After voyages to superspeedways, the West Coast and the longest circuit on the schedule in Austin, Texas, NASCAR nestles into a series of legacy tracks for the next month beginning with a trip to the “Old Dominion” – Virginia’s Richmond Raceway.
Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will mark the 133rd Cup race at the 0.75-mile oval short track, the third most of any track behind Martinsville Speedway (148) and Daytona International Speedway (151) to host a premier series event. Richmond will be followed by two unique short tracks in Bristol Motor Speedway (April 9) and Martinville (April 16) to cap a three-race stretch on sub-1-mile ovals.
Before the green flag drops, check out trends to follow during the race, notable moments at the track, tire info and the weekend schedule of action.
RELATED: Richmond’s history cherished by all | Odds for Sunday
MENDING FENCES 🤝
Tempers were hot following last weekend’s race at Circuit of the Americas and while short-track action could bring more intensity, there’s got to be something to the state phrase “Virginia is For Lovers.”
Especially for Trackhouse Racing, the teammate pair of Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez will need to set aside differences after their intramural confrontation on pit road at COTA. On Wednesday, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney offered his perspective when he’s had on-track disagreements with his teammates Joey Logano and Austin Cindric.
“It’s important to try to set things straight when you and a teammate have a run-in because you can’t be walking around the race shop and crew members, you can’t have them being mad at each other, too,” Blaney said. “It’s a weird situation between those guys. It’s like, ‘Oh, my driver is mad at the teammate driver. Should we be mad at each other, too?’ Then it’s a weird dynamic in the shop, so those things have to be dealt with quickly.”
MORE: Blaney on teammate relationships | Marks on Suárez-Chastain incident
📈 TRENDS TO WATCH 📉
— Joe Gibbs Racing has won six of the last nine Cup races at Richmond
— Kyle Busch has scored a top-10 finish in the last 10 races at Richmond
— Five different drivers have won the last five Richmond races.
— Five of the last six short track races were won from a start position of 13th or worse (Via Racing Insights)
— The driver who led the most laps failed to win the last four Richmond races (Via Racing Insights)
RELATED: Projected Richmond results
NOTABLE MOMENTS 🎥
1986: Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip wreck from the lead in closing laps | WATCH
2008: Kyle Busch spins Dale Jr. in closing laps | WATCH
2016: Edwards moves Kyle Busch on final lap to win | WATCH
2019: Truex scores first Cup Series short-track win | WATCH
ON-TRACK SCHEDULE 🗓️
Saturday, April 1
— 10:05 a.m. ET: Cup practice (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
— 10:50 a.m. ET: Cup qualifying (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday, April 2
— 3:30 p.m. ET: Toyota Owners 400 (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
MORE: Full weekend schedule at Richmond, Texas
RULE CHANGES/GOODYEAR TIRE NOTES 🛞
Sunday sees the return of the rules package that drops the rear spoiler from four inches to two inches. Several updates were made to the underbody of the car, such as the removal of three diffuser strakes, engine panel strakes and trimming of the diffuser’s outer fencing.
The GEICO Restart Zone returned to its 2022 dimensions after it was extended for the first five races of this season.
Cup cars will run the same tire codes that were used last season at Richmond in the first year of the Next Gen car. With Richmond being a track with high tire wear, teams will be issued nine sets of tires for the 400-lap event.
In the event of a lost wheel that is contained to pit road, the offending team will be subject to a pass-through penalty under green-flag conditions. If the infraction occurs during a caution period, the offending team will restart at the tail end of the field.
If the wheel breaks free outside of pit road, the new rules guidelines mandate a two-lap penalty, plus a two-race suspension for two crew members. Each penalty is series-specific: Violations in one series will not impact those crew members’ eligibility to participate in other series.
After the race at Phoenix, competition officials issued a safety violation for the loss or separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle (Sections 8.8.10.4 A&C) to the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driven by Aric Almirola. Crew members Ryan Mulder (front tire changer) and Sean Cotten (jack) were suspended for two races.
RELATED: See rules changes for 2023
FAN REWARDS 🫵
Fans can get in on the action all season long with NASCAR Fan Rewards, a free program that rewards fans for participating in the action when they watch races and play NASCAR Fantasy.
There’s no cost to join. Fans must be 18 years or older to participate in the program.
Earn points by checking into a race from home or at the track, setting your Fantasy Live lineup, making purchases on the NASCAR.com shop and more. Points can be redeemed for race tickets, merchandise and VIP experiences at the track, including pace car rides and waving the green flag at qualifying.
FANTASY LIVE 🏆
Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live, which is open now. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts by garaging a driver by the end of Stage 2, and there is a $25,000 prize for the winner.
How to play: Fantasy Live | Set up a team today!
ALSO ON NASCAR.COM 💻
Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week, in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.
NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement to the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.