RACE RECAP 

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES 

Toyota Owners 400

Richmond Raceway – Richmond, Virginia

Saturday, April 13, 2019

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr.

Age: 38

Team: No. 19 – Auto Owners Insurance Toyota

Owner: Joe Gibbs Racing

Crew Chief: Cole Pearn

IN THE WORDS OF THE WINNER – “I’m just really excited to win here at Richmond.  I’ve always really enjoyed this track.  I’ve always loved coming here, and the short track win, everybody kept asking me when it was going to happen, and tonight we didn’t have the best car, but we’ve lost here with the best car a bunch of times, so we just fought, we battled.”

– Martin Truex Jr.

·   Martin Truex Jr. won the 65^th annual Toyota Owners 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Richmond Raceway Saturday night. For Truex, it was his 20^th career victory in 486 career MENCS starts, and his first win as a member of Joe Gibbs Racing.

·   Reigning champion Joey Logano finished second while Clint Bowyer came in third. For Logano, it was his fourth top-5 finish in the last five races at Richmond Raceway. The third place finish marked Bowyer’s fourth consecutive top-10 this season.

·   Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-5. It was Harvick’s fourth top-5 and seventh top-10 this season. For Hamlin, it was his fifth top-5 in his last six MENCS starts at Richmond.

·  Truex (186) led the most laps while his teammate Kyle Busch (101) led the second-most and won Stage 1. Logano, meanwhile, won Stage 2 and led 52 laps.

·  Through nine races, Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske have combined to win every race this season. Dating back to last season, the two teams have accounted for 11 consecutive victories.

·   With the win this weekend, Truex Jr. joins Busch, Logano, Hamlin and Brad Keselowski as the only drivers to have clinched a spot in the 2019 MENCS playoffs, which culminates with the Ford EcoBoost 400 championship race on Sunday, November 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

·  Cole Custer won the 32^nd annual ToyotaCare 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race Saturday at Richmond Raceway. It was his fourth win in 79 career NXS race and his second this season.

·  Austin Cindric finished second and Justin Allgaier came in third. For Cindric, it was his fourth top-10 in the last five races. Allgaier led 86 laps and won Stage 1.

·   Reigning series champion Tyler Reddick and Ryan Sieg rounded out the top-5. It was Reddick’s series-leading sixth top-5 and seventh top-10 this season. For Sieg, it was his second top-5 this year.

·   With wins to their credit this season, Custer, Christopher Bell and Michael Annett are the only drivers to have clinched a spot in the NXS playoffs, which concludes with the Ford EcoBoost 300 championship race on Saturday, November 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES

·  The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series was off this past weekend and will return to action on Friday, May 3 at Dover International Speedway.

·  With his victory in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, Austin Hill is the only driver to have secured a spot in the NGOTS playoffs, which concludes with the Ford EcoBoost 200 championship race on Friday, November 15 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.