Last week’s NASCAR Cup Series action at Martinsville Speedway had it all. From inclement weather to a caution-filled final stage and a whole lot of beating and banging in between, it was truly short track racing at its finest. This weekend, NASCAR heads to the opposite end of Virginia to Richmond Raceway for a second straight week of short track action. The Toyota Owners 400 is scheduled to be run on Sunday afternoon on the 0.75-mile oval.
This article contains all of the vital information necessary to get you ready for the ninth race of the NASCAR Cup Series season. Read on for the Toyota Owners 400 starting lineup, start time, fast facts and statistics.
NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway
65th Toyota Owners 400
Date: Sunday, April 18, 2021
Start Time: 3 p.m. EST
Track: Richmond Raceway — Richmond, VA
Coverage: FOX
Pole Sitter: Martin Truex Jr.
Defending Champion: Martin Truex Jr. (2019)
Toyota Owners 400 Race Details
Distance: 300 miles
Laps: 400
Lap Length: 0.75 miles
Stages: Three (Laps 1-80; Laps 81-235; Laps 236-400)
Surface: Asphalt
Turns: 4
Toyota Owners 400 Starting Grid
See below for a breakdown of qualifying.
| Starting Position | Driver | Car Number | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 2 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 3 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Justin Haley | 31 | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 7 | Ty Dillon | 42 | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske | Ford |
| 11 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 13 | Kurt Busch | 45 | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 14 | Erik Jones | 43 | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 15 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing | Ford |
| 16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 18 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing | Ford |
| 19 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 20 | Austin Cindric | 2 | Team Penske | Ford |
| 21 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 22 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 23 | Todd Gilliland | 38 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 24 | Harrison Burton | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 25 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske | Ford |
| 26 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 27 | Justin Allgaier | 77 | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 28 | Noah Gragson | 16 | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 29 | J.J. Yeley | 15 | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 30 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 31 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 32 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 33 | Ross Chastain | 1 | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 34 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 35 | Cody Ware | 51 | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 36 | Josh Williams | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford |
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying Overview
Following the virus-caused interruption to racing last season, NASCAR did away with practice and qualifying runs at the majority of races. A combination of grouped draws and a performance-metrics formula were used to determine starting lineups. That same formula remains in place for the majority of races on the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, including this weekend’s Toyota Owners 400.
So, what exactly is involved in the performance-metrics formula? Well, it draws on a number of factors including individual race performances and seaosn-long results. The following breakdown illustrates the weighted grades associated with each component of NASCAR’s metrics formula:
NASCAR Cup Series Metrics Formula Breakdown
- 35 percent: Team owner points ranking
- 25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
- 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
- 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race
Toyota Owners 400 Stats and NASCAR Betting Facts
- Lee Petty was victorious in the very first edition of the race in 1953. The event has been held in all but three years since, including 1954, 1958 and 2020.
- Up until lights were installed at Richmond Raceway in 1991, the Toyota Owners 400 was run on Sunday afternoon the week after the Daytona 500.
- Martin Truex Jr. is the most recent winner of this race, taking the checkered in 2019 with an average speed of 99.852 mph. It was the fastest average speed for the winner of the race since 2012.
- Richard Petty is the all-time leader with six wins in this race. Among active drivers, Kyle Busch has the most victories with five. He is the only active NASCAR Cup Series driver with more than two wins in the event.
- Joe Gibbs Racing leads all race teams with nine Toyota Owners 400 wins. All nine have come since the turn of the century.
- Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have won three of the last four and seven of the last 11 editions of this race.
- Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 21 wins in this race. However, only two of those victories have come in the last 11 editions of the event.
- Despite winning seven of the last 11 editions of the Toyota Owners 400, Toyota only ranks fourth in all-time manufacturer wins in the event.
