Say What?

"I’ve always really liked it, to be honest. From the first time I raced there in 2003, I’ve always enjoyed the track. There was a long period where I didn’t have great numbers there, but I felt like I loved the track and always ran well there and had a lot of crazy things happen there throughout my career. Once I got to Furniture Row (Racing), we started leading a ton of laps there. We also had a couple of heartbreaking finishes there where we should have won the race but didn’t and I wondered if it was ever going to happen. Then we went on a streak there, so it’s been a great track and it’s a ton of fun. Last year, the short tracks were tough to make passes and we would get stuck a car length behind someone. You would run them down and get a car length back and you couldn’t make any moves because of the dirty air. Hopefully we’ve been able to help that some and we can go back to putting on a great show at places like Richmond, and I hope for myself and my team we can get our Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota back in victory lane there like we’ve done before." - Martin Truex Jr.

"[Richmond Raceway] is really slick and really difficult to get ahold of – even when you’re fast. The summer race was rough on us last year, but in the spring race we were pretty decent. Hopefully, it will be more like the spring race for us. Historically for Hendrick Motorsports, when it’s cooler out, we’re better off. When it’s warmer out, we struggle. With this Sunday being a night race and cooler in the spring, we should be a little bit better. I’ve spent a lot of time in the sim trying to improve on things too." - Alex Bowman

"I’ve really enjoyed racing at Richmond and I do have a lot of track time there. I think there are a few ways that can help. I know the characteristics of the track and what I need to focus on as a driver to make it to the end. One of the great things about Richmond is you really don’t know what kind of race you’ll get. We could have long, green-flag runs or we could end up with a race where we see a lot of cautions and frustration. It’ll be important for me to manage my patience as the race goes on and just let Bill (Plourde, crew chief) and the guys give me what I need in the car." - Kaz Grala