2014 Toyota Owners 400 Qualifying Canceled; Kyle Larson Will Start Out Front

         After a week off, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was looking to come back strong with a tense and exciting group qualifying session at Richmond. Well, Mother Nature had other ideas. Just as the NASCAR Nationwide Series finished their session of qualifying, the rain began to pour on track. The downpour was enough to cancel Sprint Cup qualifying before the time had even come for it to begin. Like always, the canceled qualifying session led to the starting line-up being set based on first practice speeds. Because of this, Kyle Larson will start out front for the first time in his young Sprint Cup Series career. Brad Keselowski will start second, Clint Bowyer will start third, Kasey Kahne will start fourth, and Kevin Harvick rounds out the top five in the fifth starting spot. Behind them, the diversity of the field begins. Ryan Truex, who is a rookie this year and had a previous best start of thirty fourth this season, will roll off eighth. Yes, he will roll off eighth after missing two races this season and not starting inside the top 30. Behind him, a good many veteran drivers will be forced to start deep in the field. Carl Edwards will start sixteenth, Joey Logano will start seventeenth, Ryan Newman will start eighteenth, Kyle Busch will start nineteenth, Tony Stewart will roll off twentieth, Kurt Busch will follow his teammate from the twenty first spot, Jeff Gordon will start twenty fifth, and Denny Hamlin, who is one of the best at Richmond recently, will start twenty eighth. Like I always say, it is going to be very interesting to see if these veteran drivers came maneuver their way to the front of the field. Plus, when you add in the fact that Richmond is a tough short track, the action will surely pick up very soon into the event. Tomorrow night's annual Saturday night race at Richmond will definitely be a good one after a week off. Will Kevin Harvick win a second straight spring race at Richmond and repeat after winning at Darlington, will Carl Edwards repeat at Richmond, or will another driver take the win and secure their shot at the Chase in just a few months? We will have to wait only one day to find these answers out and a whole lot more.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Top 5 Starters:
1st: Kyle Larson
2nd: Brad Keselowski
3rd: Clint Bowyer
4th: Kasey Kahne
5th: Kevin Harvick

Notables Not in Top 5:
10th: Jimmie Johnson
12th: Matt Kenseth
13th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
16th: Carl Edwards
17th: Joey Logano
18th: Ryan Newman
19th: Kyle Busch
20th: Tony Stewart
21st: Kurt Busch
25th: Jeff Gordon
28th: Denny Hamlin

DNQs: Michael McDowell and Dave Blaney




Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/getqualify/2014-09/W
http://www.jayski.com/stats/2014/pdfs/09rir2014qualresults.pdf
-Image:
http://www.autoweek.com/storyimage/CW/20140324/NASCAR01/140329930/AR/0/Larson-Nationwide-Sprint-Cup.jpg