NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Will be Cooking in the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway?
Saturday night will see a short track showdown write one of the final pages of NASCAR’s 2025 regular season. 400 laps are on deck from Richmond Raceway, with Playoff pressure at a premium for most of the field. This race a year ago saw drama boil over into an unforgettable finish; will tempers flair again in the Commonwealth? Here are a few drivers to watch out for hoping to grill up a very timely win in the Cook Out 400.
Denny Hamlin
Richmond’s hometown hero, Denny Hamlin owns five Action Track trophies including one from March 2024. Hamlin was also within a few hundred feet of a possible season sweep here last August. Final-turn contact from Austin Dillon ended this run, though. Now removed from this tough loss, Hamlin knows his team has room to improve to find typical dominant Richmond pace.
“We got to get a little better there,” Hamlin said. “I know I’ve been up front all the races at Richmond. But we just we got to get a little better. Got to work on it. I felt like we definitely got, you know, beat straight up last year. The 3 passed us legit and was a little better. So, we’ll see how it all goes, but I’m looking forward to it. I think that certainly going back to that track, lots of tire wear, back to some flat short tracks is good for me.”
Hamlin makes a Virginia homecoming with laps led in nine-straight races here, including seven top-fives. Across the Next Gen era, the 11’s only been worse than fourth once in six races. Rightfully entering this weekend as the odds-on favorite, the four-time 2025 winner looks to pick up a Richmond Raceway six-pack.
Kyle Larson
Nearly matching Hamlin in recent Richmond Raceway success is Kyle Larson. The Hendrick driver owns two career wins here, and top-10s in five of his last seven starts. Put simply, Richmond is one of Larson’s most consistent racetracks. Driver 5 believes his team will be on the right foot this weekend with Playoff time fast approaching.
“The last couple of months we haven’t scored as many points as we want,” Larson said. “But through that, I feel like we’re a much tougher team. We’ve been through a lot and seen a lot of different things and circumstances over the past two, two-and-a-half months. I think that can prepare you for the Playoffs. I think we have some great tracks for us in the Playoffs. If we do a solid job the next two weeks and we execute, we head into the Playoffs with some momentum and get to those tracks that we run good at and gain some points again and hopefully get a win or two along the way and just another way to help your playoff out.”
What some have called a dismal summer stretch for Larson has shown hope. This comes despite a last-place run at Watkins Glen that saw him slip to fifth in points. Two of his last four starts were top-fives, proving that this team can still be elite when on their game. Expect Larson to be one of the fastest cars overall on Saturday night. A Cliff Daniels-brewed strategy may just see the 5 take a fourth checkered flag of the year and their first since May.
Chris Buescher
A 2023 win and three top-10s is the Richmond stat-line for Chris Buescher’s last five starts. The RFK Racing No. 17 has slowly become one who can never be counted out here, as shown with consistent short track pace. Buescher admitted that he used to not be too overly fond of Richmond Raceway. Since then, however, Buescher has come around to love this bullring.
“I laugh about it now because we have had a lot of really good runs at Richmond and we have been able to win there,” Buescher said. “But it wasn’t that long ago that I wanted to fill the place with dirt and build apartments on it. I didn’t care; just make it go away. It was a struggle. We’re not there at this point. We are well beyond that. We are to a point that we can confidently say, wherever we are headed to, we are excited about the speed we believe we will have and the opportunity to win.”
Iowa Speedway two weeks ago may have been a Richmond precursor–Buescher’s two teammates both ended in the top-five. Strategy may have bitten the No. 17 that day, but they came roaring back with a Watkins Glen podium last week. Should this team perform to their full potential, they could find themselves up front again late at Richmond. Owning the last Playoff spot on points, a win would radically redefine this team’s season ahead of the Daytona cut race.
