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Kyle Larson started on the pole. Qualifying was rained out on Friday afternoon and Larson was fastest in first practice, which handed him his first start out front in his young NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career. The race went green and Larson wouldn't have a long stay out in front of the field as he was involved in the first caution of the race on lap 1 in the first turn. Clint Bowyer bumped Larson entering turn 1 as Larson went to move to the bottom in the corner. Larson went around and up the track in front of the field. The field avoided Larson as he barely bumped the outside wall with his front fender. Larson drove away without damage, but he would restart deep in the field. None of the drivers received the lucky dog. All the drivers stayed on the race track and Brad Keselowski remained the leader after he was the first to make it through the first lap melee and the first to lead a lap in the event. The race went back green and Keselowski was able to hold onto the lead as the field battled behind him. Keselowski drove away slightly, but Kevin Harvick was coming quickly. Harvick made it up to Keselowski soon into the event and on lap 32, Harvick took the top spot away. Kasey Kahne followed Harvick through and he started to battle for the lead as the competition caution quickly approached. Harvick remained the leader as the second caution waved on lap 40. NASCAR waved a competition caution due to rain the previous night. Danica Patrick received the lucky dog. All the drivers came down pit road for the first stops of the night. Kevin Harvick held onto the lead as the scene was the same as the night before. Tires had started to cord and it looked like it would be a tough night battling tires. The story line would be fun to follow and it would be interesting to see who came out on top.
The race went back green and Kevin Harvick was able to hold onto the lead. Harvick looked to drive away, but Brad Keselowski was coming. Keselowski blasted up to Harvick and Keselowski took the lead away on lap 55. Keselowski began to drive away shortly after passing Harvick. The field began to battle behind them as Keselowski began to lap the back of the field. After a run close to fifty laps, the third caution of the race waved on lap 99. Debris was spotted in turn 4 of the track. David Reutimann received the lucky dog. The caution brought more pit stops without strategy. All the lead lap drivers took four tires with Jeff Gordon coming out as the leader to lead his first laps of the night. Brad Keselowski, who came in as the leader, had a problem on his stop and he lost five spots en route to coming out sixth. Keselowski would have to battle back, but he had a pretty good car that could contend. The race went back green and Gordon, who is notable for struggling on restarts, managed to hold onto the lead easily. Gordon began to drive away as some different players moved to the front of the pack. Gordon paced the field and was lapping cars when tire problems became a factor in the night with the fourth caution on lap 160.
Cole White began to slow on track with a tire that was down. He made the move towards pit road as rubber popped off his tires. At around the same time, Clint Bowyer had tire problems. He also made the move to pit road. Whitt and Bowyer pulled into their boxes with flat tires and small fires around the axles. Both teams replaced the tires as the caution waved. Whitt and Bowyer returned to the track, but they would soon need to come back down. Both fires underneath the cars began to pick up. Bowyer's car turned into a fireball as he sped back around towards pit road. Whitt was facing the same exact problem. Both pulled into their boxes and the fires were put out, but each had heavy fire damage. Bowyer's damage was enough to put him out of the race while Whitt would soon return. Kurt Busch received the lucky dog. Because of the tire problems, no strategy calls would be made. All the lead lap drivers took four tires with Jeff Gordon returning to the lead. The debris around the track was cleaned up and field was lined back up. The race went back green and Jeff Gordon managed to hold the lead for the moment. Unfortunately for Gordon, his car was geared to the short run and only a few laps into the run, Brad Keselowski blew past him for the lead on lap 173. Keselowski began to drive away as the field battled behind him. Keselowski wouldn't move too far away before Gordon's car began to improve on the long run. Gordon made his way back up to Keselowski and passed him for the lead on lap 209. As Gordon took the lead, the run began to get dangerously long and soon, tire problems would occur again with the fifth caution on lap 225.
