NASCAR: Kyle Larson wins Toyota 400 Owners pole at Richmond

Hendrick Chevy driver Kyle Larson turned a lap of 22.438s to win the pole for the Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Cup race at Richmond.

Larson will lead the field to the green flag for the Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway at 7:00pm on Easter Sunday

Larson’s Chevy teammate Chase Elliott was a close 2nd, just 0.002s behind his teammate.

Ross Chastain was third in the #1 Chevy and Alex Bowman made it a 1-2-3-4 for Chevrolets.

Bubba Wallace rounded out the top-5 in his #23 Toyota.

“Definitely helps for sure,” Larson said of his effort. “Having the No. 1 pit stall here means a lot. So happy to do that. Happy to be in Group A for sure, and then the sun coming out a little bit there helps.

“Chase got real close there, so I was a bit nervous. Awesome day for Hendrick Motorsports. … Good to be on the pole. We’ll see if it translates in tomorrow’s race.”

Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain will start third, followed by Hendrick driver Alex Bowman and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace.

Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland, Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs, and Team Penske teammates Austin Cindric and Joey Logano rounded out the top-10 qualifiers at Richmond.

Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford had been fastest in Group A during first-round qualifying, as had Elliott, whose 122.095 mph lap was quickest overall in the opening round.

Of note, Denny Hamlin just missed advancing to the second round in qualifying, and the four-time Richmond winner will start 11th in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, who posted the fastest 30-lap average speed in practice, will start 12th.

Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, last week’s winner at the Circuit of The Americas road course, will roll off 13th. He is the first multi-race winner of the season, with victories in the Daytona 500 and COTA. He’ll start alongside RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher, the summer Richmond race winner last season.

Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch, who leads all active drivers with six Richmond victories, will start 15th.

Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Cup Lineup