RICHMOND, Virginia — As the NASCAR Cup Series’ Toyota Owners 400 unfolded at Richmond Raceway, two race teams clearly separated themselves from the rest of the pack: Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports.
The matchup made sense, as JGR came into today winners of six out of the last 10 Cup Series races at Richmond, while Hendrick Motorsports distinguished itself as the team to beat so far in 2023.
“At Richmond, the Gibbs cars are going to be the cars to beat,” race winner Kyle Larson said post-race. “They just have a package, I guess, for this track.”
However, it was advantage HMS out of the gate as William Byron and Larson pulled away to duel for the top spot. When the green-and-white checkered flag flew to signify the end of stage one, Byron collected the stage win, Larson was right behind him in second, and polesitter Alex Bowman came across in seventh.
However, as the race progressed into the middle stages and the track went through changes, the JGR Toyotas began to make their presence felt. Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., all thrived on the long runs during stage two; ultimately, Hamlin piloted his No. 11 to the stage two victory, with Bell in second and Truex in fifth. Byron led the Hendrick stable in fourth, Bowman in seventh and Larson faded to eighth after contact on pit road with the No. 99 of Daniel Suarez.
“There were times when the Gibbs Toyotas were the best cars on the long run,” Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon said in the media center afterwards. “But right now, I like the way we see our teams executing.”
Down the stretch, JGR and Hendrick took their turns in command, with both teams having their fair share of good and bad luck. The complexion of the race changed significantly when Tyler Reddick spun his No. 45 Toyota in turn 2 to bring out the caution with only 29 laps remaining. This led to trouble for JGR when Truex had to put on scuff tires while everyone else got new sticker tires. To make matters worse, Hamlin sped on pit road for the second time on the afternoon, forcing him to restart at the back.
The climactic moment of the JGR vs. HMS duel occurred on the ensuing restart when Bell moved up in turn one to make room for Ross Chastain and got into Byron, spinning the No. 24 Chevrolet around and into the wall. Bell and Byron both noted Chastain’s role in the incident afterwards.
“The wrecking ball [Chastain] came through and made us…
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