NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Can Tame Richmond in the Toyota Owners 400?
Sunday marks the first points-paying short track race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup season. The Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway offers one driver a win and Playoff berth. While Richmond has been a Toyota playground in recent years, that’s all out the window now. With the Next Gen car, Toyotas as a whole have struggled so far this year. However, some of the strongest active drivers at Richmond do race Camrys. With that being said, who are some favorites heading into the Virginia venue?
Joey Logano
Two-time Richmond winner Joey Logano has been one of the strongest lately in the Commonwealth. Driver 22 has seven top-fives in the last nine trips to Richmond, dating back to his 2017 win. Logano also led laps late in the race here last April. The 22 was contending against Denny Hamlin before the win was taken away by Alex Bowman. Logano already has a Next Gen short track win, the exhibition Busch Clash event from the Los Angeles Coliseum in February. If any Ford driver is to score the short track win, it could be the Penske 22 team. They hope to lock their way into the Playoffs as the seventh different winner of 2022.
Martin Truex Jr.
Back in September, Martin Truex Jr’s Toyota took the Richmond Playoff victory, holding off teammate Denny Hamlin. The 19 car has three wins in the last five Richmond races, with a worst finish of fifth since 2018. Truex has become the short track king in recent years. Truex typically leads a lot of laps at the 3/4-mile track. MTJ has 80 or more laps led eight times in the last 10 Richmond races. With his Richmond prowess established, Truex has had a surprisingly average 2022 so far. He’s only has three top-10s, placing him seventh in points. If the 19 hopes to revisit victory lane again, their season just may turn around this weekend.
“It’s a place we definitely have a lot of confidence at and had a lot of good runs over the years,” Truex said. “But that was with the old car, so it’s really a whole new ballgame this weekend. At the end of the day, your car has to rotate the center and have good drive off. If you can do that, you’re going to have a good day.”
Chase Elliott
While Chase Elliott does not have a past Richmond win, he’s been among the most consistent here from the Chevrolet camp. The current points leader paced the field for 58 laps at Richmond last fall, as he was one of few who could contend against Truex and Hamlin. Elliott also has top-fives in two of the last three trips to Richmond, giving driver 9 confidence for Sunday.
“Historically, Richmond hasn’t really been the best track for us,” Elliott admitted. “But I felt like we were a little more solid there the last couple of years and were able to lead some laps. Going back there with this new car, it will be interesting to see how things go. Teams are going to have to make the most of the little bit of practice time we get. Getting your car driving the way you need it to for this track is so important.”
Elliott may be the lone Hendrick driver without a win so far this season, but he is still the points leader by 13 markers over Ryan Blaney. Despite no win, Elliott is one of only two drivers (Chastain) with four top-10s through the first six races. With that in mind, Elliott could earn his first win of 2022 at Richmond.
Denny Hamlin
Hometown hero Denny Hamlin may not have a Richmond win since 2016, but the 11 has been close numerous times since. Seven of the nine Richmond races since the 11’s last win have seen Hamlin in the top five, including second in both races last year. Hamlin led over 200 laps of last spring’s Toyota Owners 400, only to get passed late by Alex Bowman. In the Playoffs, the 11 would lead almost 200 laps again, only to falter to Martin Truex Jr. on a late pit cycle. After two grade-A chances at another hometown win robbed last year, Hamlin enters Richmond poised for the victory.
“I’m always excited to go to Richmond,” Hamlin said. “I have been fortunate to have had a lot of success there throughout my career and especially the last few years. No matter what car you’re racing, you’re always going to fight the same things there. You have to be able to turn the middle and have good drive off if you want to have any chance, especially on the long run. Richmond is very unique compared to the tracks we have been to so far with this car, so it’s really going to be up to us to unload close and fine tune on it during practice and qualifying to be ready for the race, but I have a lot of confidence in Chris (Gabehart) and our team that we can do that.”
Kyle Busch
Driver 18 has been very strong at Richmond, with six career victories on the short track. However, Kyle Busch has not won here since a 2018 season-sweep. Since then, Busch’s worst Richmond result has been ninth last fall. That result came after a late speeding penalty relegated him back in the field. Joe Gibbs Racing was on their way to a potential 1-2-3-4 sweep before Busch got busted by the speeding police. After a trying few weeks in Atlanta and Austin, Busch hopes to rebound in Richmond.
“Richmond is a great place for us and our M&M’S Crunchy Cookie team,” Busch said. “You’ve really got to be mindful of the bottom of the racetrack and, based on the past, also mindful of your brakes and how you use them, especially getting into turn one where you can really overheat your brakes, which overheats your tires and makes you slide around more. With the new cars and better brakes, we’ll see if that changes anything. Having good cars there has certainly been something we’ve been fortunate with at Joe Gibbs Racing over the years. I’ve won there six times and I’ve been in the top-10 about every time we go there and also a lot of top-five finishes, so I would like to think we can keep that going and, more importantly, get a win. It would certainly be a good time for it, so we look forward to Richmond being one of those places where we can do that. Really excited to have M&M’S Crunchy Cookie on board with us for the first time this week. We’ve had a lot of good luck with these new M&M’S schemes and it’s also a great snack, of course.”
Christopher Bell
The most consistent winless driver at Richmond Raceway is the fourth man from Joe Gibbs Racing: Christopher Bell. In only three starts at the 3/4-mile track, Bell has finishes of 15th, fourth, and third. These Richmond Cup finishes come after three wins in four Xfinity starts here for Bell. To put it bluntly, Richmond has been one of Bell’s best tracks in both series. After a strong recovery to third last week in Austin, the 20 may just be building momentum now that could continue at Richmond.
“I’ve had great race cars and Richmond is probably JGR’s best track as a company,” Bell said. “Through Xfinity and Cup, I’ve have had great showings there, I’ve won a couple of Xfinity races and had decent finishes in the Cup car last year. The Next Gen car is completely unknown again but that’s definitely one place we are looking forward to and have circled on the calendar.”
While Toyotas as a manufacturer have dominated here in recent years, the list of potential winners is wide open this weekend. Coverage of the Toyota Owners 400 will be Sunday at 3:30 ET on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. As the first points-paying short track race, Richmond will be another big test for the Next Gen car.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCAR
