FOX NASCAR announcer Mike Joy was emotional on Sunday while calling the end of the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway.
Kyle Larson took home the checkered flag at Richmond for his first win of the 2023 Cup Series season and 20th of his career. After his No. 5 Chevrolet crossed the finish line for the win, Joy shared the significance of the victory.
Joy noted that the paint scheme for Larson’s No. 5 Chevy was the same one used by the late Ricky Hendrick. Ricky drove the No. 5 Chevrolet in the Busch Series for Hendrick Motorsports. He was among 10 people who died in a 2004 plane crash while on the way to Martinsville Speedway for the Subway 500.
The cool part of the win, which Joy noted and got him choked up, was that Sunday also would have been Ricky’s 43rd birthday.
Larson’s first Cup Series win in 2023 came in the No. 5 Chevy, using Ricky Hendrick’s paint scheme, on what would have been Hendrick’s 43rd birthday.
A special win all around. @KyleLarsonRacin’s win comes on the late Ricky Hendrick’s birthday. Larson’s No. 5 @HendrickCars scheme pays tribute to Hendrick. pic.twitter.com/gRUoPuBy87
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) April 3, 2023
Larson, the 2021 Cup Series champion, finished second in Las Vegas and fourth in Phoenix, so he had been close to victory but hadn’t quite gotten there this season until now. And his victory had some extra special meaning for those at Hendrick Motorsport, as noted by Joy.
