The Cup Series caps off the triple header weekend with the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway for some short track racing.

Pocono saw some tumultuous racing last week that caused some major contention between Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin.  Austin Dillon had a helmet throwing incident after a crash; along with several other “hurt” feelings from drivers, things are sure to get very interesting on the track.

It is a scorching hot Saturday afternoon when the drivers take to the track for a practice session and qualifying.  The drivers are divided into two groups with the top five drivers from each group moving on to a second round of qualifying to set the pole.

With AJ Allmendinger in Wisconsin at Road America, Derek Kraus is practicing and qualifying the car but not matter where he lands in the lineup, Allmendinger will have to start the race from the back of the field due to a driver change.

The crews get only one set of tires for the 20 minute practice session.

While the past few weeks have been a bit of a struggle for Corey LaJoie, he is the only driver in the field who does not have a DNF – did not finish – for this season.

Kevin Harvick runs over some sort of debris on the track during practice.  He brings his car down pit road so that the crew can determine whether or not there is any damage to the car.  It happened just before the end of practice.

The top 13 drivers in Group A lead the practice sessions.  There were no Group B drivers in the top 10 of practice.

The first car on the track from Group A is Ryan Newman who posted a time of 24.207 seconds around the ¾ mile track.

Ryan Blaney just misses breaking the 24 second mark with a time of 24.008 seconds.

Aric Almirola is the first driver to break the 24 second mark with a time of 23.978 seconds.

Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Bubba Wallace, and Chase Elliott will all move on to the second round of qualifying from Group A

First on the track from Group B is BJ McLeod and posts a time of 23.919 seconds.

So far, five drivers from Group B have gone out and have topped the qualifying lap each time.

Group B drivers Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, Kevin Harvick, Tyler Reddick, and Martin Truex Jr will all move on to round two of qualifying.

Tyler Reddick hit the wall on his qualifying run and has some damage to the car and still made it in th top five.

The first driver on the track from the top 10 drivers is Chase Elliott with a time of 23.789 seconds.

With a time of 23.749 seconds Tyler Reddick puts his number 45 car on the pole with Rowdy Busch starting alongside on the front row.  This is Reddick’s fifth career pole.  Both of the 23XI cars are in the top 10; along with car co-owner Denny Hamlin.

After some inspection issues, Ross Chastain, Justin Haley, and Chase Elliott have had a crew member ejected for the weekend and has lost his ability to choose a pit stall.

The starting lineup for the Cook Out 400:
Tyler Reddick
Kyle Busch
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
Bubba Wallace
William Byron
Ty Gibbs
Kevin Harvick
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Martin Truex Jr
Ryan Preece
Noah Gragson
Brad Keselowski
Kyle Larson
Alex Bowman
Todd Gilliland
Austin Dillon
Michael McDowell
Ross Chastain
Chase Briscoe
BJ McLeod
Harrison Burton
Joey Logano
Aric Almirola
Ryan Blaney
Chris Buescher
Erik Jones
Justin Haley
Christopher Bell
Austin Cindric
Corey LaJoie
Ryan Newman
Daniel Suarez
Ty Dillon
JJ Yeley
AJ Allmendinger

The crews have only eight sets of tires in the pits for today’s race.

After the events between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson at Pocono last week, Hamlin was booed by the fans and at driver introductions at a track 20 miles from where he grew up, the fans again booed him.

Stage one is 70 laps with stage two lasting 160 laps, and stage three is 170 laps for a total of 400 laps around the ¾ mile track.  The drivers can run 130 to 140 laps on a single lead of fuel.

On a hot Sunday afternoon, Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag start of the race from the inside lane with Kyle Busch alongside.  Reddick edges out for the lead.  Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch battle for second.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Martin Truex Jr make contact on the race start but the track stays green.

Lap two, Tyler Reddick has a near half second lead on Denny Hamlin; Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, and William Byron round out the top five.

Lap nine, Tyler Reddick holds on to the lead – they are his first laps led on a short track – with Denny Hamlin a half a second behind; Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Lap eleven, AJ Allmendinger started from the back of the field after running the race at Road America on Saturday.  He has moved up to 30th place.

Only eleven laps into the race and the drivers have slowed over a second as the tires wear down.

Lap 14 Bubba Wallace passes Chase Elliott for fourth.

Lap 15, the to five are Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, and Chase Elliott.

Lap 20, the laps times have slowed two seconds since the race start as the tires continue to wear out.

Lap 26, Tyler Reddick holds a half second lead on Denny Hamlin; Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.  AJ Allmendinger is up to 26th place.

Lap 30, Tyler Reddick has led every lap so far with Denny Hamlin in second; Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap 34, Tyler Reddick has a half second lead on Denny Hamlin; but third place driver Kyle Busch is two and a half seconds back.

