Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway
(⏰ Sunday, 3 p.m. ET | 📺 USA, NBC Sports App | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Virginia, the 22nd points-paying race of the 2023 Cup Series campaign.
Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | Richmond 101
📍 Location: Richmond, Virginia
📐 Track length: 0.75 miles
🎟️ Buy tickets: Find weekend passes, seats for the race
💰 Cup Series race purse: $7,565,800
📏 Race distance: 400 laps | 300 miles
🔢 Stages: 70 | 230 | 400
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🚪 Entry list: Cup Series drivers entered
📋 Starting lineup: Reddick rallies to P1
🚗 Pit stall assignments: Where drivers will pit on Sunday
🏆 Most recent winner: Kyle Larson, spring 2023
Key things to watch 🔑
Saturday’s sessions
Despite scraping the outside retaining wall in Group B qualifying, the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota of Tyler Reddick claimed the Busch Light Pole Award at Richmond, good enough for his fifth career pole and first since October 2022 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch will start on the front row with Reddick, while Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace will round out the top five. | Read the full practice, qualifying recap
Big story line
Will Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson’s feud continue? Hamlin came out on the winning end of the most recent dust-up between the two championship hopefuls, but the pain from Pocono Raceway will be fresh on Larson’s mind heading into the track where he’s the most recent winner. Hamlin insists he raced Larson with respect and made no contact, but Larson’s post-race frustrations shared a different side to the story. Well, luckily for the fans of the sport, we are heading to Virginia for some good old-fashioned short-track racing, known to be intense from the moment the green flag drops. Both drivers have had their share of success at Richmond, so it is very likely that they will have a business decision to make before it’s all said and done. | Flashback to on-track controversy at Pocono
History tells us…
Sunday might be Kevin Harvick’s time to shine. Harvick has an incredible track record at Richmond Raceway, winning four times, most recently in this same race one year ago. At the difficult short track, he has reeled off an incredible 12 top-10 finishes in his last 14 starts, including nine top fives. Though winless this season, “The Closer” is clearly picking up the pace in pursuit of locking down a playoff berth. Entering Sunday’s competition he has back-to-back fourth-place results and will be aiming to seal the deal this time around. | See where Harvick ranks in Power Rankings
He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for…
Alex Bowman. To put it simply, Bowman, like teammate Chase Elliott, probably needs to win to get into the playoffs. But unlike Elliott, Bowman will presumably fly under the radar from here on out, making him a sure-fire underdog to reach Victory Lane. Bowman enters Sunday’s race with 45-1 odds to earn an elusive victory, leaving him stacked up behind a host of other favored contenders. And while he has been hit or miss at Richmond throughout his career, he does have a bit of success. Bowman finished inside the top 10 in April and won the spring race here in 2021. Another victory for the No. 48 team is certainly within the scope of its abilities — so don’t overlook Bowman and Co. this weekend. | Check out these clinching scenarios for Sunday
Talkin’ Trophies 🔍
Take a look at Richmond Raceway’s time-honored tradition of presenting a wooden trophy in the shape of the Commonwealth of Virginia to its race winners.
Familiar favorites ⭐️
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
– At-track photos: Best shots from Richmond race weekend | Scroll through gallery
– Fantasy Fastlane: Predicting another Joe Gibbs pouncing at Richmond | Best plays for Fantasy Live
– Bubble Watch: Outlook for drivers closest to playoff elimination line | Elliott, Suárez, Wallace and more
– Paint Scheme Preview: See the schemes for Richmond, Road America | Pick a favorite
– Power Rankings: Harvick builds steam toward rousing Richmond farewell | Latest driver rankings
– Betting odds: See which driver is favored to win the race | Top bets, underdog picks
– Stacking Pennies: Corey LaJoie and crew break down Pocono, incident with Ryan Preece | Listen to the podcast
💎 NASCAR 75: Learn more about the history of the sport, from pioneers to current stars | Visit NASCAR 75 hub
Hot off the press 📰
Key stories and breaking news from the week leading up to the race.
– Richmond test: Two-day test for proposed short-track package set | Read more
– Xfinity Series: Anchors broadcast deal with The CW beginning in 2025 | Read more | FAQ
– Denny Hamlin: David Wilson says driver ‘will be back’ with TRD, JGR in 2024 | Read more
– AJ Allmendinger: Racing with Xfinity at Road America, pulling double duty | Read more
– Playoffs: Craftsman Truck Series and Cup Series clinching scenarios | Read more
– Pit road stats: Analyzing strong performance from No. 11 team at Pocono | Read more
– Untold Stories: Morgan Shepherd skates his way into NASCAR lore | Watch video
– eNASCAR: Garrett Lowe earns playoff-clinching victory at New Hampshire | Watch video
– Cup Series procedures: NASCAR ‘will go to work’ on improving towing | Watch video
Get in on the action 💰
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy and Fan Rewards.
– Fantasy Live: Participate in interactive gameplay from week to week | Choose your lineup
– Fan Rewards: New in 2023, get rewarded for your participation | Learn more
– NASCAR BetCenter: Don’t miss your chance to make picks each week | Visit the BetCenter
– Going the distance: 2023 Cup Series championship odds | See them here
Remembering Richmond 🕷️
Round 2 at Richmond has posted a lot of historic moments throughout the years, so take a look at some history.
– Winner, winner: All-time winners in Richmond’s second race | See full list
– Do you remember?: Memorable moments at Richmond Raceway | Relive them here
– Flashback: Kyle Larson earns first victory of 2023 at Richmond | Watch highlights
Take some notes 📝
Five hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
– Six different drivers have won the last six races at Richmond.
– Joe Gibbs Racing has won six of the last 10 Richmond races.
– Both stage winners at Richmond in April 2023 finished 20th or worse.
– Three of the last five winners at Richmond got their first win of the season.
– A driver has swept both stages at Richmond four times, but none have gone on to win the race.
🔮 Advance to Victory Lane: Racing Insights projects Sunday’s finishing order