April 30, 2017 – Making his 300th career NASCAR Cup Series start, Joey Logano came from the rear of the field to win the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. Logano had to start from the 37th position after the Team Penske crew made a transmission change on the Shell Pennzoil Ford. But he was able to work to the front and thanks to some pit strategy for track position, get the lead and drive to his first Cup win of the season. It was a 1-2 finish for Roger Penske’s team with Brad Keselowski finishing second.
April 30, 2016 – Elliott Sadler celebrated his birthday with an overtime win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, his 11th career series victory. Sadler was ahead of teammate Justin Allgaier when the caution flew after leader Joey Logano got turned in the tri-oval coming to the white flag, causing a multi-car accident. Initially, it looked like Brennan Poole had won the race, but after a review by NASCAR officials it was Sadler who went to Victory Lane. Sadler was turned down during the Logano spin and had to drive through the grass in the tri-oval to escape being caught up in the accident himself, managing to keep his car straight and hold on to the lead as the caution came out.
April 30, 2011 – Kyle Busch scored his third straight spring race victory at Richmond Raceway with a dominating performance in the Crown Royal Presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400. Busch outran his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin to the checkered flag to score his second win of the season and 21st of his career. He was able to get 107 laps out of his final fuel run to stretch his way to the victory and deny Hamlin an opportunity to win his third consecutive race over the weekend.
April 30, 2010 – Brad Keselowski charged from fourth to the lead on a green-white-checkered restart to win his second straight NASCAR Xfinity (Nationwide) Series race in the Bubba Burger 250 at Richmond Raceway. Keselowski was in command of Friday night’s race until a late caution flew when Paul Menard blew a tire. That forced an overtime finish and Keselowski elected to duck onto pit road for four fresh tires while others including pole sitter Kyle Busch stayed out. But once the green flag flew for the final two lap shootout to the finish Keselowski worked his way around Busch and Greg Biffle to pick up the win and follow his victory at Talladega Superspeedway the weekend prior.
April 30, 2005 – Ted Musgrave became the first driver to win two NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors (Craftsman) Truck Series races at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (Gateway International Raceway) as he scored a dominating victory in the Ram Tough 200. Musgrave started from the pole position and trounced the field, leading all but two laps on his way to his 16th career series victory.
April 30, 2005 – Martin Truex, Jr. survived a three-hour rain delay, an early race crash, 10 cautions and a green-white-checkered finish to win the NASCAR Xfinity (Busch) Series Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway. Truex, Jr. scored back-to-back wins at Talladega and his second win of the season. Truex, Jr. led 46 laps of the crash-marred race, including a sixteen car melee in the early going that Truex Jr. could not avoid. Despite some minor damage to his Chance 2 Motorsports Chevrolet, Truex Jr.’s crew patched up his Chevrolet to stay in contention.
April 30, 2000 – Jeremy Mayfield won the NAPA Auto Parts 500 at Auto Club (California) Speedway. On the final restart, just four laps from the end of the 250-lap event, Mayfield’s ignition died as he led Bobby Labonte into the first turn on the 2-mile oval. Mayfield stayed calm and switched to a backup ignition. By that time, Labonte had pulled alongside, but Mayfield was able to hold onto the lead and go on to win by 0.300-seconds. Early in the race, Mayfield had a problem with the oil cooler in his Ford and was forced to make two quick pit stops. He found himself a lap down in 37th on the restart after the first of six caution flags in the race. The win came while the Penske-Kranefuss team was under NASCAR investigation for possible illegal fuel used at Talladega. Days after the California win, the team was hit with a hefty penalty.
April 30, 1995 – Mark Martin passed Dale Earnhardt coming to the white flag and went on to win the Winston Select 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Martin won the race over Jeff Gordon after Earnhardt was spun on the backstretch by Morgan Shepherd. The win was the first of two at Talladega for Martin. The race also marked the only top 10 for Loy Allen Jr. in 48 career Cup Series starts.
April 30, 1994 – Hermie Sadler scored the win in the NASCAR Xfinity (Busch) Series Pantry Stores 300 at Orange County Speedway. It was his second consecutive win at the 0.375-mile track to mark his two career wins in 266 series starts. After a caution with three to go that ended the race there was confusion of who won between Sadler and Dennis Setzer. After review, Sadler was in the lead when the caution flew. Following the caution flag, Sadler spun in Turn 1 but continued on to take the checkered flag under caution.
Other winners on this date: 1989 – Bobby Hillin Jr. (Nazareth, Busch Series); 1988 – Tommy Ellis (Langley Field Speedway, Busch Series); 1972 – Richard Petty (Martinsville); 1970 – Richard Petty (Columbia Speedway); 1966 – Richard Petty (Darlington); 1961 – Junior Johnson (Martinsville)
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