Richmond Toyota Owners 400 Race Review
Kenseth reports a vibration issue with his car, and camera shots show something trailing off the side, but it isn’t damaging his speed as his lead is back up to over 2.5 seconds. But on lap 109 the 20 team get a chance to remove the trailing piece as the 9 of Marcos Ambrose coasts into pit row bringing out caution number two. As a result of removing the piece of metal the 20 cars falls two spots as Bowyer wins the race off pit row narrowly ahead of Truex Jr and a great stop by the 48 team sees him get out in fourth place. When the green flag flies Vickers gets a very poor start and lets Bowyer easily take the lead. Slightly behind the leader in fourth place is Juan Pablo Montoya, after a great qualifying session, he started in sixth, he is up to fourth after getting by Johnson on the restart, he is now pushing Vickers for third and a few laps later is able to make a move to snatch third place. But more debris and a third caution puts an end to his progress, the leaders all come to pit row and the top five of Bowyer, Kenseth, Montoya, Johnson, Kurt Busch remains the same at the restart. A quick move down the inside by Busch on in the inside of the 48 sees him snatch fourth before yet another caution flag comes out. This time it is Brad Keselowski who gets a flat which sends him up into the wall.
Apr 27, 2013; Richmond, VA, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer (15) and Sprint Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth (20) during the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
The restart sees Bowyer get the better of the starts as he pulls away from Kenseth, behind them Montoya and Kurt Busch are side by side where they remain for the next few laps until Montoya nudges Busch and send him wide. Amazingly Busch is not only able to keep control of the car but also manages to take third place. The 15 car is able to pull away relatively easily from the 20 and soon has a lead of over a second. While one Toyota leads another is struggling, early front-runner Vickers who looked to have a very competitive car has slipped way down the pack and is now in 22nd place. As the cars take the crossed the flags the top five is Bowyer, Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Johnson and Kyle Busch. Further down the field a very battered looking 2 car has made it all the way back up to 15th and is reporting that the hit on the wall hasn’t damaged anything and he is still competitive. The lead soon changes however, and as with earlier in the race its back markers that play the part in the lead change. Bowyer seems to get stuck behind David Reutimann and a few laps later Kenseth takes the opportunity to retake the lead. There maybe an issue with the 15 car as he is also soon passed by the 78 and 42 or he could just be taking it easy for a bit!
Bowyer doesn’t have the chance to fall too far as the fifth caution comes out when Greg Biffle spins into the infield with a right rear puncture and the leaders all come to pit row. A great stop by Kurt Busch seems him just miss out on leading off pit row to Kenseth. The restart gives no surprises as to the leader but all eyes are now on the two Busch brothers who are side by side in a battle for second. There are no fireworks this time as they give each other just enough room to avoid taking each other out and its younger brother Kyle who gets the upper hand this time and takes second. It isn’t long before he has caught and passed Kenseth for the lead. Busch’s form should come as no surprise he has won four times at RIR. Only ten laps later his lead is up to 1.5 seconds and it is now older brothers turn to get by Kenseth and we have a Busch 1, 2. Kenseth seems to be having issues maintaining his speed through the turns as he is now caught and passed by Carl Edwards who has been very quietly working his way up from 28th.
Apr 27, 2013; Richmond, VA, USA; Sprint Cup Series drivers Kurt Busch (78) Carl Edwards (99) and Kyle Busch (18) during the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
Keselowski’s day once again takes a turn for the worse when he comes to pit row under green, from 9th, for a vibration and while he is having the issue sorted the 93 of Travis Kvapil hits the wall to bring out another caution. This puts him a lap down but as he is the first car to be a lap down he at least gets it straight back but now has to start from the back of the field. For the front running cars it is now Kurt Busch’s turn to lead as he wins the race off pit row narrowly ahead of Kyle and Edwards. The restart sees the 78 just able to hold off the 99 who has got underneath the 18 into turns 1 and 2 and repeatedly tries to get his nose down the inside but can’t quite make it stick. However they only have a few laps of fighting it out before Travis Kvapil again brings out the yellow flags when his engine lets go.