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SportsPulse: Denny Hamlin sat down with USA TODAY Sports to discuss his new partnership with Michael Jordan and how he realized the basketball legend is such a fan of NASCAR.

USA TODAYNASCAR moves from Martinsville, Virginia to the capital of the Commonwealth this weekend for more short-track racing at Richmond Raceway.Through the first seven races, the Cup Series had produced seven different winners before Martin Truex Jr. took control late in the eighth race of the season at Martinsville to score his second win of 2021.And it wouldn’t surprise anyone if Truex was once again celebrating in victory lane. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver swept both Richmond races in 2019 and has finished no worse than third dating to the 2018 playoff race.Truex will likely get strong challenges from his JGR teammates and fellow Toyota drivers Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. Bush swept both Richmond races in 2018 and has six career Cup wins at the 0.75-mile track, most among active drivers. Hamlin has won three times at Richmond and has been the most consistent driver in 2021 with seven top-fives in eight races.COVID-19: NASCAR, IndyCar approach to vaccine varies greatlySATURDAY: Nemechek outruns boss Kyle Busch to win Richmond Trucks raceToyota drivers have won seven of the past 10 races at Richmond. Can they make it eight of 11? Here’s all the information you need to get ready for the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway:START TIME: 3 p.m. ET. TV: Fox. Pre-race broadcast begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox.RADIO: Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.STREAMING: Fox Sports Go (must have TV provider) and FOX Sports Go app plus other streaming services.RACE DISTANCE: 400 laps around the 0.75-mile Richmond Raceway for a total of 300 miles.STAGE LENGTHS (laps per stage): Stage 1: 80, Stage 2: 155, Stage 3: 165.LAST TIME: Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski dominated the lone 2020 race at Richmond, following the cancellation of the spring race due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Keselowski led 192 of 400 laps in his No. 2 Ford in the September playoff race, beating Truex by 1.568 seconds.QUALIFYING: There was no on-track qualifying for this race. Instead NASCAR used a performance-metrics formula to determine the lineup:25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race35 percent: Team owner points ranking15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous raceLINEUP: Gibbs’ teammates Truex and Hamlin will start on the front row with Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron in row No. 2.Here is the lineup for the Toyota Owners 400 (with car number in parentheses):1. (19) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota2. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota3. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet4. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet5. (22) Joey Logano, Ford6. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet7. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford8. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota9. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford10. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota11. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet12. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford,13. (8) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet14. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chevrolet15. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota16. (21) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford17. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet18. (42) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet19. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford20. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford21. (41) Cole Custer, Ford22. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford23. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford24. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet25. (37) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet26. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford27. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet28. (15) James Davison, Chevrolet29. (38) Anthony Alfredo, Ford30. (43) Erik Jones, Chevrolet31. (52) Josh Bilicki, Ford32. (00) Quin Houff, Chevrolet33. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet34. (77) Justin Haley, Chevrolet35. (78) BJ McLeod, Ford36. (7) Corey Lajoie, Chevrolet37. (53) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet38. (33) Austin Cindric, FordAutoplayShow ThumbnailsShow CaptionsLast SlideNext SlideFind New & Used CarsNew CarsUsed CarsofPowered by Cars.com
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