The 2016 Federated Auto Parts 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on September 10, 2016 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Contested over 407 laps – extended from 400 laps due to an overtime finish – on the D-shaped short track, it was the 26th race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, and the final race of the regular season before the playoffs. Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin won his second career race at his home track from the pole and his third race of the 2016 season, ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing driver Kyle Larson.
The race had 21 lead changes among 7 different drivers, as well as a new track record with 16 cautions for 89 laps, and a red flag for 20 minutes and 23 seconds.
Report Background
Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County.
Entry list The preliminary entry list for the race included 41 cars and was released on September 5, 2016 at 12:07 p.m. Eastern time.
Driver Team Manufacturer1Jamie McMurrayChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet2Brad KeselowskiTeam PenskeFord3Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet4Kevin HarvickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet5Kasey KahneHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet6Trevor BayneRoush Fenway RacingFord7Regan SmithTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet10Danica PatrickStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota13Casey MearsGermain RacingChevrolet14Tony StewartStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet15Clint BowyerHScott MotorsportsChevrolet16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord17Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Roush Fenway RacingFord18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota19Carl EdwardsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota20Matt KensethJoe Gibbs RacingToyota21Ryan Blaney (R)Wood Brothers RacingFord22Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord23David RaganBK RacingToyota24Chase Elliott (R)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30Josh WiseThe Motorsports GroupChevrolet31Ryan NewmanRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32Jeffrey Earnhardt (R)Go FAS RacingFord34Chris Buescher (R)Front Row MotorsportsFord38Landon CassillFront Row MotorsportsFord41Kurt BuschStewart–Haas RacingChevrolet42Kyle LarsonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet43Aric AlmirolaRichard Petty MotorsportsFord44Brian Scott (R)Richard Petty MotorsportsFord46Michael AnnettHScott MotorsportsChevrolet47A. J. AllmendingerJTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet55Reed SorensonPremium MotorsportsChevrolet78Martin Truex Jr.Furniture Row RacingToyota83Dylan Lupton (i)BK RacingToyota88Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet93Matt DiBenedettoBK RacingToyota95Michael McDowellCircle Sport – Leavine Family RacingChevrolet98Cole WhittPremium MotorsportsChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice First practice Kyle Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 22.318 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.318 120.979 2 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 22.379 120.649 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.397 120.552Official first practice results
Final practice Casey Mears was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 22.396 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 22.396 120.557 2 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 22.482 120.096 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 22.536 119.808Official final practice results
Qualifying Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 22.069 and a speed of . Asked why it took so long in the season to get a pole, Hamlin said he had "no idea. We were second and third so many times it was crazy. We were actually looking at the rainouts and were like, 'We're going to start seventh because of the rainouts. It hurts our average.'" He also added that Richmond was his "hometown (being from nearby Chesterfield County, Virginia), so I'd probably be a little more aggressive than I would at any other racetrack, but ultimately this race isn't going to make or break a championship run for us, but it surely would do a whole lot for momentum and feel-good going into the Chase if we could win."
Qualifying results Driver Team Manufacturer 111 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21.905 21.970 22.069 242 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 21.845 21.979 22.079 320 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21.938 22.011 22.087 41 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 21.865 21.999 22.097 541 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 21.808 21.891 22.105 678 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 21.874 21.958 22.123 75 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.816 22.039 22.123 83 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 21.846 22.056 22.197 918 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21.844 21.996 22.230 1048 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.011 22.050 22.323 1188 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.974 22.006 22.346 1222 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 21.983 22.080 22.392 1319 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21.939 22.082 1414 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 21.990 22.086 1531 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 21.976 22.123 1647 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 22.066 22.128 172 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 21.865 22.145 186 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 22.011 22.173 194 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 22.065 22.212 2021 Ryan Blaney (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 21.859 22.217 2123 David Ragan BK Racing Toyota 22.012 22.257 2217 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 22.066 22.378 2343 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 22.068 22.425 247 Regan Smith Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 22.049 22.440 2593 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota 22.077 2613 Casey Mears Germin Racing Chevrolet 22.078 2795 Michael McDowell Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 22.079 2816 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 22.083 2910 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 22.102 3027 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.117 3134 Chris Buescher (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 22.139 3238 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 22.143 3315 Clint Bowyer HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 22.171 3424 Chase Elliott (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.172 3544 Brian Scott (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 22.215 3630 Josh Wise The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 22.268 3746 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 22.269 3855 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 22.328 3983 Dylan Lupton (i) BK Racing Toyota 22.461 4032 Jeffrey Earnhardt (R) Go FAS Racing Ford 22.466 Failed to qualify 4198 Cole Whitt Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 22.519 Official qualifying results
Race First half Under mostly clear evening Virginia skies, Denny Hamlin led the field to the green flag at 7:47. Ryan Blaney brought out the first caution of the race on lap 10 after suffering a tire blowout and slamming the wall in turn 1.
