# 2017 Toyota Owners 400

The 2017 Toyota Owners 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on April 30, 2017, at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Contested over 400 laps on the 0.75 mile (1.2 km) asphalt short track, it was the ninth race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Joey Logano won the race, his 18th career win in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, having done it from the rear of the field. This race was his 300th Cup Series start. However, on May 4, 2017, due to a rear suspension issue, Logano's win was encumbered. It did not count as a ticket to the Playoffs, which ultimately cost Logano a berth in the post-season, since he did not win again during the regular season nor point his way in.

## Report
### Background

Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series race, and two USAC sprint car races.

#### Entry list

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 13 | Ty Dillon (R) | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | Daniel Suárez (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 23 | Gray Gaulding (R) | BK Racing | Toyota |
| 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford |
| 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group | Chevrolet |
| 34 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford |
| 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | Timmy Hill (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 72 | Cole Whitt | Tri-Star Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota |
| 83 | Corey LaJoie (R) | BK Racing | Toyota |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 95 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet |
| Official entry list ||||

## First practice

Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 21.743 seconds and a speed of 124.178 mph (199.845 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 21.743 | 124.178 |
| 2 | 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 21.945 | 123.035 |
| 3 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 21.992 | 122.772 |
| Official first practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Matt Kenseth scored the pole for the race with a time of 22.300 and a speed of 121.076 mph (194.853 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| 1 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 22.499 | 22.435 | 22.300 |
| 2 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 22.634 | 22.488 | 22.341 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 22.474 | 22.432 | 22.373 |
| 4 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 22.595 | 22.422 | 22.412 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 22.338 | 22.228 | 22.429 |
| 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 22.338 | 22.318 | 22.439 |
| 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 22.517 | 22.482 | 22.468 |
| 8 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 22.345 | 22.557 | 22.473 |
| 9 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 22.479 | 22.444 | 22.495 |
| 10 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 22.530 | 22.431 | 22.558 |
| 11 | 19 | Daniel Suárez (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 22.649 | 22.541 | 22.672 |
| 12 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 22.636 | 22.526 | 22.689 |
| 13 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 22.522 | 22.557 | — |
| 14 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 22.501 | 22.562 | — |
| 15 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 22.508 | 22.562 | — |
| 16 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 22.419 | 22.563 | — |
| 17 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 22.368 | 22.568 | — |
| 18 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 22.567 | 22.617 | — |
| 19 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 22.627 | 22.646 | — |
| 20 | 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 22.644 | 22.699 | — |
| 21 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 22.625 | 22.709 | — |
| 22 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 22.645 | 22.758 | — |
| 23 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 22.547 | 22.797 | — |
| 24 | 13 | Ty Dillon (R) | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 22.659 | 23.072 | — |
| 25 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 22.674 | — | — |
| 26 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 22.687 | — | — |
| 27 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 22.705 | — | — |
| 28 | 34 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 22.715 | — | — |
| 29 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 22.728 | — | — |
| 30 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 22.810 | — | — |
| 31 | 23 | Gray Gaulding (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 22.856 | — | — |
| 32 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 22.893 | — | — |
| 33 | 15 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.001 | — | — |
| 34 | 83 | Corey LaJoie (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 23.058 | — | — |
| 35 | 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group | Chevrolet | 23.078 | — | — |
| 36 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.089 | — | — |
| 37 | 51 | Timmy Hill (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 23.238 | — | — |
| 38 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 32.612 | — | — |
| Official qualifying results ||||||||

## Practice (post-qualifying)
### Second practice

Erik Jones was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 22.367 seconds and a speed of 120.714 mph (194.270 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 22.367 | 120.714 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 22.491 | 120.048 |
| 3 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 22.499 | 120.005 |
| Official second practice results |||||||

### Final practice

Kyle Larson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 22.675 seconds and a speed of 119.074 mph (191.631 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 22.675 | 119.074 |
| 2 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 22.686 | 119.016 |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 22.727 | 118.801 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Race
### First stage

Matt Kenseth led the field to the green flag at 2:16 p.m. Erik Jones made contact with Kasey Kahne exiting Turn 2 on the first lap, leading to a left-front tire cut and slamming the wall on the seventh lap of the race. Jones, after being released from the infield care center, said he and Kahne, were "three-wide right on the start and then the 5 ran us up into the fence. I was trying not to wreck everybody and then a couple laps later the GameStop Prey Toyota Camry cut a left-front tire. It’s just really a heartbreaking day. It’s not what we wanted, but we’ll just have to come back next week with another fast race car and try to run up front again.” He went on to finish last.
The race restarted on lap 12. The second caution flew on lap 65 when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made contact with the wall in Turn 3. Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. restarted from the tail-end of the field for speeding.
The race restarted on lap 72. Kenseth won the first stage and the third caution flew for the conclusion of the first stage.

