After using the magic formula, Martin Truex Jr. and Ben Rhodes will start on the pole for the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series races at Richmond Raceway.
Cup: JGR front row with Truex and Hamlin
Martin Truex Jr. put the Martin in Martinsville when he beat Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Denny Hamlin to the win on Sunday. The first multi-time Cup winner of 2021, Truex will look for his third win at Richmond in the last four races. The short track has become one of his strongest tracks as he rides a four-race top-five streak. Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 will be his first front-row start at Richmond since the 2018 spring race, which also happened to be the last time he finished worse than third (fourteenth).
Hamlin will start second at his home track. He has three wins at Richmond with the last coming in the 2016 fall event.
Behind the JGR front row will be a pair of Hendrick Motorsports drivers in Chase Elliott and William Byron. Elliott finished second in the 2018 spring race while Byron has never finished higher than twelfth at Richmond (2018 spring).
The lone driver change is Garrett Smithley returning to Rick Ware Racing‘s #53 that J.J. Yeley drove at Martinsville; it will be Smithley’s fifth race of the year. Starting last is Austin Cindric in his third Cup start for Team Penske.
Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
1 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
3 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
4 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
6 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
7 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
8 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
9 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
10 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
11 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
12 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
13 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
14 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
15 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
16 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
17 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
18 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
19 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
20 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
21 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
22 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
23 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
24 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
25 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
26 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
27 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet |
28 | 15 | James Davison | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
29 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
30 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
31 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
32 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
33 | 51 | Cody Ware* | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
34 | 77 | Justin Haley* | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
35 | 78 | B.J. McLeod* | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford |
36 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
37 | 53 | Garrett Smithley* | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
38 | 33 | Austin Cindric* | Team Penske | Ford |
* – Ineligible for Cup points
Truck: Toyotas occupy top four
After a week off, the Truck Series returns on Saturday at Richmond with Rhodes leading a Toyota contingent in the first two rows. Like Truex, Rhodes is the only driver in his series with multiple wins on the year, and he finished second in the most recent Truck race at Bristol. In the 2020 Truck race at Richmond, the first since 2005, he finished third.
Joining Rhodes on the front row will be Austin Hill, who recorded the second-fastest lap at Bristol. Hill finished eighth in his lone Truck start at Richmond.
Rhodes’ ThorSport Racing team-mate Grant Enfinger, who won the 2020 Richmond event, and another Toyota driver in Stewart Friesen hold the line in row two. Enfinger’s part-time Truck schedule continues while Friesen is coming off a race at Bristol that saw him set the fastest lap.
Most of the driver changes come as regulars replace dirt ringers, primarily owner/drivers. For example, Kyle Busch returns to his part-time slate in his team’s #51 that Truex drove to victory at Bristol, while Cory Roper replaces Chase Briscoe in his #04 entry, Spencer Davis for Bubba Wallace in the #11, Dawson Cram for Cody Erickson in the #41, Jett Noland for Kyle Larson in Niece Motorsports‘ #44, and Timmy Hill for Mike Marlar in the #56. Reaume Brothers Racing‘s owner Josh Reaume, freshly reinstated, takes over the #34 from ringer Jake Griffin while Keith McGee makes his Truck début in RBR’s #33 that was piloted by Myatt Snider. Howie DiSavino III is also a Truck newcomer in Jordan Anderson Racing‘s #3, while Sam Mayer prepares for his maiden start with Bret Holmes Racing. Ryan Reed is in CMI Motorsports‘ #49 for his first NASCAR race since 2019. Kris Wright, who missed the last two races after testing positive for COVID-19, returns to the #02 for Young’s Motorsports.
With a full field, Trey Hutchens is locked out of the grid. David Gilliland Racing‘s #17 misses its first race of the season as Taylor Gray continues to recover from injuries sustained in a car accident the previous week.
Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
1 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Toyota |
2 | 16 | Austin Hill | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota |
3 | 98 | Grant Enfinger | ThorSport Racing | Toyota |
4 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota |
5 | 24 | Raphaël Lessard | GMS Racing | Chevrolet |
6 | 21 | Zane Smith | GMS Racing | Chevrolet |
7 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota |
8 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
9 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | GMS Racing | Chevrolet |
10 | 22 | Austin Wayne Self | AM Racing | Chevrolet |
11 | 15 | Tanner Gray | David Gilliland Racing | Ford |
12 | 51 | Kyle Busch* | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota |
13 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
14 | 1 | Hailie Deegan | David Gilliland Racing | Ford |
15 | 23 | Chase Purdy | GMS Racing | Chevrolet |
16 | 40 | Ryan Truex | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
17 | 45 | Brett Moffitt | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
18 | 4 | John Hunter Nemechek | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota |
19 | 13 | Johnny Sauter | ThorSport Racing | Toyota |
20 | 9 | Codie Rohrbaugh | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet |
21 | 04 | Cory Roper | Roper Racing | Ford |
22 | 02 | Kris Wright | Young’s Motorsports | Chevrolet |
23 | 18 | Chandler Smith | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota |
24 | 12 | Tate Fogleman | Young’s Motorsports | Chevrolet |
25 | 11 | Spencer Davis | Spencer Davis Motorsports | Toyota |
26 | 20 | Spencer Boyd | Young’s Motorsports | Chevrolet |
27 | 25 | Timothy Peters | Rackley WAR | Chevrolet |
28 | 30 | Danny Bohn | On Point Motorsports | Toyota |
29 | 19 | Derek Kraus | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Toyota |
30 | 26 | Tyler Ankrum | GMS Racing | Chevrolet |
31 | 41 | Dawson Cram | Cram Racing Enterprises | Chevrolet |
32 | 33 | Keith McGee | Reaume Brothers Racing | Chevrolet |
33 | 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing | Chevrolet |
34 | 56 | Timmy Hill* | Hill Motorsports | Chevrolet |
35 | 3 | Howie DiSavino III | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet |
36 | 44 | Jett Noland | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet |
37 | 34 | Josh Reaume | Reaume Brothers Racing | Chevrolet |
38 | 6 | Norm Benning | Norm Benning Racing | Chevrolet |
39 | 49 | Ryan Reed | CMI Motorsports | Chevrolet |
40 | 32 | Sam Mayer* | Bret Holmes Racing | Chevrolet |
* – Ineligible for Truck points