While Mike Joy said during the broadcast that the restart wasn’t under review, NASCAR said after the race that it did in fact review the restart and found nothing wrong.

Elton Sawyer said they reviewed the final restart and while close, Denny Hamlin didn’t jump the restart. pic.twitter.com/zRZOvfqpQr

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 1, 2024

Here’s a look at the front row exiting Turn 4:

And here’s Denny Hamlin before reaching the restart zone:

It would appear that the front bumpers of the No. 11 and No. 19 are fairly even as they approach the restart zone.

By the time Hamlin reaches the line, he is noticeably ahead of the No. 19.

We saw major post-race penalties just one week ago at COTA. In the Xfinity race, Shane Van Gisbergen was assessed a post-race penalty for cutting a chicane that erased his second-place finish.

It remains to be seen how NASCAR addresses this, but if they choose to not review this in any form, it both damages the integrity of the product and opens the door for every leader to do the same thing each week.

If Martin Truex Jr. is correct that Denny Hamlin jumped the start, Hamlin should have a race win stripped away. Yet Mike Joy said that NASCAR had already communicated that the restart was not under review.

This raises a few questions:

1. Why is every green-white-checkered restart not under review automatically?
2. If NASCAR has accurate SMT data to know exactly when Hamlin accelerated (which is does), why would it not use that data in a review?

Here’s a replay of the restart:

Why was Martin Truex Jr. so mad at Denny Hamlin? According to Truex, Hamlin jumped the start (and he may be right).

“He jumped the start and then he used me up in Turn 1.”

The leader (Hamlin) controls the restart, and must get to the start of the restart zone to accelerate. There’s a white line across the track, and also a blue block on the inside of the track that denotes where a driver may execute the restart.

Replays showed that Hamlin appeared to start rolling and gain an advantage over Truex before crossing the start of the restart zone.

According to Mike Joy, NASCAR said the restart “wasn’t under review.”

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Joey Logano
3. Kyle Larson
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Chase Elliott
6. Christopher Bell
7. William Byron
8. Brad Keselowski
9. Chris Buescher
10. Tyler Reddick
11. Josh Berry
12. Noah Gragson
13. Bubba Wallace
14. Erik Jones
15. Ross Chastain
16. Ty Gibbs
17. Alex Bowman
18. Chase Briscoe
19. Ryan Blaney
20. Kyle Busch
21. Todd Gilliland
22. Daniel Suarez
23. Austin Cindric
24. Austin Dillon
25. John Hunter Nemechek
26. Michael McDowell
27. Carson Hocevar
28. Ryan Preece
29. Ty Dillon
30. Daniel Hemric
31. Kaz Grala
32. Justin Haley
33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
34. Harrison Burton
35. Zane Smith
36. Corey LaJoie

Denny Hamlin held off Martin Truex from the inside lane, and had enough of a lead over Joey Logano to take his second race victory of 2024 and his 53rd of his career.

Martin Truex had multiple run-ins as the race ended. Kyle Larson and Truex bumped each other to the line with Larson finishing 3rd and Truex scraping the outside wall, and Truex retailated with a door bang to the No. 5.

Truex then drove up and delivered a few hard shots to Denny Hamlin’s bumper – not in a “congrats teammate” way, but in a “we’re going to have a heated discussion afterward” sort of way.

The broadcast crew was as mystified as everyone else, as Truex and Hamlin’s race through Turn 1 on the restart seemed to be as respectable and clean as could be expected.

Joey Logano (2nd) and Chase Elliott (5th) get their best finishes of the season.

Joey Logano and Martin Truex had matching 10.3 second pit stops (according to the Fox broadcast) and were in a drag race to pit exit – but Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 crew delivered a 9-second stop and vaulted him into the lead.

Race off pit road:

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Joey Logano
4. Kyle Larson
5. William Byron
6. Chase Elliott
7. Christopher Bell

Bubba Wallace – who was inside the top 5 when the caution came out – had a horrible stop and dropped all the way to 15th off pit road.

DRAMA! With Truex coming around to take the white flag and what looked like a sure victory, Bubba Wallace tapped Kyle Larson and sent the No. 5 spinning across the track.

We’ll see a race off pit road and a green-white-checkered dash to the finish.

Both Joey Logano and Hamlin are catching Truex quickly – the lead is now under seven tenths of a second – but Hamlin has not been able to get around the No. 22, which is great news for Truex as he tries to hold on for the lead.

If the race goes green and there weren’t any other cars on track, Denny Hamlin would surely catch and pass Truex and win the race.

