Hamlin prevails in Ovetime to win Toyota Owners 400 in Richmond

Credit: RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - MARCH 31: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on March 31, 2024, in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

(RICHMOND, VA) On Sunday night, Denny Hamlin won the Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway in overtime. Richmond Raceway is considered one of NASCAR's best short tracks (0.75-mile). Hamlin joins William Byron as the only two drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series to win multiple races this season. Hamlin won his fifth Race at Richmond Raceway and the 53rd race of his career. 

 Kyle Larson clinched the pole position in qualifying, while Chase Elliot and Ross Chastain secured the top three spots. Rain hit the Richmond area on Sunday afternoon, and the drivers drove in wet weather tires until lap 30 when all the drivers switched back to racing slick tires.

 In lap 64, Daniel Suarez spun, leading to a caution flag. Kyle Larson, who won last year's Toyota Owners 400, won Stage 1 of the race as he led after 70 Laps. 

Kyle Larson continued his dominance in Stage 2. At Lap 134, Martin Truex Jr passed Larson briefly. 13 laps later, Truex Jr was in 4th place and was 11.7 seconds behind race leader Kyle Larson. Kyle Larson turned into pit lane at lap 152, and Truex Jr took the lead. Kyle Busch, who was in 15th place, made contact with the wall in Turn 1 at lap 170, resulting in a yellow flag. At the green flag, Truex Jr maintained his lead, led the race after 230 laps, and won Stage 2 of the race, which was Truex Jr’s 6th stage win in Richmond & 1st of the season. 

Martin Truex Jr. continued his dominance in Stage 3. At lap 285, Christopher Bell took the lead following Truex Jr.’s stop to pit road. Bell went to pit road on lap 294 as Truex Jr. regained the lead. Denny Hamlin moved to third place at lap 372 ( Truex Jr. led, and Joey Logano was second). At Lap 398, Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace made contact, which prompted a yellow flag, forcing Larson to pit and forcing the first overtime race of the season. 

At the green flag, Hamlin led the race, followed by Truex Jr. in second place and Joey Logano in third place. In the final lap at the Checkered flag, Hamlin won, Logano finished second, and Kyle Larson finished third. Following the race, Truex Jr. leads the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 270 Points. Kyle Larson is second with 256 points, and Denny Hamlin is third with 252 points.

BOX SCORE

Record attendence propels Rams to a 61-56 win over George Mason

(Richmond, VA) A record-breaking crowd of 6,054 witnessed the VCU Rams defeat the George Mason Patriots 61-56 in the regular season finale. Rams avenge their 60-47 loss to the Patriots on January 28th. Sara Te-Biasu led the Rams with 24 points & Sonia Smith led the Patriots with 23 points.

Sara Te-Biasu scored the first 7 points to give the Rams a 7-0 lead with 8:12 remaining in the 1st quarter. Jazmyn Doster put the Patriots on the board as she connected on 1 of 2 free throws. Mary-Anna Asare jumper and Sara Te-Biasu's 3-pointer put the Rams up 12-1 with 6:50 remaining in the 1st quarter. Reiging A-10 rookie of the week Kennedy Harris sustained an injury with 5:23 remaining in the 1st quarter and did not return for the Patriots. Jennifer Ezeh's jumper capped a 7-0 run as the Rams led 14-1. The Patriots responded as Taylor Jameson's layup capped an 11-0 run to cut the Rams lead to 1 (14-12, 1:55 left in the 1st quarter). Sonia Smith's jumper tied the game at 17 with 24 seconds. Timaya Lewis-Eutsey's layup with 7 seconds put the Rams up 19-17 at the end of the 1st quarter.

Zahirah Walton's jumper with 6:27 remaining in the 2nd quarter capped a 12-0 Run as the Patriots led 29-19. The Rams countered as they went on an 8-0 to cut the Patriot's lead to 2 points. Taylor Jameson's 3-pointer ended the Rams' run as the Patriots led 32-27 with 3:50 remaining in the 2nd quarter. Timaya Lewis-Eutsey's 3-pointer cut the Patriot's lead to 2 as the Patriots took a 34-32 lead at halftime.

