Contested over 406 laps—extended from 400 laps due to a Green-white-checker finish on the 0.75-mile (1.20 km) D-shaped oval, it was the ninth race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship.

Richmond International Raceway is a four-turn D-shaped oval track that is 0.75 miles (1.21 km) long.

[6] During the first practice session, Mark Martin, for the Michael Waltrip Racing team, was quickest ahead of Keselowski in second and Kyle Busch in third.

[7] Harvick, Edwards, Kurt Busch, Bowyer, and Juan Pablo Montoya rounded out the top ten quickest drivers in the session.

I felt like we were off a little in practice today, and (crew chief) Jason Ratcliff and that whole group there did the things they do for me every week and just made great adjustments.

[10] Montoya, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Truex Jr., and Mark Martin completed the first ten positions on the grid.