Toyota Owners 400
The weather threatened to ruin the Easter fun at Richmond Raceway, however, teams switched to wet-weather tires and hit the track for the Toyota Owners 400. NASCAR did announce that the call to change tires would come from race control in the form of non-competitive stops rather than decisions made by teams.
Pole sitter, Kyle Larson won the opening stage while Martin Truex, Jr. won Stage 2. When all was said and done, Denny Hamlin won the race.
Above all, short-track tempers prevailed, which should make things interesting heading to Martinsville Speedway.
Rich MARvelous Move of the Race
Hamlin won, albeit controversially – and that won our Rich MARvelous Move of the race vote for Richmond.
In an Overtime restart, Hamlin appeared to jump the gun. The booth said it would not be reviewed and the win was marked official.
Immediately, Truex fans and NASCAR industry members took to Twitter/X to express their displeasure at the (lack of a) call.
Exhibit A:
"He went early" pic.twitter.com/lIpT4Smr8z
— MTJ HUB (@MTJhub) April 1, 2024
Exhibit B (in response to A):
— Ryan Pistana (@ryanpistana) April 1, 2024
Did Hamlin jump the restart?
It seems pretty obvious.
Did he benefit from it?
Absolutely.
Did it provide Monday-morning water cooler conversation?
You betcha.
Will NASCAR enforce the restart zone more this weekend at Martinsville?
That remains to be seen.
Xtreme Xfinity Moment
Now, if you missed the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Richmond, you missed a memorable, head-turning bumper chuck. Dawson Cram nudged Joey Gase and sent him for a spin.
Unfortunately, it was a race-ending crash for Gase.
However, in the heat of the moment, the fans were the fortunate ones.
Gase climbed out of his car, and…well, we’ll let the video speak for itself!
Frustration can manifest in a lot of different ways đź‘€. pic.twitter.com/Wt4dHVS6tn
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) March 30, 2024
It was definitely entertaining to see a normally mild-mannered Gase express such extreme emotion. Fans must wait and see what penalties will be issued following the incident, but certainly, it turned into must-see TV.
Rich Mar Racing News
Before we say farewell to Richmond, we have some fantastic news straight from the Rich Mar Florist team. Charlotte, the daughter of RMF’s co-owner, has been racing go-karts for a couple of years.
Recently, she created a Facebook page to drum up support for her racing career. She would be delighted to see some PPN followers also follow her page.
Post your vote for Rich MARvelous Move in the comments or on our socials.
Thank you to Rich Mar Florist for sponsoring the Rich MARvelous Move of the Race. Give them a follow on social media (Facebook, Instagram, X) to stay up-to-date with all the Team Rich Mar NASCAR happenings. Be sure to check out their website for all your floral needs.
