The preliminary entry list for the race included 41 cars and was released on September 5, 2016 at 12:07 p.m. Eastern time.

It hurts our average.’”[15] 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.

"[16] 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.

Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne were sent to the tail end of the field for speeding on pit road.

The third caution of the race flew on lap 96 for Chase Elliott suffering a tire blowout and slamming the wall on the frontstretch.

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.

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 seventh caution of the race flew on lap 266 for Paul Menard rear-ending the wall in turn 2.

Danica Patrick (commitment line violation) and Truex (speeding) were sent to the tail end of the field for pit road infractions.

The eighth caution of the race flew on lap 280 for a single-car wreck involving Casey Mears in turn 3.

The ninth caution of the race flew on lap 292 after Michael Annett suffered a tire blowout and slammed the wall in turn 2.

The 10th caution of the race flew with 78 laps to go for a single-car wreck in turn 2 involving Carl Edwards.

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.

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.

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.

It’s unfortunate, but shouldn’t expect anything less from him.”[22] Stewart responded to Newman's comments saying his former teammate "had to press the issue tonight and put himself in a couple of bad spots.

I didn’t think staying out was the right thing to do, but great call there, and actually, I got this from one of our Toyota guests on his birthday day today.

He said it helped him get through tough times, so kept that in the car, and thank Eli for that.”[26] NBC Sports covered the race on the television side.

Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.