Kyle Busch celebrates after winning the Toyota Owners 400. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
RICHMOND, Va. – Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, captured the checkered flag to complete the sweep for Toyota Racing over the Toyota Spring Race Weekend in the TOYOTA OWNERS 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. The victory was Busch’s fifth Richmond win, and his third consecutive win this season.
Busch battled his way back from starting in the 32nd position to lead 50 laps. Busch last won three consecutive races in 2015, when he went on to win his first Monster Energy Series championship.
“It was a great night tonight,” said Busch. “I wasn’t sure we were going to have any dominance. I don’t think we necessarily did. But we certainly put ourselves in position all night long to have that opportunity and that chance to go out there and win the race, thanks to our pit crew. Guys did an amazing job the last two pit stops. Got us out front where we needed to be, got us the lead. Our car was fast enough on the short run to be able to hold onto it there.”
Kyle Busch wins Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
The victory moves him into first in career wins among active drivers at Richmond. The win is Busch’s 46th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win, tying Buck Baker for 15th all-time on the career Cup win list.
“We love coming to Richmond,” said Joe Gibbs, Owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “It’s a great place for me personally because it’s so close to Redskin Park. It’s great, we have a great fan base here, everybody out there at the end cheering. Just a special night for us.”
Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 for Hendrick Motorsports, finished second in his attempt to secure his first victory in the Monster Energy Series. He was followed by Chesterfield, Va., native Denny Hamlin, who came in third in front of his hometown crowd. Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five.
Kyle Busch celebrates in victory lane after winning the Toyota Owners 400. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
“I definitely consider that a great job by my team to get me in the ballpark, for sure,” said Hamlin. “I mean, the last thing you want to do is come here and kind of get embarrassed, not run well, especially when you know what you need out of your race car. So they did a good job of making good adjustments overnight.”
The Toyota Racing’s field was completed with Daniel Suarez in tenth, Erik Jones in 13th, Martin Truex Jr. in 14th, and Gray Gaulding in 35th.
