Live updates: In overtime, Denny Hamlin wins NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond on Easter

Denny Hamlin is a NASCAR race winner at Richmond again.

A late caution involving Kyle Larson, the pole-sitter who ran toward the front throughout the Cup Series’ race on Easter Sunday, set up an overtime shootout. Hamlin got out in front of Martin Truex Jr., who appeared to be closing in on victory.

NASCAR defended the finish post-race, telling reporters that Hamlin didn’t appear to restart early.

It’s the 53rd win of Hamlin’s career. Joey Logano finished second, Kyle Larson third, Truex fourth and Chase Elliott fifth.

Rain fell at different points throughout the afternoon on Sunday, and varying forecasts projected continued precipitation into the night. Green flag only ended up being delayed roughly 15 minutes — as NASCAR utilized its wet-weather tires in a Cup Series points race for the first time.

Here’s a look at the race’s biggest moments as they unfolded:

Lap 406: Denny Hamlin holds off Joey Logano, who got to the inside of the track, and claims his second win of the year!

Lap 405: Here we go! Denny Hamlin in the lead!

Lap 398: Kyle Larson spins!! The No. 5 car goes around with two laps to go. About a half-lap from the white flag, so that sets up overtime!

Lap 393: Lots of traffic up front as we close in on the finish. Several cars on different laps have been running near Truex, and second-place Joey Logano has quietly moved within a second of Truex.

Lap 371: Joey Logano is up to second, Denny Hamlin third and Kyle Larson fourth. Martin Truex Jr.’s lead is less than a second-and-a-half.

Lap 353: Martin Truex Jr. leads once again! He’s out in front of Kyle Larson by roughly two seconds. Your Top 10 with under 50 to go: Truex, Larson, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick.

Lap 336: Kyle Larson got off pit road ahead of Martin Truex Jr., and the two run third and fourth, respectively. Denny Hamlin leads for the first time today with Christopher Bell running second.

Lap 334: More green-flag pit stops... William Byron, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski pit from the Top 10.

Lap 303: Christopher Bell gets a speeding penalty exiting pit road and serves his pass-through. With most drivers pitting as they did recently, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson have quickly surged back to the top two positions. Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano behind them. Under 100 to go!

Lap 286: The leader pits! Martin Truex Jr. among a handful of drivers heading down pit road. Kyle Larson, in second, pits as well. Christopher Bell moves into the race lead.

Lap 276: Martin Truex Jr. has led more than 100 laps, marking the eighth time (two wins) he’s led at least 100 laps at Richmond. Kyle Larson trails him by a second-and-a-half.

Lap 252: Kyle Larson is running within a split-second of Martin Truex Jr. The two have a steady lead over the rest of the field, starting with Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell.

Lap 240: Green for the final stage! Martin Truex Jr. leads us to the green flag, followed by Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace.

Lap 233: In case you’re just joining us: Today’s race started roughly 15 minutes late, using wet-weather tires in a Cup Series points race for the first time.

Your Top 10 following Stage 2: Martin Truex Jr., Josh Berry, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, William Byron and Tyler Reddick.

Stage 2

Lap 230: Martin Truex Jr. wins Stage 2! He holds off Josh Berry for his first stage win of the season. Under caution ahead of the final stage.

Lap 217: Thirteen to go in Stage 2! Your Top 10: Martin Truex Jr., Josh Berry, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, William Byron, Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick.

Lap 200: Truex, Berry, Logano and Larson are out in front. We’re halfway done in this 400-lap race — so, with 200 laps complete, the race would be official if rain halts action again and it can’t be restarted.

Lap 178: Back to green! Martin Truex Jr. maintains the lead, ahead of Josh Berry and Joey Logano. Kyle Larson has surged back into the top five already.

Lap 173: Erik Jones is the free pass, from 17th. Ty Gibbs to the rear for speeding on pit road.

Lap 170: Caution! Kyle Busch makes contact with the wall.

Lap 154: Martin Truex Jr. moves into the race lead, followed by Josh Berry and Joey Logano. Alex Bowman just pitted, as well.

Lap 151: Here comes the leader! Kyle Larson heads down pit road under green. Eighty laps remain in the 160-lap stage (ends on Lap 230 of 400).

Lap 139: Make that a five-second lead for Kyle Larson. He’s told his pace is fine and will likely only need to pit one more time this stage.

Lap 129: Competitive pit stops are being made! Chase Elliott and Corey LaJoie were the first to head down pit road. Kyle Larson maintains his race lead.

Lap 119: Martin Truex Jr. has narrowed the gap behind leader Kyle Larson by nearly a second. Ford drivers Josh Berry and Joey Logano are up to third and fourth, respectively, and Bubba Wallace runs fifth.

Lap 103: Kyle Larson paces the field by more than two seconds, followed by a pair of Toyota drivers in Martin Truex Jr. and Bubba Wallace. Josh Berry and Joey Logano are running in the Top Five as well.

Lap 79: Green for Stage 2! Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace are out in front.

Lap 74: NASCAR changes its mind: Pit stops will be competitive after all, and the cars head to their pit stalls.

Stage 1

Lap 70: Your Top 10 following Stage 1: Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Todd Gilliland, Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Josh Berry and Ryan Preece.

Lap 69: This will be the third stage win this season for Larson, and his first at Richmond.

Lap 66: So, Josh Berry spinning Daniel Suarez brings us the second caution of the night, and Kyle Larson will be the winner of Stage 1. The trucks are back out drying pit road.

