Toyota Owners 400: Late-Race Drama Ends With Denny Hamlin Victory At Richmond

Denny Hamlin celebrates in Victory Lane.

Denny Hamlin's short-track success continued with another Richmond victory. (Photo: Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images)

RICHMOND, Va. - After a caution came out with two laps to go, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin prevailed at Richmond Raceway for his 53rd career NASCAR Cup Series victory and second of the 2024 season in the Toyota Owners 400.

Hamlin's JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. was leading after dominating the second half of the race and seemed en route to Victory Lane when the battle for fourth place resulted in a late-race caution.

Kyle Larson was running fourth, got loose in front of Bubba Wallace, who then made contact with Larson and sent him spinning. It all worked out in Larson's favor, who ended up finishing third after leading 144 laps, with Wallace ending up in 13th after an issue on pit road during the final stop derailed his chances once again.

However, the No. 11 pit crew helped Hamlin make up two spots and hold on for the win.

"I’ve had the best pit crew all year long," Hamlin said. "I loved our chances. We still had Martin – he was the deserving race winner there, but you give these pit crews an opportunity – this is what it is all about. You have to have your whole team put together – and they just killed it today."

Truex Jr. led a race-high 228 laps, wound up fourth and was extremely frustrated post-race. The No. 19 Toyota not only collided with Larson multiple times on the final lap and on the cooldown lap, but he also sped up to give Hamlin a little piece of his mind.

You can watch the entire NASCAR Overtime restart below, along with Truex Jr.'s frustration.

"Yeah, it’s unfortunate," Truex Jr. said. "Unfortunately, this has happened to be a few times over the years. We were in a great spot and had a great Auto-Owners Toyota Camry all night long. The guys did a really good job all night. We got beat out of the pits and then – I don’t know. He jumped the start and then used me up into Turn 1. Definitely sucks, but a good solid day and a car capable of winning, so we will just have to come back next week and try to get them then."

Results from the 2024 Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway are listed below:

Other Race Facts

The 2024 Toyota Owners 400 was the first NASCAR Cup Series points race in history to utilize wet-weather tires on a non-road course. Due to the rain in the area, each team was required to begin on wet-weather tires. The tires lasted just over 30 laps before a mandatory competition caution was thrown so the teams could switch back to the regular Goodyear tires.

Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott earned his first top-five finish (fifth) of 2024 and his first since August 2023 (Daytona). Joey Logano, who also has been off to a quiet start to the year, earned his first top five of 2024, with a second-place finish.

After the race, Bubba Wallace found Kyle Larson on pit road and apologized for the late-race incident. Larson acknowledged it was not intentional, and he was not upset because it actually benefitted him.

The video taken of the post-race exchange by reporter Noah Lewis can be viewed below:

For the second consecutive year, a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota won on Easter Sunday. Christopher Bell won on Bristol Dirt in 2023.

All 36 drivers who started the 2024 Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway finished the race.

GRID Ranking

The 2024 GRID Ranking will be the eighth year of the premier motorsport ranking in the world, and it will be released during the week of April 7.

Before the official ranking releases on the first Sunday of April, drivers in the seven racing series that participate in the ranking (NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1, Formula E, World Rally Championship, Repco Supercars, MotoGP) earn GRID Ratings, which help determine their initial seeding when the GRID Ranking releases.

Christopher Bell still is at the top of the NASCAR GRID Rating over William Byron and Denny Hamlin after Richmond. Byron, who remains second after another top 10, earned six wins in 2023 and won the NASCAR Grid Rating last season.

The next race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule will take place at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, April 7. Coverage of the Cook Out 400 will begin on FS1 at 3 p.m. ET.