The race restarted on lap 16. The field settled into place and rode around the track. Martin Truex Jr. took the lead from Hamlin on lap 52. The second caution of the race flew on lap 85 for A. J. Allmendinger spinning out in turn 4. Kurt Busch exited pit road with the race lead after missing his pit stall. He came back in and the lead went to Hamlin. During the caution, Greg Biffle got into and turned Tony Stewart on pit road. Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne were sent to the tail end of the field for speeding on pit road.
The race restarted on lap 92. The third caution of the race flew on lap 96 for Chase Elliott suffering a tire blowout and slamming the wall on the frontstretch.
The race restarted on lap 100. For the next 102 laps, the race ran green. Truex took back the race lead on the restart and held it until Johnson suffered a tire blowout, slammed the turn 1 wall and brought out the fourth caution of the race on lap 202.
Second half
The race restarted on lap 212. Debris on the frontstretch brought out the fifth caution of the race on lap 223. Brad Keselowski was sent to the tail end of the field for speeding.
The race restarted on lap 228. Kurt Busch held the lead for two laps before Truex took it back. Matt Kenseth took the lead from Truex on lap 246 as the sixth caution of the race flew for David Ragan suffering a tire blowout and slamming the wall in turn 1. Regan Smith opted not to pit when the lead lap cars did and assumed the lead, but came down two laps later and handed the lead to Hamlin. Five drivers were sent to the rear for various penalties during the caution: Kevin Harvick and Ragan for speeding, Aric Almirola and Kenseth for a pit box violation, and Brian Scott for too many crew members over the wall.
The race restarted on lap 251. The seventh caution of the race flew on lap 266 for Paul Menard rear-ending the wall in turn 2. He went on to finish 40th. Kyle Larson exited pit road with the race lead. Danica Patrick (commitment line violation) and Truex (speeding) were sent to the tail end of the field for pit road infractions.
The race restarted on lap 272. Hamlin powered by Larson to retake the lead on lap 273. The eighth caution of the race flew on lap 280 for a single-car wreck involving Casey Mears in turn 3.
The race restarted on lap 285. The ninth caution of the race flew on lap 292 after Michael Annett suffered a tire blowout and slammed the wall in turn 2. Larson exited pit road with the race lead.
The race restarted with 104 laps to go. Truex worked his way back to the lead with 96 laps to go. The 10th caution of the race flew with 78 laps to go for a single-car wreck in turn 2 involving Carl Edwards. Hamlin exited pit road with the race lead. Ryan Newman (speeding) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (pit box violation) were sent to the tail end of the field for pit road infractions.
The race restarted with 73 laps to go. The 11th caution of the race flew with 71 laps to go for Allmendinger slamming the wall in turn 1.
The race restarted with 67 laps to go. The 12th caution of the race flew with 63 laps to go for Kenseth slamming the wall in turn 2. This came after contact with Keselowski on the previous restart. Kenseth said after the race that he was sure Keselowski would "send a Tweet out or go on a TV show and explain how it wasn't his fault. But he knows better than that. He knows his angle was bad and he just drove way up in the corner because he made a mistake and he was trying to make up for it and had no respect for anybody on the outside lane. Unfortunately, we had a wrecked car because of it." Keselowski said he "just missed a shift and ruined Matt's day. ... I made a mistake, and it was kind of crappy for everyone. Hopefully, he'll accept the apology. ... That's not what anybody wants to see, including myself."
The race restarted with 56 laps to go. The 13th caution of the race flew with 53 laps to go for Allmendinger wrecking on the fronstretch.
The race restarted with 49 laps to go. The 14th caution of the race flew with 45 laps to go for Matt DiBenedetto suffering a tire blowout and slamming the wall in turn 3.