After an enthralling weekend in Austin, Texas, the NASCAR world moves just south of the nation’s capital to Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia.

ToyotaCare 250

Saturday, March 30 @ 1:30PM EST

Richmond, Virginia

250 Laps/187.5 Miles

The lead talking points leaving the Lone Star State are heavily concerning track limits. A topic that reared its ugly head on Saturday Evening on the last lap of the Xfinity Series race that saw an outstanding battle between Austin Hill, Shane van Gisbergen, and Kyle Larson. Hill gave van Gisbergen a big shove into Turn 1 on the restart for the second overtime period. SVG spent the majority of those two laps trying to set up Hill to complete the pass for the lead; meanwhile, Larson, who had previously pitted for tires, was patiently closing in. Coming to Turn 12, they were a tight-knit group. Through the ensuing stadium section (Turns 12-15), SVG would get a bit of revenge, giving Hill a big shot into Turn 15, giving Kyle Larson the gap needed to squeak by and steal a win at Circuit of the Americas. However, van Gisbergen would be given a 30-second time penalty for cutting the esses. This penalty was a catalyst for an outcry from fans regarding track limits in NASCAR and how to officiate them.

Most Recent Winner At Richmond

This time last year, Chandler Smith was celebrating his first career win at Richmond Raceway.

Names To Watch

Chandler Smith: The aforementioned Smith will be looking to defend his win from one year ago. Last year, Smith drove for Kaulig Racing after departing Toyota’s driver development program. Now, he’s back with Toyota, and he is off to a hot start, having already logged a win a couple of weeks ago at Phoenix.

Taylor Gray: Craftsman Truck Series regular Taylor Gray will make his Xfinity Series debut on Saturday, driving the #19 for Joe Gibbs Racing. Gray is a highly touted prospect, and after a fairly uneventful rookie season in 2023, he has been off to a strong start. He has three Top 5s, four Top 10s, and an average finish of 7.2, all while sitting fourth in points.

Bubba Pollard: The 37-year-old short-track superstar will make his Xfinity Series debut for JR Motorsports. Pollard is arguably the best asphalt late-model driver of this current era. With over 100 late model wins and an impressive resume elsewhere, it is safe to say everyone will have their eyes on Pollard on Saturday.

My Pick To Win: Justin Allgaier

Toyota Owners 400

Sunday, March 31 @ 7:00PM EST

Richmond, Virginia

400 Laps/300 Miles

William Byron capped off the weekend in Austin with a dominant performance, holding off a hard-charging Christopher Bell with fresher tires in the closing laps. In the final 12 Laps, Bell closed a gap of ~9 seconds between himself and Byron. But after being held up by other drivers at different times, Bell picked his way through the field and ran down Byron, getting within 1 second on the final lap but coming up just short.

Most Recent Winner At Richmond

Chris Buescher won at Richmond last summer, the first of 2 back-to-back wins for Buescher.

Names To Watch

Josh Berry: Berry posted a career-best finish of second here last year while filling in for the injured Chase Elliott. Just two weeks removed from an impressive run at Bristol, the short-track ace will look to capitalize on one of his biggest strengths and put on a strong performance on Sunday Night.

Justin Haley: Haley has been on a heater the last couple of weeks at 2 drastically different racetracks. The only downside is that outside factors have spoiled those great runs, and he hasn’t gotten the finish to show up for them.

My Pick To Win: Denny Hamlin

Betting Odds

(All odds are via DraftKings Sports Book)

Favorites

Denny Hamlin +425

Christopher Bell +425

Martin Truex Jr. +600

Ty Gibbs +850

Kyle Larson +900

Longshots

Josh Berry +6500

Carson Hocevar +10000

Ryan Preece +10000

Header Image: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images