Lap traffic will be the great equalizer, though, and Hamlin still has to get by the No. 22 of Joey Logano. With the laps dwindling, Hamlin needs to get by Logano ASAP to have his best chance of tracking down Truex.

An update on how damaging Bell’s pit stop penalty was. Bell appeared to be the only car to have the long-run speed to potentially contend with Truex throughout the second half of the race, but his drive through penalty cost him a sure-fire top 5 finish and potential win.

With only 25 laps to go, Bell had only made it back up to 11th, 17+ seconds behind the leader, and several seconds behind Josh Berry and Chris Buescher.

Larson’s car isn’t handling the way it needs to, and he’s likely going to be in damage control mode the rest of the way to preserve a top 5.

Martin Truex now has a 3.5-second lead on Joey Logano – who is in line for his best finish of the year by far – but Denny Hamlin is closing, and is now only 5.3 seconds behind Truex.

Denny Hamlin ran 9 extra laps compared to the leaders, and quickly dispatched of Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and William Byron. He’s running markedly faster lap times to Truex, but will that advantage hold up as the run progresses?

Larson has lost time since coming out of the pits, and is now holding up Joey Logano in 3rd place. If Larson is to win, he needs another caution and likely some adjustments.

Chris Gabehart is making a bold call in keeping the No. 11 out on track. The idea is that Hamlin wasn’t ever going to pass Truex or Larson by staying on the same strategy, so by staying out, Hamlin will have better tires later in the race and could potentially make up ground to the two on a long run.

If there’s a caution in the late stages, however, Hamlin will have cost himself track position and could end up further back than he otherwise would have.

Larson followed Truex into pit road, so they’ll be on the same strategy for the remainder of the race.

Incredibly, Larson erased his gap to Truex and came out ahead of the No. 19 on track, but Truex immediately went on the offensive and drove past Larson.

Denny Hamlin stayed out and assumed the lead, but will be losing time immediately and should be pitting soon.

Given how difficult it’s been for the leaders to catch and pass each other, I’m getting the feeling that whoever leads this race after the last pit stop/restart is winning, whether that’s Truex or Larson.

With Larson having been unable to drive up and challenge Truex, he needs to either hope for a slow pit stop from the No. 19 team, or a late-race caution that allows his crew to potentially give him the lead.

Meanwhile, Josh Berry appeared to have one of the fastest cars in the field in the first half of the race, but he hasn’t quite had the same long-run speed as we’ve gone green for most of the second half. Berry dropped to 10th, and is now just fighting to record a top 10.

Top 10:

1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Kyle Larson
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Joey Logano
5. Bubba Wallace
6. William Byron
7. Brad Keselowski
8. Chris Buescher
9. Chase Elliott
10. Josh Berry

A race-crushing penalty for Christopher Bell, who was caught going too fast exiting pit road. He’ll have to come down pit road and serve a drive-through, losing a ton of track position in the progress.

If we get a bunch of cautions, Bell could still move up the field, but he likely just lost his opportunity to challenge for a win.

By staying out a few more laps, Bell can now split the final stage into thirds and give himself more even stint lengths. A caution, of course, will change everything.

Through the pit cycle, Kyle Larson cut his deficit to Truex and is now on his bumper, with Denny Hamlin just a few tenths of a second behind.

Brad Keselowski was the first driver to kick off green flag pit stops in Stage 2, and he was the first again in Stage 3. He was quickly followed by leader Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin.

While nearly the entire field was pitting, Christopher Bell stayed out and took the lead.

Over the radio, Bell’s team told him to run a few more laps, as they believe it will give him a better chance to win late in the race if things stay green.

Kyle Larson restarted 2nd, but was unable to pass Truex on the dive into Turn 1. Joey Logano opened the stage in a battle with Denny Hamlin, who is putting together one of the best turnarounds since Stage 1.

Hamlin was outside the top 10 for much of the early part of the race, but is now looking like a lock to record a Top 5 barring carnage.

Meanwhile, there is some rain on the radar, but it’s dissipating as it nears the track.

Truex drove away from the rest of the field after the restart and cruised to a stage 2 win. Importantly, he also passed Alex Bowman at the line to put Bowman a lap down.

The No. 48 car, which was running inside the top 5 in Stage 1, was the biggest victim of the Kyle Busch caution, as it came while he was still a lap down after pitting. By being passed by Truex and having to take the lucky dog to get his lap back, Bowman will once again have to start deep in the field when the race goes green again.

Stage 2 results:

1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Josh Berry
3. Joey Logano
4. Kyle Larson
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Christopher Bell
7. Chris Buescher
8. Bubba Wallace
9. William Byron
10. Tyler Reddick

One driver who benefitted from the caution sequence? William Byron, who was mired in the mid-teens the entirety of the night but is now running 8th. His teammate Chase Elliott has dropped a bit, and is back in 13th.