Lap 35, Tyler Reddick is approaching slower traffic and has already put BJ McLeod a lap down.

Lap 39, Tyler Reddick has pulled out to a lead of nearly a second on Denny Hamlin; Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, and Chase Elliott continue to round out the top five.

Lap 47, Bubba Wallace has passed Kyle Busch for third.  Tyler Reddick has pulled out to a one second lead on Denny Hamlin.

Lap 50, AJ Allmendinger has moved up 10 spots since the race start.

Lap 51, Tyler Reddick has increased his lead to over a second and a half on Denny Hamlin; Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.  There are 31 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 54, William Byron passes Kyle Busch for sixth.  Busch has dropped five spots since the start of the race.

Lap 58, Tyler Reddick has pulled out to a two second lead on Denny Hamlin; Bubba Wallace is just half a second behind boss man Denny Hamlin in third with Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick rounding out the top five.

Lap 63, Tyler Reddick is now three second out in front of Denny Hamlin; Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, and Kevin Harvick round out the top five with 29 cars on the lead lap.  Kyle Busch has fallen out of the top 10.

Kyle Busch is reporting some major loose issues and a “wawawaw” in the corners.

Bubba Wallace passes Denny Hamlin for second place.

Tyler Reddick wins stage one after leading every lap for his fourth stage win of the season.

The top 10 t the end of stage one:
Tyler Reddick
Bubba Wallace
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
Kevin Harvick
Ryan Preece
William Byron
Brad Keselowski
Aric Almirola
Ty Gibbs

Drivers come down pit road for service with Tyler Reddick winning the race off of pit road with teammate Bubba Wallace coming out second.

Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 79 from the inside lane and holds on to the lead but teammate Bubba Wallace comes up to battle for the lead and 23 is the new leader.

Lap 81, the top five are Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski.

Leader Bubba Wallace took only two tires on the pit stop.

Brad Keselowski passes Denny Hamlin for fourth.

Lap 85, Bubba Wallace has a half second lead on Tyler Reddick; Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Lap 88, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin battle for fourth.

Lap 92, Bubba Wallace has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Tyler Reddick; Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Typical short track racing, there is plenty of beating and banging between drivers throughout the field.

Lap 100, Bubba Wallace has a second and a half lead on Tyler Reddick; Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott round out the top five with 30 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 105, Tyler Reddick is slowly closing the gap on leader Bubba Wallace; the lead is down to 1.2 seconds with Brad Keselowski two seconds back.

On a 90 degree day, the track temperature is well over 110 degrees; temps inside the cars are 125 to 135 degrees.

Lap 112, Bubba Wallace has a lead of over a second and a half on teammate Tyler Reddick; Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap 120, Bubba Wallace has pulled out to a lead of over a second and a half on Tyler Reddick; Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, and Aric Almirola round out the top five.

Ryan Preece is the first driver to make a green flag pit for fresh tires.

Lap 123, Brad Keselowski and Tyler Reddick give up top five spots for fresh tires.

Lap 124, leader Bubba Wallace make a green flag pit stop and gives the lead over the Denny Hamlin.

Kyle Larson reports a very tight condition.

Aric Almirola is charged with a commitment cone violation and will have to serve a pass through penalty.

Lap 128, Denny Hamlin comes down pit road for his green flag pit stop; Michael McDowell is the new leader.

Kevin Harvick reports a tight condition in his car.

Austin Cindric has a slow stop after having to back up to get out of his pit stall.

Lap 131, green flag pit stops continue.

Christopher Bell was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a pass through penalty.

There are 20 cars on the lead lap.  It is common for drivers to lose a lap or even two when making green flag pit stops on short tracks and have several cars laps down until the pit stops cycle through.

Bubba Wallace has a lead of over a second on Tyler Reddick; Brad Keselowski, Michael McDowell, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Lap 146, Michael McDowell makes his green flag pit stop.

Lap 147, the top five are Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, and Chris Buescher.

Martin Truex Jr makes his green flag pit stop.

Lap 150, there are 24 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 152, Bubba Wallace has a one second lead on Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski who are battling for second.

Lap 154, Daniel Suarez finally makes his green flag pit stop to complete the cycle.

Lap 156, Tyler Reddick has closed the gap on leader Bubba Wallace to half a second; Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Lap 158, Chase Elliott and Ty Gibbs make contact but the track stays green.

Lap 164, Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski battle for second with the number six car putting himself between the two 23XI teammates.

Lap 165, the top five are Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and Chris Buescher.

There are 23 cars on the lead lap.

Chase Elliott reports that he needs to turn better but he is getting looser.

