2026 Cook Out 400 (Richmond)
NASCAR stock car race held in Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 Cook Out 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on August 15, 2026, at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Contested over 400 laps on the 0.75-mile (1.21 km) D-shaped oval, it was the 24th race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 24 of 36 in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
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| Date | August 15, 2026 | ||
| Location | Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.75 miles (1.207 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 300 mi (480 km) | ||
| Average speed | 98.343 miles per hour (158.268 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Time | 22.225 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 171 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | |
| Time | 22.738 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA | ||
| Announcers | Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte | ||
| Nielsen ratings | 1.516 million[7] | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, and Todd Gordon | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (Backstretch) | ||
Joey Logano won the race. Chase Briscoe finished 2nd, and Austin Cindric finished 3rd. Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five, and Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Josh Berry, William Byron, and Alex Bowman rounded out the top ten.
Report
Background
Richmond Raceway (RR) is a 0.75 miles (1.21 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.[8] Known as "America's premier short track", it has formerly hosted events such as the International Race of Champions, Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown, and the USAC sprint car series. Due to Richmond Raceway's unique "D" shape which allows drivers to reach high speeds, Richmond has long been known as a short track that races like a superspeedway. With its multiple racing grooves, and proclivity for contact Richmond is a favorite among NASCAR drivers and fans.[9]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
Daniel Suárez was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 22.889 seconds and a speed of 117.960 mph (189.838 km/h).
Practice results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Daniel Suárez | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 22.889 | 117.960 |
| 2 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 22.890 | 117.955 |
| 3 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 22.905 | 117.878 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 22.225 and a speed of 121.485 mph (195.511 km/h).[10]
Qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 70
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 160
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 170
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 400 | 73 |
| 2 | 2 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 52 |
| 3 | 23 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 400 | 48 |
| 4 | 14 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 46 |
| 5 | 13 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 38 |
| 6 | 30 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 31 |
| 7 | 8 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 36 |
| 8 | 3 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 400 | 40 |
| 9 | 5 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 30 |
| 10 | 25 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 27 |
| 11 | 32 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 400 | 28 |
| 12 | 18 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 399 | 25 |
| 13 | 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 399 | 41 |
| 14 | 31 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 399 | 23 |
| 15 | 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 399 | 22 |
| 16 | 20 | 7 | Daniel Suárez | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 399 | 21 |
| 17 | 6 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford | 398 | 20 |
| 18 | 35 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 398 | 19 |
| 19 | 16 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 398 | 18 |
| 20 | 7 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 398 | 22 |
| 21 | 19 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 398 | 16 |
| 22 | 12 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 398 | 15 |
| 23 | 33 | 33 | Austin Hill (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 397 | 0 |
| 24 | 17 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 397 | 13 |
| 25 | 11 | 88 | Connor Zilisch (R) | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 397 | 12 |
| 26 | 9 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 397 | 11 |
| 27 | 21 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 396 | 10 |
| 28 | 26 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 396 | 9 |
| 29 | 29 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 396 | 8 |
| 30 | 27 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 396 | 7 |
| 31 | 28 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 396 | 6 |
| 32 | 34 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 394 | 5 |
| 33 | 15 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 394 | 4 |
| 34 | 37 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 392 | 3 |
| 35 | 36 | 66 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Garage 66 | Ford | 391 | 0 |
| 36 | 24 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 366 | 1 |
| 37 | 22 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 280 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 29 among 10 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 4 for 31
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 3 hours, 3 minutes and 2 seconds
- Average speed: 98.343 miles per hour (158.268 km/h)
Media
Television
USA covered the race on the television side. Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon, and Marty Snider handled pit road, while Trevor Bayne provided analysis from the pace car for the television side.
| USA | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | Pace car |
| Lap-by-lap: Leigh Diffey Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte | Dave Burns Kim Coon Marty Snider | Trevor Bayne |
Radio
The Motor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley and Todd Gordon called the race from the broadcast booth for MRN when the field races through the front straightaway. Dave Moody called the race from a platform when the field races down the backstraightaway. MRN Lead Pit Reporter Steve Post, Jacklyn Drake and Jason Toy called the action for MRN from pit lane.
| MRN Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcer | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Mike Bagley Announcer: Todd Gordon | Backstretch: Dave Moody | Steve Post Jacklyn Drake Jason Toy |
Standings after the race
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