Timaya Lewis-Eutsey's 3-point play to start the 3rd quarter put the Rams up 35-34. Taylor Jameson's 3-pointer put the Patriots up 37-35 (9:17 remaining in the 3rd quarter). Mary-Anna Asare's layup tied the game at 37 (8:34 remaining in the 3rd quarter). Taylor Jameson's free throw capped an 8-0 run as the Patriots led 45-37 with 4:11 remaining. The Rams countered with a 6-0 run to cut the Patriot's lead to 2 (45-43 with 2:15 remaining). The Patriots continued their lead as they led 49-45 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Zahirah Walton's jumper to start the 4th quarter as the Patriots led 51-45 ( 9:08 remaining in the 4th quarter). Sara Te-Biasu's layup capped a 14-0 run as the Rams led 59-51 (2:36 remaining in the 4th quarter). Sonia Smith's jumper with 1:16 remaining ended an 8-minute scoring drought for the Patriots. Sonia Smith's 3 3-pointer with 42 seconds left cut the Rams lead to 3 points (59-56). Mary-Anna Asare connected on 2 free throws to cap the Ram's 61-56 victory.

The Rams (26-4, 14-4 A-10) close the regular season with their highest win total in program history and the 2nd best record heading into the A-10 Tournament. The Rams will play in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament on Friday, March 8th at 5 pm.

BOX Score

At the Podium

Following the Ram's win, we spoke with Head Coach Beth O'Boyle & Sara Te-Biasu.

Lawal, Bamisile lifts Rams 73-69

(Richmond, VA)  The VCU Rams defeated the Saint Joesph’s Hawks 73-69 on Sunday afternoon. The Rams were led by Tobi Lawal (who tied his career high of 16 points) & Joe Bamisille with 16 points apiece, while the Hawks were led by XZayvier Brown & Erik Reynolds II who scored 21 points apiece. 

Rasheer Flemming put the Hawks on the board first as he connected on two free throws with 18:29 remaining in the 1st half. Kuany Kuany hit 3 free throws to give the Rams a 3-2 lead, on the next possession Kuany scored on a layup to give the Rams a 5-2 lead with 16:54 remaining in the 1st half. Christ Arizin connected on 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game at 7 with 14:07 left. XZayvier Brown’s 3-pointer capped a 6-0 run for the Hawks as they led 10-7 with 13:50 remaining in the 1st half. The Hawks had their biggest lead (9) as they led 18-9 with 7:13 remaining in the 1st half. The Hawks maintained their lead in the 1st half, Roosevelt Wheeler’s layup with 1:09 left in the 1st half to cut the Hawks lead to 4 ( 25-21). Lynn Greer III hit two free throws to put the Hawks up 27-21 at halftime. 

 Max Shulga’s dunk with 16:41 remaining capped an 11-0 run to put the Rams up 32-27. Hawks guard Erik Reynolds II connected on a 3-pointer to cut the Rams lead to 2 (45-43 with 8:42 remaining). Max Shulga's alley-oop to Tobi Lawal capped a 6-0 run as the Rams grew their lead to 8 (51-43). Joe Bamisille’s 3-pointer as the shot clock expired gave the Rams their biggest lead of the night, leading 61-51 with 3:29 remaining. XZayvier Brown’s 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining put cut the Rams' lead to 2 points (71-69). Sean Bairstow hit 2 free throws to seal the Rams 73-69 win over the Hawks. 

The Rams (18-9, 10-4 A10) will hit the court again on Wednesday, February 28th as they host Rhode Island. The tip-off is scheduled for 6:30.

Box Score

At The Podium

After today's win, we spoke with Max Shulga, Tobi Lawal, Joe Bamisile & Head coach Ryan Odom.