers who had planned two pit stops during the stage have begun making pit stops.

When Ryan Blaney left his pit box with the wedge wrench still attached, crew members tried to remove it but instead hit the ground hard.  All of the member are fine and uninjured.

Prior to the pit stops, Kyle Larson had a three second lead on the field, since getting a fresh set of tires, he has only been able to stay half a second in front of William Byron; Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.

Lap 195, William Byron has caught leader Kyle Larson and battles for the lead with a slower car – Noah Gragson – in front of them.

Third place driver Christopher Bell is catching up to the leaders as they continue to battle for the lead.

Kyle Larson is reporting a tight issues after contact with Daniel Suarez on pit road.

Christopher Bell passes Kyle Larson for second with William Byron in the lead.

Kyle Busch slaps the wall but the track stays green.

Twenty-five laps remain in stage two with William Byron leading the race; Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Lap 207, Christopher Bell battles with William Byron for the lead and gets out in front amid slower traffic.

Twenty to go in stage two, Christopher Bell has a quarter of a second lead on William Byron; Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Lap 218, Christopher Bell has pulled out to a one second lead on William Byron and Denny Hamlin.  Byron and Hamlin battle for second with Hamlin taking the spot; Martin Truex Jr and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

With seven lap remaining in stage two, there are only 18 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 225, Christopher Bell has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; William Byron, Martin Truex Jr, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

On fresher tires, Josh Berry gets his lap back and is back on the lead lap.

Lap 228, Denny Hamlin has caught teammate Christopher Bell and takes the lead.

Denny Hamlin wins stage one for his first win this season.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Denny Hamlin
Christopher Bell
William Byron
Martin Truex Jr
Ross Chastain
Brad Keselowski
Alex Bowman
Kyle Larson
Kevin Harvick
Ty Gibbs

Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Hamlin winning the race off of pit road.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three from the inside lane on lap 241 with William Byron on the outside.  Hamlin jumps out in front for the lead.  Drivers get four wide across the track.

Lap 242, Denny Hamlin leads the race with William Byron a quarter of a second back; Martin Truex Jr, Alex bowman, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.

Lap 246, there are 20 cars on the lead lap with Denny Hamlin a half second out in front of William Byron.

Brad Keselowski’s car keeps popping out of fourth gear.

Lap 249, the top five are Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Martin Truex Jr, Alex Bowman, and Kevin Harvick.

Lap 254, Denny Hamlin holds on to the lead with a near one second lead on William Byron; Martin Truex Jr. Alex Bowman, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Martin Truex Jr reports a loose condition but no longer has a steering issue.

Denny Hamlin reports an issue with brake shake.

Lap 259, Chris Buescher makes a green flag pit stop.  He is on a different put stop strategy from much of the field.

Lap 268, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the race with Martin Truex Jr in second; William Byron, Kevin Harvick, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.

Bubba Wallace is just outside the top 10 and is reporting an issue with brake shake.

Lap 277, Denny Hamlin has a lead of over half a second on teammate Martin Truex Jr; William Byton is in third place over three seconds back with Kevin Harvick and Christopher Bell rounding out the top five.

Lap 283, Martin Truex Jr has closed the gap on leader Denny Hamlin to under half a second; William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Kyle Larson passes Kevin Harvick for fifth.

Lap 287, crews are preparing to service drivers on pit road.  AJ Allmendinger has made his green flag pit stop.

Lap 289, Martin Truex Jr makes his pit stop and starts the parade of drivers coming in for service.

Lap 292, leader Denny Hamlin makes his green flag pit stop; Bubba Wallace is the new leader.  Hamlin’s crew had to make a second trip around to the right side to tighten up a tire; making his pit stop slow.  He is now in 12th place.

 Bubba Wallace comes down pit road for service and gives the lead over to Martin Truex Jr.

Bubba Wallace’s crew was charged with a safety violation and Bubba will have to serve a pass through penalty.  A crew member fell over the wall trying to retrieve an errant tire.  The crew member was not wearing a helmet – which is required to go over the wall.

Lap 302, the top five are Martin Truex Jr, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, and Christopher Bell.

Lap 305, Noah Gragson brings out the sixth caution flag after getting loose and hitting the wall.

Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires; even though they were on pit road not so long ago.  Martin Truex Jr wins the race off of pit road.

Christopher Bell hits Alex Bowman coming on to pit road.

Martin Truex Jr brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 312 and jumps out in front for the lead with William Byron in second.

Lap 314, Martin Truex Jr has a third of a second lead on William Byron; Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman and Ross Chastain wound out the top five.

Eighty to go, Martin Truex Jr has a half second lead on William Byron; Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.  Crews are discussing whether or not to risk finishing the race on the current set of tires or whether to make a pit stop for fresh tires.