### Second stage

The race restarted on lap 110. Brad Keselowski passed Kenseth on the backstretch to take the lead on lap 164, won the second stage and the fourth caution flew for the conclusion of the second stage. Denny Hamlin exited pit road with the race lead. Jimmie Johnson restarted from the tail-end of the field for an uncontrolled tire.

### Final stage

The race restarted on lap 212 and Hamlin lost the lead to Keselowski on the restart. Kevin Harvick passed Keselowski for the lead with 170 laps to go. Keselowski drove past Harvick on the outside exiting Turn 2 to retake the lead with 162 to go. Debris in the restart zone, a towel, brought out the fifth caution with 150 to go. Hamlin exited pit road with the race lead Kasey Kahne restarted the race from the tail-end of the field for speeding.
The race restarted with 144 to go. Keselowski edged out Hamlin at the start/finish line to retake the lead with 113 to go. A number of cars hit pit road with 84 to go to start a cycle of green flag pit stops. Keselowski pitted from the lead with 81 to go, giving it to Ryan Newman. Exiting pit road with 57 to go, Johnson slammed into teammate Earnhardt exiting Turn 2 and brought out the sixth caution. Earnhardt told reporters after the race that Johnson "said he didn’t see us. We were out there running around the top and weren’t ready to pit yet, and he said that he didn’t get any notice that there was a car on the outside. … Jimmie didn’t know I was there. Came off the corner and didn’t know I was there. It was an explosion. But the car held up pretty well.” Johnson said after the race that he was trying to decipher "if I just didn't hear it being told to me or if it wasn't told to me. It's still terrible, obviously. Man, I'm surprised our cars kept rolling after that because I just body-slammed him into the wall. And I could have easily not heard the clear or something else happened. I don't know. But that's the last thing you want to happen with a teammate.”
The race restarted with 51 to go. With 43 laps to go, Earnhardt suffered a left-rear tire cut and spun out in Turn 3, bringing out the seventh caution. During the caution, Ty Dillon spun out entering Turn 3 in front of Clint Bowyer. Hamlin exited pit road with the race lead.
The race restarted with 39 to go and Keselowski took the lead on the ensuing lap. Kenseth made contact with Chase Elliott in Turn 1 and his right-rear tire went flat with 38 to go. Debris brought out the eighth caution with 33 to go. Keselowski and Logano stayed out while the rest of the drivers pitted. Martin Truex Jr. restarted from the tail-end of the field for a commitment line violation.
The race restarted with 30 to go and Joey Logano passed Keselowski exiting Turn 2 on the ensuing lap to take the lead. The ninth caution flew with 24 to go when Ryan Blaney made contact with Kurt Busch exiting Turn 2, suffered a cut left-rear tire, spun out and slammed the wall in Turn 3. Kyle Larson opted not to pit and assumed the lead. Kyle Busch, commitment line violation, and Elliott, uncontrolled tire, restarted the race from the tail-end of the field for pit road infractions.
The race restarted with 20 to go. Logano passed Larson with 17 to go and drove on to score the victory.

### Post-race
#### Driver comments

Logano said in victory lane it was "nice to break through and get our first points win of the year, that being on the 300th start. For me personally, it was kind of a cool milestone to hit and drive into victory lane with that, too.”
Hamlin, who finished a season best third, said after the race that third "was about as good as we had. You know, we just didn't have the speed that the other cars had. We talked about that Friday during media. But we optimized our day. It's the best we could do. We finished right where we should have.”
Stenhouse, who rebounded from hitting the wall early in the race to finish fourth, said he "had to fight hard for this top-five. I made a mistake early. I thought we had a car capable of running in the top five a lot. I got loose into [Turn] 3 and got into the fence and had to play catchup from there."