Martin Truex is the new car to beat after the caution gave him control of the race, and the big question is whether Kyle Larson can drive through the field on a long run.

Larson restarted in sixth and quickly completed two passes, but he’s been unable to reel in Joey Logano, who is maintaining a one-second lead over the No. 5 car.

Larson could just be managing his tires, but with only 35 laps left in the stage, he doesn’t have much time left to catch Truex.

Advantage: Drivers who pit early in Stage 2.

Martin Truex Jr. kept the lead through the pit cycle, while Joey Logano jumped into second.

1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Joey Logano
3. Josh Berry
4. Christopher Bell
5. Chris Buescher
6. Kyle Larson

Ty Gibbs, Justin Haley and Ryan Preece all picked up penalties and will start at the rear of the field.

Kyle Busch shot up the track in Turn 2 and tagged the wall, and NASCAR threw a quick caution that may or may not have needed to be thrown.

That throws a wrench into the pit strategies, and is especially tough on Kyle Larson, who likely was in line for a stage win had the stage gone green.

Larson split the stage in half perfectly with this pit, and will have 79 laps left after pitting. Larson’s stop was slow on the right rear, and he came out of pit road just in front of leader Martin Truex Jr. In all, Larson dropped from 1st to 19th, but the No. 5 will quickly leap up the leaderboard on his fresh tires.

With Larson still out on the track and bleeding time to the cars that pit already, Martin Truex Jr. is very quickly chasing down the leader. Truex Jr. went a lap down when he pit and had to overtake Larson on track, but he’s a second-per-lap faster than the No. 5 car. With 80 laps left in the stage, Truex Jr. was only 10 seconds behind Larson.

Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Preece were the first to come down pit road for a green-flag stop (with just over 100 laps to go in the stage), and were quickly followed by Josh Berry, who pit from third.

Leader Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace appear to be choosing to stay out and run longer, splitting the stage in half and only having to pit once in the stage.

Joey Logano went a few laps longer than the first batch of drivers down pit road, and pit after 55 laps on his current stint.

We had some unpredictable racing by starting on a wet track, but things are looking like vintage Richmond as we’re in a long green-flag run.

Kyle Larson is maintaining a 1.7-second lead over Martin Truex. Josh Berry is up to 3rd, and Joey Logano is having his best run of the season so far in 4th.

Bubba Wallace has dropped back slightly as he appears to have a tight car, and Ryan Blaney is in danger of going a lap down. Blaney’s No. 12 team lost ground on pit road, and he hasn’t been able to march through the field as of yet.

Top 10 at lap 115:

1. Kyle Larson
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Josh Berry
4. Joey Logano
5. Bubba Wallace
6. Alex Bowman
7. Chase Elliott
8. Ross Chastain
9. Christopher Bell
10. Chris Buescher

Josh Berry started Sunday’s race in 30th, but in fewer than 90 laps is already up to 4th.

In one previous start at Richmond, Berry posted a career-best second place finish (when he filled in for Chase Elliott). He may have the pace to do even better today.

While NASCAR’s hands were tied due to safety concerns, the lack of competitive pit stops served as a massive advantage for teams up at the front with track position.

After Stage 1 ended, NASCAR took extra time to dry pit road, allowing for the first real pit stops of the night. That worked out well for the No. 9 team, as Chase Elliott gained two spots during the pit cycle.

Race off pit road:

1. Kyle Larson
2. Bubba Wallace
3. Alex Bowman
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Chase Elliott

With only six laps left to go in the first stage, Josh Berry tagged Daniel Suarez and sent the No. 99 car sliding through Turns 1 and 2.

Suarez drifted sideways through nearly the entirety of the corner, but was unable to save it and came around. Fortunately for Suarez, he does not have any noticeable damage.

To add insult to injury for Suarez, he was running 9th at the time and was in position to earn stage points.

NASCAR announced it would continue the caution through the end of the stage, and that the ensuring pit stops would be non-competitive. That’s good news for the drivers running in the top 10.

Stage 1 results:

1. Kyle Larson
2. Bubba Wallace
3. Alex Bowman
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Joey Logano
6. Todd Gilliland
7. Chase Elliott
8. Ross Chastain
9. Josh Berry
10. Ryan Preece

After an extended caution, the race went green and Bubba Wallace pressured Larson on the outside, hanging on Larson’s door for multiple laps. Larson was able to hold the position, but Wallace is looking strong early on in both sets of conditions at a track he’s typically struggled at.