Chase Briscoe
The summer run to the Playoffs has been very kind for Chase Briscoe. Aside from his breakthrough Pocono victory, the last 13 races have seen the No. 19 earn eight top-10s. Joe Gibbs Racing is no stranger to Richmond Raceway success with Hamlin leading their efforts. Briscoe, however, will make his first start here with the 19 team that took Martin Truex Jr. to three Richmond triumphs. Between 2025 consistency and a track notebook this deep, expect Briscoe to better his top Richmond result of 11th.
The last month alone has seen Briscoe slowly turn into an under-the-radar contender as well. Four of his last five starts were top-fives, including three runner-ups. With the Playoffs right around the corner, perhaps no track is better suited for Briscoe than Richmond to collect a second checkered flag on the year.
Kyle Busch
Hamlin’s tally of five Richmond trophies trails only Kyle Busch’s six for most among active drivers. Facing a must-win scenario to make the 2025 Playoffs, Richmond can be a magic track once again for Rowdy. The short track is his second-winningest venue on the circuit, and teammate Austin Dillon was the dominant man here last year. Busch is beaming with confidence heading into this weekend, looking to erase an 81-race losing drought.
“Richmond’s one of my best tracks, statistically, so I would like to think that we could be good there in the No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet,” Busch said. “My teammate Austin Dillon had a great race there last year. I think we can use some of that success on the No. 8 team as well. Daytona has always been great for us at RCR and ECR with the speed that we typically carry there.”
“That’s definitely something to look at, with as good as Austin Dillon and the No. 3 team were at Richmond Raceway last year. The No. 8 team has had some good speed there, both last year and in the year prior, but in the fall race last year Austin was much better than we ever were. We’ve got a couple of third-place finishes out of Richmond Raceway the past few years. But Austin, being as good as he was and driving to the front and being deserving of that victory, gives us a lot to look forward to and try to replicate.”
“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. 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. There are 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.”
Last year’s Richmond finish does live on in infamy for Austin Dillon and Richard Childress Racing. What should not be forgotten, however, is the fact that an RCR Chevrolet was the class of the field and took the lead away cleanly inside of the final 30 laps. Busch was not far behind, ending that night in 12th. If any of the 3 team’s notes migrate across the garage to the No. 8, then Busch may be facing down a seventh Richmond victory under the greatest pressure.
Ryan Preece
One final man who should not be overlooked at Richmond is Ryan Preece. In this race two years ago, the short track ace flexed his muscles and earned a top-five with Stewart-Haas Racing. More recently, Preece has put up very respectable numbers this season on similar tracks. Running Richmond double-duty with the Modified race may be a feather in Preece’s cap as well for Saturday.
“I’m excited about Richmond,” Preece said. “I am going to go run the Modified there on Thursday and that will lead into Cup practice and qualifying on Friday and the Cup race on Saturday. We call it a short track but it’s a big short track. I like racing there. The last time I was there in a Modified we won, and it would be nice to do that again. For me, racing the Modified before the Cup race can be pretty good. But at the same time, it can be an absolute challenge. I am hoping the work put in will pay off.”
“When we go to short tracks, I have a high level of comfort. As far as what I need to do or how it needs to feel. And hopefully we can unload with a lot of speed, a lot of comfort, and go execute a good race.”
The last short track race at Iowa earlier this month saw Preece with a strong fifth-place run. His worst short track result this year was likewise 15th at Phoenix in March. RFK Racing has notes on how to build a winning setup here from the aforementioned Chris Buescher. Saturday will see Preece go for his third top-five finish across the last four weeks. The Ford team also put Preece and owner Brad Keselowski in the top-five at Iowa, giving them ample confidence for Richmond.
Denny Hamlin is the only repeat victor over the last nine trips to Richmond Raceway. In short, the Cook Out 400 may see a wide swath of drivers find themselves out front and in contention late. The Virginia green flag flies Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Time has almost run out for those desperate to make the Playoffs. Will another Hail Mary winning move define Richmond Raceway’s finish once again?
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Logan Whitton/Getty Images