Turns three and four are now nearly fully in the shade.

Lap 328, Martin Truex has a lead of nearly a second on William Byron; Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.  Noah Gragson is the only car out of the race.

Lap 332, Martin Truex Jr has increased his lead to one second on William Byron; Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman and Ross Chastain continue to round out the top five.

After his slow pit stop, Denny Hamlin is mired back in tenth place and is unable to move forward.

There are 21 cars on the lead lap.

Toyota has led more laps today then the previous six races combined.

Lap 342, Christopher Bell passes Alex bowman for fourth.

There are 55 laps to go, Martin Truex Jr has a lead of over a second on William Byron; Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.  Kenny Hamlin is in ninth place over five seconds back.

Christopher Bell passes Kyle Larson for third.

Drivers who planned to make one more pit stop have begun to come down pit road for fresh tires.  The stop will put them one lap down but with the fresher tires, they will be able to get their lap back.

Lap 351, leader Martin Truex Jr comes down pit road for fresh tires.  Christopher Bell is the new leader.

While some of the track is in shade, the setting sun is also causing some major glare issues for the drivers.

With 45 laps to go, Christopher Bell gives up the lead to make his green flag pit stop and gives the elad over to Brad Keselowski.

Brad Keselowski makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Josh Berry the new leader.  Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland have also yet to make a pit stop.

Forty to go, the top three drivers – Josh Berry, Michael McDowell, and Todd Gilliland have not made any pit stop since laps 308; William Byron and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.

There are 19 cars on the lead lap.

Just 35 laps to go, Josh Berry leads the race with Michael McDowell is in second; William Byron, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Lap 366, William Byron passes Michael McDowell for second and Josh Berry to take the lead.  Martin Truex Jr is in second a third of a second back.

Lap 370, Martin Truex Jr has caught leader William Byron and is battling for the lead.

Tyler Reddick brings out the caution flag when he gets loose and spins out with a smoking car.

Most of the teams have one final set of sticker tires in the pits, but Martin Truex Jr only has a set of six lap scuffs.

Drivers come down pit road for that final set of tires.  The only reason, any of the teams have fresh tires is because there was no practice or qualifying and NASCAR let the teams keep the tires.

William Byron had a slow pit stop and lost three spots.  Kyle Larson wins the race off of pit road.

Denny Hamlin was caught speeding on pit road for the second time and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart with 22 laps remaining in the race.  Josh Berry, subbing for Chase Elliott, is on the front row on the outside.  Kyle Larson edges out for the lead.  Drivers are four wide across the track.

William Byron gets loose and spins out after contact with Christopher Bell.  Byron was moving down and Bell was moving up.  Kevin Harvick just missed being spun out.

Kyle Larson bring the field down for the green flag restart from the inside lane with Josh Berry alongside on lap 386.  Larson and Berry go side by side before Kyle Larson gets out in front.  Drivers are three wide through much of the field.

With 13 to the top five are Kyle Larson, Josh Berry, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, and Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 389, Kevin Harvick passes Martin Truex Jr for fifth.

Lap 390, Michael McDowell battle with Martin Truex Jr for sixth and finally takes the spot.

Just eight laps to go, Kyle Larson has a lead of nearly a second on Josh Berry; Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Drivers continue to pass Martin Truex Jr; he is now in ninth place.

Five to go, KyleLarson has a one second lead on Josh Berry.

Kyle Larson takes the white flag.

With a lead of a second and a half, Kyle Larson earns his first win of the season.  Kyle Larson does a burnout lap.  This is career win number 20 in 302 starts for Larson.  He is the sixth different winner this season.

The paint scheme on Kyle Larson’s winning car is the same paint scheme used by Ricky Hendrick when he raced.  Today would have been Ricky’s  43rd birthday.  He died in a plane crash in 2004 flying into Martinsville.

The unofficial results of the Toyota Owners 400:
Kyle Larson
Josh Berry
Ross Chastain
Christopher Bell
Kevin Harvick
Michael McDowell
Joey Logano
Alex Bowman
Ty Gibbs
Brad Keselowski
Martin Truex Jr
Chase Briscoe
Aric Almirola
Kyle Busch
Todd Gilliland
Tyler Reddick
Chandler Smith
Ryan Preece
Harrison Burton
Denny Hamlin
Corey LaJoie
Bubba Wallace
Daniel Suarez
William Byron
Austin Dillon
Ryan Blaney
AJ Allmendinger
Austin Cindric
Justin Haley
Chris Buescher
Erik Jones
Ty Dillon
Anthony Alfredo
Cody Ware
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
JJ Yeley
Noah Gragson