Richmond Raceway now has just one chance to prove itself on the NASCAR schedule.
Over the years, the character of racing at the track shifted from the close-quarters short track racing of its Action Track moniker to more drawn-out fuel mileage affairs, and attendance suffered fell simultaneously. So, when NASCAR needed to clear a spot on the schedule to make room for a new race in Mexico City, Richmond was on the chopping block, losing its spring date for the first time since 1959.
That doesn’t mean Richmond has missed out on exciting moments over the past years. That’s especially true of the summer date, which survives for Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 (airing at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
With two races remaining in the regular season and the Playoff grid on everyone’s mind, the extra intensity of drivers hoping to take advantage of the ‘win and you’re in’ system and secure an automatic Playoff berth has produced wild finishes in the last few years.
There’s no clearer example than last year. Austin Dillon was on the outside looking in of the Playoffs heading into Richmond but looked on his way to secure a spot as he cruised through the final thirty laps in the lead. However, the only natural caution of the race came out with two laps to go, setting up an Overtime restart.
Joey Logano jumped to the lead over Dillon on the restart and stretched it to over a carlength heading into the final corner on the last lap, but Dillon was having none of it. He drove very deep into the corner, slamming into Logano and sending him spinning. Then, when Denny Hamlin was able to take advantage and get to his inside when the contact slowed him down, Dillon turned down the track and hooked Hamlin into the outside wall.
Dillon won that race. However, that day he earned a chorus of boos from the fans and later that week he learned that, while he was able to keep the trophy, the victory would not confer automatic Playoff eligibility.
“It was still a big day and I’ll always remember it as one of my favorite wins,” Dillon said, thinking about the race a year on. “We got the trophy, just not the NASCAR Playoffs spot. That part was a struggle, and I hate it for RCR, but this year going back I definitely want to go out there and try to win again, but this time lock ourselves into the Playoffs.”
The spectacle proved two things: There are no limits for the drivers when it comes down to an all-important Playoff spot. However, there are limits to NASCAR’s tolerance. With the same stakes on the line, that limit might be found yet again on Saturday night.
Odds via BetMGM
+400 – Denny Hamlin
+425 – Christopher Bell
+625 – Kyle Larson
+750 – William Byron
+800 – Joey Logano
+850 – Ryan Blaney
+1100 – Chase Briscoe
+1300 – Chase Elliott
+1600 – Brad Keselowski
+2500 – Chris Buescher
The favorites coming into the race are no surprise based on records at Richmond and short tracks more generally. But the past few renditions of this race have proven that the favorites aren’t a given.
In 2024, it was Dillon. In 2023, it was Chris Buescher, who scored just his third career win and the second for his RFK Racing team since Brad Keselowski joined and renamed the team. It started a hot streak for Buescher, who went on to win the next three oval races in a row. In 2022, it was Kevin Harvick, for whom winning was certainly never a surprise, but Richmond came as an unexpected second win in a row after a no-win year in 2021.
So there’s three years’ reasons to expect something a little more unexpected at Richmond. In fact, the last three races at Richmond, counting the spring race as well, have been won by three different manufacturers.
If there’s one driver who would like something familiar to last year, though, it’s Kyle Busch. Teammate of Austin Dillon at RCR, he too had speed on track, but wasn’t able to get up to the front. Though he was close late last year, especially at Darlington, Busch is on track for two winless years in a row.
While a win is the only option for plenty of drivers deep below the Playoff cutline, there are a few locked in a points battle for three remaining spots. With two races left, any new winner will take one of those points spots away, but there will be at least one points position available.
Playoff Cutline Entering Richmond
14. Tyler Reddick (+117)
15. Alex Bowman (+60)
16. Chris Buescher (+34)
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17. Ryan Preece (-34)
18. Kyle Busch (-102)
19. Ty Gibbs (-125)
Tyler Reddick is all-but locked in without any new winners and still in the best position even with two new winners. Alex Bowman and Chris Buescher, on the other hand, enter above the cutline but are more vulnerable to new winners. Buescher is also within range of his RFK teammate Ryan Preece, but overcoming a 34-point deficit in two races would require both strong runs from Preece and problems for Buescher.
Kyle Busch is still mathematically in range, but realistically out of the picture with a 102-point deficit. It’s more motivation for Busch, if any were needed, to win: he’s en route to a two year winless streak.
However, the No. 8 team has not been totally without speed. Last year, Busch had a shot to win at Darlington and his RCR teammate had enough speed to win at Richmond (even if that didn’t count towards the Playoffs). Busch is hoping to build on that speed and secure the win.
“I think every week there is a chance of being able to go out there and be better, or go out there and be different than you were before,” Busch described the No. 8 team’s approach. “It’s not due to lack of effort, that’s for sure, so I appreciate everyone’s hard work and what’s going on and what we are able to do behind the scenes.
“I would say the cars are probably better than some of our results have indicated just due to issues we’ve had, the battles that you get into towards the later stages of the race and getting taken out or whatever. We’re trying to put those results to the racetrack and get some checkered flags from it.”
Busch has won at Richmond six times in his career and his 16 career wins on short tracks are the most of any active driver, so Richmond might be the track to do it for the veteran driver.
Behind Busch, Ty Gibbs and the rest of the field are mathematically out on points and are in a must-win situation to make the Playoffs.
Practice and qualifying start at 4:30 p.m. ET on Friday and will air on truTV, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Truck Series Finale Comes Down to an 11-point Wire at Richmond
After a 17-race season, just 11 points are in it as Craftsman Truck Series fight to determine who’s in and who’s out of the 10-driver Playoff field. Friday night’s eero 250 at Richmond Raceway (airing at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is the forum for the decider.
Six full-time drivers have won at least one race this season and locked themselves into the postseason. Of the remaining four spots, Grant Enfinger (+91) and Ty Majeski (+84) have healthy gaps to the cutline. Kaden Honeycutt’s 65-point advantage is also strong.
But Jake Garcia enters only 11 points to the good, and that is a very small margin over two-time Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes. Gio Ruggiero is also just 21 points behind, well within range.
Truck Playoff Cutline Entering Richmond
9. Kaden Honeycutt (+65)
10. Jake Garcia (+11)
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11. Ben Rhodes (-11)
12. Gio Ruggiero (-21)
Behind Ruggiero, Tanner Gray and others are mathematically out of the points picture and will need a win to get the spot. In fact, that puts even greater pressure on the battle for the tenth spot on points since any new winner would benefit from the ‘win and you’re in’ system to automatically get a berth and take away one of the points spots altogether.
On the other side of the table, the battle for the regular season championship – which confers both a trophy and some all-important additional Playoff points that can help in the overall championship battle – is well and truly done and dusted. Corey Heim, who has six wins on the season, including last week’s race at Watkins Glen, has a 178-point advantage over second-place Layne Riggs.
In fact, Heim already clinched that championship several weeks ago with the scale of his lead. Riggs and his Front Row Motorsports teammate Chandler Smith, who sits third in the points, are the only other multiple-race winners this season.
Practice and qualifying start at 2:05 p.m. ET on Friday and will air on FS2.
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