Reed Sorenson began to slow down in turn 3. Sorenson had a tire going down and he was forced to come back around and head to pit road. As he approached turn 2 looking to make it to the pit entrance, a fire began to slightly burn. As he came close to the pit entrance, a huge fire engulfed the right side of his car and part of the hood. Sorenson came to a halt on pit road and he was pulled from his burning car by one of Kasey Kahne's crewmen. Sorenson was okay, but his car was burnt and damaged beyond repair. Paul Menard received the lucky dog. Once again, tire problems led to no strategy on the part of the Sprint Cup guys. All the lead lap drivers took four tires with Jeff Gordon returning to the lead. The race went back green and Gordon was able to hold onto the lead once again. Gordon's car continued to struggle on the short run and Joey Logano began to battle with him, but Gordon maintained the lead for the moment. He wouldn't hold onto it long as Logano surpassed him for the lead on lap 243. Logano looked to run away, but Gordon wasn't willing to lay down. Gordon kept close to him and was able to pass him for the lead on lap 252. Gordon began to run away as the race moved into another rhythm. Gordon looked to be a dominate force as the laps clicked through the night. The run began to close in on sixty laps and a tire problem was most likely coming. It did as the sixth caution waved on lap 295.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s tire went down in turn 3 and he slammed the outside wall. Stenhouse made it back around and pulled down pit road to replace all four tires. A fire was burning underneath the car and his crew was asking for it to be put out. It was put out and the stop was performed without another problem. Stenhouse returned to the track with a little fire damage, but his night was basically toast. Kyle Larson received the lucky dog. The stops once again went down without a single strategy move and Dale Earnhardt Jr. came out ahead of Jeff Gordon. The race went back green and Earnhardt was able to hold onto the lead. He wouldn't hold it long as Joey Logano battled to the lead on lap 306. Logano looked to run away as the laps started to click down on the race. After a short little while, Jeff Gordon began to pick up speed. Gordon battled up to Logano and he took the lead on lap 337. Just as Gordon took the lead, a few drivers began their ascent to the front. Brian Vickers, Ryan Newman, and Matt Kenseth began to crawl up the leaderboard after all three were not factors early on. Kenseth was the fastest of the trio as he moved to second as the end of the race approached. Kenseth closed in on Jeff Gordon and he took the lead easily on lap 361. Just as Kenseth moved into the lead, the longest green flag run of the race ended with the seventh caution on lap 365 and another tire problem.
Jimmie Johnson, who was laps down after getting off cycle early on in the event, slowed on the frontstretch due to a tire down. Johnson was able to make it back around and pull onto pit road without a fire or any damage to his car, but he lost more time and his chances for a win were all completely gone. David Gilliland received the lucky dog. The caution brought what turned out to be the most important and final pit stops for the leaders of the event. All the lead lap drivers came down pit road for four tires with Matt Kenseth coming out as the leader. On the restart, Kenseth was able to hold onto the lead. Kenseth looked to run away after grabbing the lead, but the fierce racing throughout the field quickly brought out the eighth caution on lap 377. Kyle Busch bumped Denny Hamlin entering turn 3 after the field stacked up in front of them. Hamlin went around and spun in the middle of the pack. The field dodged Hamlin and, somehow, he didn't receive damage. He drove away, but he lost time late in the event. Carl Edwards received the lucky dog. The caution brought a few drivers at the back of the lead lap to pit road while the leaders stayed on track with Kenseth remaining in first. The race went back green and Kenseth drove away from Joey Logano, who restarted behind him. Logano believed Kenseth had brake checked him, but it did not affect Kenseth as he drove away and looked to take his first win of the season. Kenseth would have to outlast another restart as the ninth and final caution waved on lap 384. J.J. Yeley's car began to heavily smoke in turn 1 due to a blown engine. Yeley came down pit road and his night was over. Kurt Busch received the lucky dog. A few other drivers came down pit road while the leaders stayed on track. A final restart would occur and it would definitely be a fun battle to watch.
