The 2023 Cook Out 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on July 30, 2023, at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Contested over 400 laps on the D-shaped short track, it was the 22nd race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. The Cook Out 400 was event 3/3 of the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway, and was conclusive in the race weekend.
Report
Background
Richmond Raceway (RR), formerly known as Richmond International Raceway (RIR), is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia, in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the IndyCar series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted two USAC sprint car races.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes the driver ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Noah Gragson (R) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Ryan Newman Rick Ware Racing Ford 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice William Byron was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 23.057 seconds and a speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.057 117.101 2 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.203 116.364 3 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 23.249 116.134 Official practice results
Qualifying Tyler Reddick scored the pole for the race with a time 23.749 of and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 23.588 23.749 2 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.610 23.760 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 23.559 23.781 4 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.881 23.788 5 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 23.862 23.815 6 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.666 23.816 7 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 23.538 23.819 8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 23.359 23.842 9 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 23.825 23.927 10 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 23.433 23.974 11 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 23.641 — 12 42 Noah Gragson (R) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 23.697 — 13 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 23.712 — 14 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.713 — 15 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.724 — 16 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 23.731 — 17 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.735 — 18 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 23.798 — 19 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 23.857 — 20 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 23.857 — 21 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 23.919 — 22 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 23.951 — 23 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23.974 — 24 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 23.978 — 25 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 24.008 — 26 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 24.083 — 27 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 24.088 — 28 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 24.093 — 29 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 24.117 — 30 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 24.125 — 31 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 24.192 — 32 51 Ryan Newman Rick Ware Racing Ford 24.207 — 33 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 24.264 — 34 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 24.281 — 35 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 24.297 — 36 16 Derek Kraus (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 24.634 —Official qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 70
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 102 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 93 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 66 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 57 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 39 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 210 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 160
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 102 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 93 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 84 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 75 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 57 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 48 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 1Official stage two results
Final Stage results
Stage Three Laps: 170
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 26 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 400 492 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 493 2 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 394 23 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 400 345 11 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 400 416 13 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 400 447 10 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 338 24 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 400 319 17 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 2810 8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 400 3311 20 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 400 2612 5 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 400 4113 4 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 3114 25 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 400 2315 7 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 2516 1 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 400 3917 9 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 400 2018 15 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 1919 14 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 1820 29 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 399 1721 6 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 399 2022 18 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 399 1523 27 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 399 1424 19 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 399 1325 16 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 399 1226 30 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 399 1127 36 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 399 1028 12 42 Noah Gragson (R) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 398 929 32 51 Ryan Newman Rick Ware Racing Ford 398 830 28 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 398 731 22 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 397 632 31 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 397 533 33 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 396 434 34 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 396 335 35 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 396 036 21 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 395 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 18 among 8 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 3 for 21 laps Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 2 minutes, and 13 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television USA covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and three-time Richmond winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Dillon Welch handled the pit road duties from pit lane.
USABooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve LetarteColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dave BurnsMarty SniderDillon Welch
Radio The Motor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle 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. Jacklyn Drake, Kim Coon and Winston Kelley called the action for MRN from pit lane.
MRN RadioBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Todd Gordon Backstretch: Dave Moody Jacklyn DrakeKim CoonWinston Kelley
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Martin Truex Jr. 744 1 2 Denny Hamlin 705 (–39) 1 3 William Byron 701 (–43) 4 Christopher Bell 653 (–91) 1 5 Kyle Busch 648 (–96) 2 6 Kevin Harvick 634 (–110) 2 7 Ross Chastain 626 (–118) 1 8 Kyle Larson 619 (–125) 9 Ryan Blaney 614 (–130) 10 Joey Logano 609 (–135) 1 11 Brad Keselowski 603 (–141) 1 12 Tyler Reddick 602 (–142) 13 Chris Buescher 598 (–146) 14 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 514 (–230) 15 Bubba Wallace 506 (–238) 16 Michael McDowell 470 (–274)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 820 2 Toyota 764 (–56) 3 Ford 744 (–76)
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Notes
References