RICHMOND, Va. – The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competes at its third short track race in a month with tonight’s Toyota Owners 400. Here are the specifics (all times are ET):
START: Eric Wynkoop, a Toyota car owner, will give the command for drivers to start their engines at 6:58 p.m. ET. The green flag is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 400 laps (300 miles) around the 0.75-mile oval.
SCHEDULE: The Sprint Cup garage opens at 1 p.m., and the driver’s meeting is at 5 p.m. Driver introductions begin at 6:20 p.m.
MOMENT OF SILENCE: This will be observed for Fox broadcaster Steve Byrnes, who died this week after a battle with cancer, at 6:50 p.m.
NATIONAL ANTHEM: It will be performed by the Ft. Lee 392nd Army Band at 6:51 p.m.
TV/RADIO: FOX will broadcast the race, starting with a pre-race show at 6 p.m. Motor Racing Network will broadcast the race on radio and MRN.com beginning with its pre-race show at 6 p.m.
FORECAST: The wunderground.com site predicts 51 degrees at race time with a 99 percent chance of rain.
LAST TIME(S): A year ago, Joey Logano took the lead with four laps to go to capture the checkered flag. Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski led 383 of the 400 laps to win in September.
DEUCES WILD Jeff Gordon finished second in both Richmond races last year. He’s placed second in three of the last five Richmond races.
SEVENTH HEAVEN?: There have been six different winners in the last six Richmond races. Drivers who have won during that time are Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.
STARTING LINEUP:
Row 1: Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin
Row 2: Kurt Busch, AJ Allmendinger
Row 3: Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr.
Row 4: Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth
Row 5: Jamie McMurray, David Ragan
Row 6: Jeff Gordon, Kyle Larson
Row 7: Tony Stewart, Brett Moffitt
Row 8: Paul Menard, Chase Elliott
Row 9: Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards
Row 10: Landon Cassill, Austin Dillon
Row 11: Danica Patrick, Justin Allgaier
Row 12: Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Row 13: Casey Mears, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Row 14: Aric Almirola, Josh Wise
Row 15: Sam Hornish Jr., David Gilliland
Row 16: Cole Whitt, Greg Biffle
Row 17: Jeff Green, Trevor Bayne
Row 18: Joey Gase, Jimmie Johnson
Row 19: Matt DiBenedetto, Michael Annett
Row 20: JJ Yeley*, Kasey Kahne
Row 21: Alex Bowman, Alex Kennedy
Row 22: Reed Sorenson
* Jeb Burton will race for Yeley and start at the rear. Burton moves into Yeley’s ride at BK Racing because Burton has a sponsor this weekend.