### Race results
#### Stage results

Stage 1 Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||
Stage 2 Laps: 100
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 13 | Ty Dillon (R) | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final stage results

Stage 3 Laps: 200
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 5 | 22 | Joey Logano† | Team Penske | Ford | 400 | 17 |
| 2 | 15 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 400 | 50 |
| 3 | 16 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 47 |
| 4 | 4 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 400 | 33 |
| 5 | 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 400 | 47 |
| 6 | 10 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 38 |
| 7 | 13 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 39 |
| 8 | 9 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 400 | 29 |
| 9 | 25 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 400 | 28 |
| 10 | 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 400 | 35 |
| 11 | 17 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 26 |
| 12 | 11 | 19 | Daniel Suárez (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 25 |
| 13 | 29 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 400 | 24 |
| 14 | 18 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 38 |
| 15 | 8 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 400 | 27 |
| 16 | 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 21 |
| 17 | 23 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 20 |
| 18 | 21 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 400 | 19 |
| 19 | 30 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 400 | 18 |
| 20 | 38 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 17 |
| 21 | 28 | 34 | Landon Cassill | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 400 | 16 |
| 22 | 19 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 15 |
| 23 | 1 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 33 |
| 24 | 14 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 13 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 12 |
| 26 | 24 | 13 | Ty Dillon (R) | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 13 |
| 27 | 36 | 72 | Cole Whitt | TriStar Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 10 |
| 28 | 32 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Fas Lane Racing | Ford | 400 | 9 |
| 29 | 27 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Leavine Family Racing | Chevrolet | 399 | 8 |
| 30 | 12 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 398 | 7 |
| 31 | 31 | 23 | Gray Gaulding (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 398 | 6 |
| 32 | 34 | 83 | Corey LaJoie (R) | BK Racing | Toyota | 396 | 5 |
| 33 | 33 | 15 | Reed Sorenson | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 395 | 4 |
| 34 | 37 | 51 | Timmy Hill (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 393 | 0 |
| 35 | 35 | 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group | Chevrolet | 392 | 2 |
| 36 | 2 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 378 | 1 |
| 37 | 22 | 47 | A. J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 332 | 1 |
| 38 | 20 | 77 | Erik Jones (R) | Furniture Row Racing | Toyota | 4 | 1 |
| Official race results ||||||||
† Joey Logano was penalized 25 points and the win is encumbered due to a rear suspension infraction post-race.

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 8 among different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 9 for 53
* Red flags: 0
* Time of race: 3 hours, 12 minutes and 8 seconds
* Average speed: 93.685 miles per hour (150.771 km/h)

## Media
### Television

Fox Sports covered their 17th race at the Richmond International Raceway. Mike Joy, two-time Richmond winner Jeff Gordon and six-time Richmond winner Darrell Waltrip had the call in the booth for the race. Chris Neville, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties for the television side.
Fox Television :
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip | Chris Neville Vince Welch Matt Yocum |

### Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race which will also be simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and six-time Richmond winner Rusty Wallace called the race in the booth when the field raced down the frontstretch. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform inside the backstretch when the field raced down the backstretch. Winston Kelley, Alex Hayden and Glenn Jarrett worked pit road for the radio side.
MRN Radio :
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Joe Moore Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Backstretch: Mike Bagley | Winston Kelley Alex Hayden Glenn Jarrett |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Kyle Larson | 398 |
| 1 | 2 | Martin Truex Jr. | 358 (–40) |
| 1 | 3 | Chase Elliott | 346 (–52) |
| | 4 | Joey Logano | 333 (–65) |
| | 5 | Brad Keselowski | 327 (–71) |
| 3 | 6 | Kevin Harvick | 286 (–112) |
| | 7 | Jamie McMurray | 282 (–116) |
| 2 | 8 | Jimmie Johnson | 270 (–128) |
| 1 | 9 | Clint Bowyer | 266 (–132) |
| 1 | 10 | Kyle Busch | 235 (–163) |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 231 (–167) |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | 229 (–169) |
| 1 | 13 | Ryan Newman | 225 (–173) |
| 1 | 14 | Trevor Bayne | 216 (–182) |
| 1 | 15 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 201 (–197) |
| 4 | 16 | Erik Jones | 193 (–205) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Ford | 330 |
| 1 | 2 | Chevrolet | 329 (–1) |
| | 3 | Toyota | 301 (–29) |
| Official manufacturers' standings ||||