NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson was getting nervous.
Watching Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott efficiently navigate Richmond Raceway’s .75-mile D-shaped, asphalt track, Larson thought his leading qualifying spin Saturday could come up short.
Instead, Elliott came up short, by 0.002 seconds.
“Chase got real close there, so I was a bit nervous,” Larson said, as reported by NASCAR.com. “Awesome day for Hendrick Motorsports.”
Larson’s hot lap of 22.438 seconds (120.332 mph) edged Elliott’s effort of 120.321 mph.
Ross Chastain (120.059) will start on the inside of the second row, alongside Hendrick pilot Alex Bowman (119.861).
The fourth member of Hendrick’s garage, William Byron, will start P13 after winning last week’s road course event.
Good day for the 5 team. Pole at Richmond! pic.twitter.com/oeeAPXIzjJ
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) March 30, 2024
Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell Talk, Differences Linger
The former teammates tried to talk about their differences from last Sunday’s run-in at Circuit of The Americas.
Was it a good follow-up talk?
Let’s just say the early-week phone call went a bit better than their “talk” along pit road moments after the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. Busch aggressively confronted Bell, the event’s runner-up, for spinning him out.
For now, it sounds like Busch will race his former protege differently.
“Run him harder for a little bit until he concedes that he’s sorry on the racetrack and then get back to normal,” Busch said, as reported by NASCAR.com.
Bell broke into the national series with a Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Truck Series team, winning a circuit title in 2017. Bell said he called and left a message for Busch on Monday. A little while later, Busch called back.
“I mean, I was surprised that he called me back,” Bell said. “You know, I called him Monday and he didn’t answer, and then I thought that that was going to be the end of it. And I was really happy that he called me back and we had a conversation, and it was a good conversation. We don’t have a lot of run-ins, but the two times that we have had run-ins, he’s been on the losing side of it. So, I’ll just race him with respect, as I’ve always tried to, and it is what it is.”
It’ll be interesting to see how they race each other Sunday.
Stand on business @KyleBusch 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/SpBmVmAzT2
— Dan DiOrio (@hqspider) March 24, 2024
Starting Lineup for NASCAR Cup Series’ Toyota Owners 400
Here is a look at the lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway:
Starting Position, Driver, Car No., Team
- 1, Kyle Larson, 5, Hendrick Motorsports
- 2, Chase Elliott, 9, Hendrick Motorsports
- 3, Ross Chastain, 1, Trackhouse Racing
- 4, Alex Bowman, 48, Hendrick Motorsports
- 5, Bubba Wallace, 23, 23XI Racing
- 6, Todd Gilliland, 38, Front Row Motorsports
- 7, Martin Truex Jr., 19, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 8, Ty Gibbs, 54, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 9, Austin Cindric, 2, Team Penske
- 10, Joey Logano, 22, Team Penske
- 11, Denny Hamlin, 11, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 12, Ryan Blaney, 12, Team Penske
- 13, William Byron, 24, Hendrick Motorsports
- 14, Chris Buescher, 17, RFK Racing
- 15, Kyle Busch, 8, Richard Childress Racing
- 16, Ryan Preece, 41, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 17, Noah Gragson, 42, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 18, John Hunter Nemechek, 42, Legacy Motor Club
- 19, Tyler Reddick, 45, 23XI Racing
- 20, Daniel Suarez, 99, Trackhouse Racing
- 21, Corey LaJoie, 7, Spire Motorsports
- 22, Austin Dillon, 3, Richard Childress Racing
- 23, Brad Keselowski, 6, RFK Racing
- 24, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 47, JTG Daugherty Racing
- 25, Carson Hocevar, 77, Spire Motorsports
- 26, Harrison Burton, 21, Wood Brothers Racing
- 27, Erik Jones, 43, Legacy Motor Club
- 28, Zane Smith, 71, Spire Motorsports
- 29, Christopher Bell, 20, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 30, Josh Berry, 4, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 31, Michael McDowell, 34, Front Row Motorsports
- 32, Chase Briscoe, 14, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 33, Ty Dillon, 16, Kaulig Racing
- 34, Daniel Hemric, 31, Kaulig Racing
- 35, Kaz Grala, 15, Rick Ware Racing
- 36, Justin Haley, 51, Rick Ware Racing
It’s a long race. Anything can happen under the lights at @RichmondRaceway. #NASCAR
Lineup for tomorrow’s race:@KazGrala p35@Justin_Haley_ p36 pic.twitter.com/ZfO04LRL6M
— Rick Ware Racing (@RickWareRacing) March 30, 2024
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