Matt Kenseth lined up on the inside with Joey Logano behind him and Jeff Gordon to his outside. Brad Keselowski followed behind Gordon as the final green flag of the night waved with only nine laps remaining. Kenseth jumped out to the lead quickly as Gordon fell into second and Keselowski moved in front of Logano for third. Kenseth looked to run away, but Keselowski was coming with a head of steam looking for the lead. He moved past Gordon quickly and looked to pass Kenseth on the outside. Kenseth passed the line with five laps to go as Keselowski continued to look to his outside. As the two moved around the track, Jeff Gordon closed in, but they forgot about one guy: Joey Logano. Logano passed Gordon heading into turn 4 with five to go and as they crossed the line for four to go, Logano was below Keselowski as Brad almost went around. Keselowski saved it as Logano moved underneath Kenseth and to the lead. Logano drove away as Gordon fell into line behind him and Kyle Busch came out of nowhere to take third. Logano looked in control, but he still had to last a few more laps. Logano hit his marks well and took the white flag with no one close enough to pass him. He made it through all four corners and came across the finish line first for the second time this season. Logano was celebrating, but others were pretty angry. Keselowski walked up to Matt Kenseth's car after the race and voiced his displeasure with a finger wag after Brad felt Matt cost him the win. No fight occurred, but the same couldn't be said for Marcos Ambrose and Casey Mears. The two battled hard late and they happened to meet each other in the garage. The two were sharing a conversation when Mears pushed Ambrose to the side a little bit. Ambrose wasn't pleased and after a moment, he landed a huge right hook to Mears's face. Mears didn't back down as crews began to push and shove amidst the fray. The situation was handled quickly and both drivers walked away, but punches were thrown and neither driver was happy with the other. Nonetheless, Joey Logano took advantage of an opportunity late and he was able to practically punch his ticket for the Chase.
Joey Logano has also experienced a transformation since he moved to Team Penske last year. During his tenure at Joe Gibbs Racing, Logano looked like he would be unsuccessful in NASCAR. After experiencing four years with little to no success, Logano also seemed dejected by the job he did for a premier organization. Fortunately for Logano, he still has some talent left. Since moving to Team Penske last year, he has three wins and he made the Chase for the first time a season ago and ran well. With two wins early on in the season, Logano is now a Chase driver again and he looks to be in the best spot he has ever seen in his young career. Jeff Gordon ran well the entire race and second place was all he could muster after a hard fought battle. Still, he remained the points leader after a consistent first nine races. Kyle Busch took fresh tires late and he was able to make his way up to a surprising third place finish. Brad Keselowski battled for the win late, but he was forced to settle with a fourth place finish. Matt Kenseth looked to be in control on the final restart, but he was nothing for the other four drivers as he finished fifth. Others followed behind the top five with good finishes, but some drivers were very disappointed with their finishes. Some of those disappointed include Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, and Clint Bowyer. They will have to recover next week and it definitely won't be easy as the series heads to the unpredictable Talladega Superspeedway. Punches were thrown in Richmond, but huge crashes will occur in Talladega on Sunday. Will David Ragan somehow pull off two upset wins in a row at Talladega, will proficient drivers rebound after bad runs at Richmond, will another underdog manage to take the win, or will another driver win on the largest track on the series schedule? We will have to wait until Sunday to find these answers out and a whole lot more.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 1- Clint Bowyer bumped Kyle Larson in turn 1 and Larson went for a slight spin in the corner.
2nd Caution: Lap 40- Competition caution due to rain the previous day.
3rd Caution: Lap 99- Debris was spotted on the track in turn 4.
4th Caution: Lap 160- Cole Whitt and Clint Bowyer lost tires on track, which left debris scattered around the facility.
5th Caution: Lap 225- Reed Sorenson lost a tire in turn 3 and slowed on track while leaving behind some debris.
6th Caution: Lap 295- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. lost a tire entering turn 3 and slammed the outside wall hard.
7th Caution: Lap 365- Jimmie Johnson slowed on the frontstretch due to a blown tire.
8th Caution: Lap 377- Kyle Busch bumped Denny Hamlin entering turn 3 and Hamlin went for a spin in front of the field.
9th Caution: Lap 384- J.J. Yeley's car began to heavily smoke in turn 1 due to a blown engine.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: None
2nd Caution: Danica Patrick
3rd Caution: David Reutimann
4th Caution: Kurt Busch
5th Caution: Paul Menard
6th Caution: Kyle Larson
7th Caution: David Gilliland
8th Caution: Carl Edwards
9th Caution: Kurt Busch
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Joey Logano
2nd: Jeff Gordon
3rd: Kyle Busch
4th: Brad Keselowski
5th: Matt Kenseth
Notables Not in Top 5:
7th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
9th: Carl Edwards
11th: Kevin Harvick
14th: Kasey Kahne
22nd: Denny Hamlin
23rd: Kurt Busch
25th: Tony Stewart
32nd: Jimmie Johnson
43rd: Clint Bowyer
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/lapbylap/view-all-laps.html?intid=lapbylap_lapbylapleaderboard_08292013
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/live-standings.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2014_Toyota_Owners_400/W
-Image:
http://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/32207455/486950667.0_standard_730.0.jpg
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