In 10 previous starts, Wallace has zero top-10s and 8 finishes of 22nd or worse.

NASCAR announced that a competition caution would be thrown on Lap 30, and that teams will be mandated to switch to normal, slick tires.

With pit road still not entirely dry, the pit stops will be non-competitive, so drivers will not be able to gain or lose spots.

Top 10:

1. Larson
2. Bubba Wallace
3. Chase Elliott
4. Alex Bowman
5. Ross Chastain
6. Todd Gilliland
7. Joey Logano
8. Martin Truex Jr.
9. Chris Buescher
10. Ryan Preece

Teams were allowed to make adjustments to their cars given they’d be starting on wet weather tires, but it seems the No. 12 team didn’t quite hit the mark. Ryan Blaney started 12 but has dropped outside the top 20.

Ty Gibbs has also dropped from his starting position, from 8th to 16th.

Seemingly getting more comfortable with how much he can push his car, Kyle Larson erased a half-second deficit to Chase Elliott and passed his teammate to regain control of the race.

Currently, leaders are running laps of anywhere from 24.3 to 24.7 seconds, which is around 2.2+ seconds slower than times in a dry practice.

Top 3:

1. Kyle Larson
2. Alex Bowman
3. Chase Elliott

After only about a 15 minute delay, we’re underway at Richmond.

Larson got a clean start through Turn 1, but Chase Elliott was able to pass him around the outside to lead Lap 1.

For safety reasons, NASCAR will not allow live, competitive pit stops if pit road is still wet. This means that if the race goes green for a while and the track dries out, the first pit stop could be a competition caution with the field frozen.

The Fox booth interviewed Kyle Larson on pit road, and the former champion said he didn’t really know how the start would play out. Larson said he wanted to be confident enough into Turn 1 to not be “swarmed” by the cars behind him, but also didn’t want to be overly aggressive and crash his car on the wet track.

The forecast left fans worried that Sunday’s race could be delayed and go deep into the night, but the rain stopped, drivers are in their cars, and the command to fire engines was just given.

The track is definitely still in a wet state, so the race start could be a wild one.

As pointed out by Jeff Gluck, Sunday night will be the first time the Cup Series has ever used wet tires in an official points race. The Truck Series previously used wet tires once at Martinsville.

With rain continuing to come down at Richmond Raceway, whenever the track becomes dry enough to run laps, it looks like the field will be using wet weather tires.

Drivers were told to expect to race in damp conditions.

1. Martin Truex Jr.: 220 points, 0 wins
2. Ty Gibbs: 215 points, 0 wins
3. Ryan Blaney: 211 points, 0 wins
4. Denny Hamlin: 206 points, 1 win
5. Kyle Larson: 205 points, 1 win
6. William Byron: 183 points, 2 wins
7. Christopher Bell: 183 points, 1 win
8. Ross Chastain: 182 points, 0 wins
9. Chase Elliott: 173 points, 0 wins
10. Tyler Reddick: 171 points, 0 wins

There have been four races at Richmond in the current Next Gen car.

Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher have been the winners in those four races.

Hamlin has the best average finish among those drivers, with three top-5 finishes in that span. In fact, over the last six races at Richmond, the top three drivers by average finish are all Joe Gibbs Racing teammates: Hamlin (5.2), Martin Truex Jr. (5.8) and Christopher Bell (6.5).

According to Fox’s Bob Pockrass, it’s possible for the cars to race in “damp” conditions, but would depend heavily on visibility.

1. Kyle Larson #5
2. Chase Elliott #9
3. Ross Chastain #1
4. Alex Bowman #48
5. Bubba Wallace #23
6. Todd Gilliland #38
7. Martin Truex Jr. #19
8. Ty Gibbs #54
9. Austin Cindric #9
10. Joey Logano #22
11. Denny Hamlin #11
12. Ryan Blaney #12
13. William Byron #24
14. Chris Buescher #17
15. Kyle Busch #8
16. Ryan Preece #41
17. Noah Gragson #10
18. John Hunter Nemechek #42
19. Tyler Reddick #45
20. Daniel Suarez #99
21. Corey LaJoie #7
22. Austin Dillon #3
23. Brad Keselowski #6
24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #47
25. Carson Hocevar #77
26. Harrison Burton #21
27. Erik Jones #43
28. Zane Smith #71
29. Christopher Bell #20
30. Josh Berry #4
31. Michael McDowell #34
32. Chase Briscoe #14
33. Ty Dillon #16
34. Daniel Hemric #31
35. Kaz Grala #15
36. Justin Haley #51