Lap 63: Daniel Suarez spins! The 99 was hit by Josh Berry, and Suarez’s car sailed toward the Turn 2 exit. Caution comes out, and NASCAR says it will let this caution take us to the end of Stage 1 and make non-competitive pit stops.

Lap 61: Closing in on the end of Stage 1 already. Your Top 10: Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr., Todd Gilliland, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Josh Berry and Daniel Suarez.

Lap 48: Back to green! Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace lead.

Lap 46: Cars are still moving around the track under caution... Starting to pick up the pace by about 10-15 mph on these laps, and most drivers are running two-wide.

Lap 40: As the cars drove 10 caution laps, pit road was dried, and cars are lining up in the order in which they stood at the start of the scheduled caution on Lap 30.

Lap 32: Pit road is currently closed, and cars are driving around the track under the scheduled caution. These laps won’t count for the race, and non-competitive pit stops will be made once pit road is dried.

Lap 28: NASCAR will have a competition caution on Lap 30. Pit road is still wet, so the race will stop for the safety of the crews.

Lap 13: Kyle Larson has opened a significant lead over the rest of the field. It’s gotten dark here at Richmond, and the lights are bright as the Cup Series cars race around the three-quarter-mile oval.

Lap 8: Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott have been leading since the start, followed by Alex Bowman, Todd Gilliland and Bubba Wallace.

Green flag, 7:31 p.m.: NASCAR history has been made. The first points race to be run using wet-weather tires has gone green. Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson lead. Watch on FOX.

7:19 p.m.: Here we go... Cars are rolling onto the track, looking to begin the first Cup Series points race on wet-weather tires.

7:14 p.m.: “Start! Your! Engines!” Special Olympics of Virginia athletes Izzy Nelson and Brian Beck say the most famous words in motorsports, and engines are fired...

7:11 p.m.: This will be the first time wet-weather tires will be used in a Cup Series points race. Race control said the weather hold has been lifted and engines will be fired in five minutes (from 7:09), while NASCAR posted on X that command is still “on hold.”

7:09 p.m.: Covers are coming off the cars. Rain has stopped, for the moment. NASCAR says engines will be fired at 7:14.

7:03 p.m.: Kristin LaBonte, Bobby’s wife, just gave the invocation, and Michael Tait performed the national anthem. The cars remain covered on pit road with the wet-weather tires, and the track continues being dried. More rain is still expected over the next couple of hours, but NASCAR seems to be doing everything it can to run this race at some point tonight.

6:45 p.m.: Wet-weather tires are currently being installed on the covered cars on pit road.

6:30 p.m.: It’s currently drizzling at Richmond Raceway, with significantly more rain expected over the next two hours. Each car is completely covered, but they are lined up on pit road. Rain is forecast to continue until around 9 p.m. Trucks are still drying the track, and driver introductions are currently happening on the infield.

6 p.m.: Happy Easter! The NASCAR Cup Series is on prime time tonight, with Sunday’s Richmond spring race set to go green at around 7:15 p.m.

The race is still planning on being run as scheduled. But rain fell throughout the afternoon in Richmond, and varying forecasts project even more precipitation as the night continues.

The latest report from the National Weather Service calls for likely thunderstorms and showers until around 11 p.m. The hourly forecast from Accuweather indicates there is greater than a 50% chance of rain until roughly 9 p.m.

The sun came out for a brief period during the last hour, and trucks are still drying the track. Clouds cover the entirety of the track now, with more rain expected imminently.

Richmond Raceway, a 0.75-mile oval, is often referred to as America’s premier short track and has produced some legendary races over the years.

“It’s a pretty tricky place,” Daniel Suarez told The Observer. “It’s not easy. You have to be in a rhythm, and you have to be extremely patient. It’s not easy to be patient here.”

Kyle Larson won the pole position for Sunday’s race with a qualifying lap time of 22.438 seconds on Saturday morning, his first pole of the season and 17th of his career (second at Richmond). Chase Elliott qualified second, Ross Chastain third, Alex Bowman fourth and Bubba Wallace fifth.

Who are the favorites to win the Toyota Owners 400?

Kyle Larson, winner of the last spring race at Richmond, is the favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook at +400 odds. Martin Truex Jr. (+550) and Virginia native Denny Hamlin — who grew up in Chesterfield, just outside Richmond — has +650 odds to earn his fifth career win at his home track. Fellow Toyota drivers Christopher Bell (+700) and Ty Gibbs (+1,000) round out the top five.

Truex is the favorite on FanDuel Sportsbook, at +450 odds, followed by Bell (+550), Larson (+550), Hamlin (+650) and Gibbs (+1,000).

Shane Connuck is picking Truex to claim his first win of 2024. The Cup Series’ oldest driver, Truex turns 44 in June and has had a lot of success at Richmond. In his last 11 starts at the three-quarter-mile oval, he’s boasted 10 Top 10 finishes, including three wins and a sweep of both 2019 races. Particularly from Joe Gibbs Racing, the Toyota Camrys have been strong this year, and Richmond could be Truex’s turn to snag his first checkered flag this year.

How to watch and stream the NASCAR race at Richmond

Race: Toyota Owners 400

Place: Richmond Raceway

Date: Sunday, March 31

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Purse: $7,886,627

TV: FOX, 6 p.m. ET

Streaming: FOXSports.com

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 300 miles (400 laps)

Stages: Stage 1 ends on Lap 70; Stage 2 ends on Lap 230; and the Final Stage ends on Lap 400.

Starting lineup for the Toyota Owners 400