For the second year in a row, Austin Dillon took the checkered flag at Richmond Raceway. This year, there was no controversy.
Dillon won the Cook Out 400 on Aug. 16 to clinch a berth in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. The Richard Childress Racing driver led 107 laps and held off Alex Bowman for his sixth career Cup win and his first since winning this same race one year ago.
Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet was clearly the class of the field, especially in the second half of the race, where both the speed and the setup kept him in command over multiple caution-free long runs. First Ryan Blaney then Bowman tried to chase Dillon down in the closing laps, but Dillon was able to cruise to victory by 2.471 seconds.
It was a far cry from the way this race ended last year.
That one involved an overtime shootout and Dillon initiating contact with both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to force his way to the front. On the final lap, Dillon hit Logano in the final turn, sending the Team Penske driver crashing into the wall before clipping Hamlin’s rear wheel, causing another crash and taking the Joe Gibbs Racing driver out of contention. While Dillon celebrated that victory, which seemed to lock him into the 2024 playoffs, NASCAR officials launched a review of the finish. Days later, NASCAR stripped Dillon of that playoff berth, deeming he not only violated a section of the rule book but crossed the line of good, hard racing.
Now, with his victory Saturday night, Dillon has a measure of redemption and a chance to compete for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship when the 16-driver, 10-race playoffs begin in two weeks.
“That feels good. I really wanted that one,” Dillon said after taking the checkered flag. “Last year hurt really bad, just going through the whole process. But this one feels so sweet. Man, I love Richmond.”
For Bowman, still winless this season, the runner-up finish was a bit of a glass-half-full, glass-half-empty scenario. His big points day keeps him as the 16th-ranked driver in the standings, above the playoff cutoff line. But a new winner in the regular-season finale next Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway would bump the Hendrick Motorsports driver out of the postseason.
Dillon, who ranked outside of the top 20 entering the Richmond race, was in must-win territory Saturday night. His performance on the Virginia track assured him of a stress-free drive at Daytona next weekend.
NASCAR Richmond results: Cook Out 400
Full results from Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway, with finishing position, starting position, driver, car number and make, laps completed, laps led
(11) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet ….. 400 (107)
(9) Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet ….. 400
(20) Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford ….. 400 (39)
(38) Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford ….. 400
(13) Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford ….. 400 (2)
(30) Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet ….. 400 (9)
(21) Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet ….. 400 (1)
(17) Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford ….. 400
(6) Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford ….. 400 (2)
(4) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota ….. 400
(29) Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford ….. 400
(14) William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet ….. 400
(19) Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota ….. 400
(27) Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet ….. 399
(15) Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet ….. 399 (10)
(28) Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet ….. 399
(10) Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet ….. 399 (6)
(23) Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota ….. 399
(33) Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet ….. 399
(16) Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet ….. 399
(8) Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota ….. 399
(3) AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet ….. 399
(36) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet ….. 399
(24) Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford ….. 399
(31) Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford ….. 399
(18) Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota ….. 398
(22) Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford ….. 398
(7) Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota ….. 398 (123)
(32) Corey Heim, No. 67 Toyota ….. 398
(12) Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford ….. 398
(26) Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota ….. 398
(37) Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford ….. 397
(35) Jesse Love, No. 33 Chevrolet ….. 396
(2) Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota ….. 396 (41)
(1) Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford ….. 396 (60)
(34) John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota ….. 389
(25) Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet ….. 198
(5) Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet ….. 197
What time does the NASCAR Cup race at Richmond start?
The Cook Out 400 is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 16, at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia.
What TV channel is the NASCAR Cup race at Richmond?
The Cook Out 400 will be broadcast on USA Network. Pre-race coverage will start at 7 p.m. ET.
Will there be a live stream of the NASCAR Cup race at Richmond?
Yes, the Cook Out 400 can be streamed on HBO Max, Sling TV and Fubo, which is offering a free trial to new subscribers.
Watch the NASCAR Cup race at Richmond on Fubo
How many laps is the NASCAR Cup race at Richmond?
The Cook Out 400 is 400 laps around the 0.75-mile track for a total of 300 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 70 laps; Stage 2: 160 laps; Stage 3: 170 laps.
Who won the NASCAR Cup race at Richmond last year?
In one of the more controversial finishes in 2024, Austin Dillon won the Cook Out 400 in overtime last year. The race of attrition turned into a two-lap shootout in overtime to decide the winner. On the final lap, Dillon turned Joey Logano in the final turn before clipping Hamlin’s rear wheel and taking him out of contention. He kept the win but NASCAR denied his playoff berth from it days later due to his actions.
What is the lineup for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond?
(Car number in parentheses)
(60) Ryan Preece, Ford
(45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota
(16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet
(11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
(9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
(6) Brad Keselowski, Ford
(23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota
(20) Christopher Bell, Toyota
(48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
(71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet
(3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
(17) Chris Buescher, Ford
(2) Austin Cindric, Ford
(24) William Byron, Chevrolet
(77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet
(10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
(21) Josh Berry, Ford
(43) Erik Jones, Toyota
(19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota
(12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
(99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet
(4) Noah Gragson, Ford
(54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota
(41) Cole Custer, Ford
(7) Justin Haley, Chevrolet
(35) Riley Herbst, Toyota
(88) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet
(8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
(38) Zane Smith, Ford
(5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
(34) Todd Gilliland, Ford
(67) Corey Heim, Toyota
(1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
(42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota
(33) Jesse Love, Chevrolet
(47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet
(51) Cody Ware, Ford
(22) Joey Logano, Ford