Lap 170, Bubba Wallace has a lead of over half a second on Brad Keselowski; Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Leading 78 laps, Bubba Wallace has led the most laps ever in his career.

Lap 173, Alex Bowman and Ty Gibbs begin the second cycle of green flag pit stops.

Lap 174, Brad Keselowski gives up second to make a pit stop.

Leader Bubba Wallace comes down pit road for service with reports of getting loose.  He had a slow stop with a jack issue.

Tyler Reddick leads the race with Denny Hamlin in second.

Lap 177 Tyler Reddick gives up the lead for his pit stop.  Denny Hamlin is the new leader.

Kyle Larson still reports a tight condition in his car.

Lap 180, as pit stops continue; Denny Hamlin comes down pit road and gives the lead over to Martin Truex Jr.  Hamlin reports a tight condition in his car.

Lap 182, Brad Keselowski passes Martin Truex Jr for the lead; Michael McDowell, Tyler Reddick, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Lap 189, Brad Keselowski has a near four second lead on Tyler Reddick; Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Martin Truex Jr, Michael McDowell, and Daniel Suarez are on a different pit stop schedule than the rest of the field.

Lap 185, Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin pass Martin Truex Jr.

There are 20 cars on the lead laps with all 36 drivers still on the track.

Lap 205, Brad Keselowski has pulled out to a five second lead on Tyler Reddick; Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Over halfway and the race has been very clean so far with the stage break the only caution flag so far.

Lap 209, Brad Keselowski is now six and a half seconds out in front of Tyler Reddick.

Lap 218, Brad Keselowski’s lead on Tyler Reddick is down to five seconds as cars on fresher tires are passing the leader to try and unlap themselves.  There are 18 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 222, the top five are Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, and Bubba Wallace.

Just four laps remain in stage two; Brad Keselowski has a lead of under four seconds on Chris Buescher; Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and Bubba Wallace round out  the top five.

Teammates Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman battle to be the first car one lap down and earn the “lucky dog” at the end of the stage.

Brad Keselowski wins stage number two for his third stage win of the season.

The top 10 at end of stage two:
Brad Keselowski
Chris Buescher
Tyler Reddick
Bubba Wallace
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Busch
Ryan Preece
Martin Truex Jr
Ty Gibbs
Joey Logano

Alex Bowman is the “lucky dog”.

Drivers come down pit road for service with leaders reporting a “free” condition.  Brad Keselowski wins the race off of pit road.  Once again, Bubba Wallace takes only two tires.

Christopher Bell stays out on the track to take the wave around and get back on the lead lap.

Michael McDowell will have to restart the race from the back of the field after being charged with leaving his pit box with equipment.

Brad Keselowski brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with teammate Chris Buescher alongside on lap 240.  Keslowski jumps out in front for the lead.  Denny Hamlin takes it three wide in a battle for position.

The top five are Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Denny Hamlin.

Denny Hamlin finally gets around Bubba Wallace for fourth.

Lap 244, Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin battle for third.

Lap 246, Brad Keselowski has a third of a second lead on teammate Chris Buescher; Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.  After falling out of the top 10, Kyle Busch has recovered and is in sixth place.

There are just 19 cars on the lead lap with all of the drivers on the track.

Lap 251, Bubba Wallace comes up to battle Denny Hamlin for fourth.

Lap 256, Austin Dillon and Chase Elliott battle for ninth.

The top five are Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and Bubba Wallace.

Lap 263, Brad Keselowski holds a narrow lead on teammate Chris Buescher; Tyler Reddick is in third over two seconds back with Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace rounding out the top five.  Keselowski has led 82 laps so far.

Lap 269, Brad Keselowski has passed Christopher Bell to put him a lap down once again.  There are 18 cars on the lead lap.  He brings his car down pit road for service.

Lap 272, Chris Buescher has caught up to leader Brad Keselowski and is challenging for the lead.

Fourteenth place driver Aric Almirola reports that his car is “overdriving”.

Lap 284, Joey Logano begins the cycle of green flag pit stops.

Lap 285, leader Brad Keselowski comes down pit road and has an awkward entry.  Denny Hamlin is the new leader.

Lap 293, leader Denny Hamlin makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 298 Martin Truex Jr has an eight second lead on the field but has yet to make his pit stop; Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Lap 306, Ryan Preece and Bubba Wallace battle for fourth.

Chris Buescher passes Martin Truex Jr for the lead – Truex has yet to make his pit stop for fresh tires.

Running the high line, Kyle Larson scrapes the wall.

With 91 laps remaining in the race Chris Buescher has a four second lead on Tyler Reddick; Martin Truex Jr, Bubba Wallace, and Ryan Preece round out the top five.

Lap 312, Martin Truex Jr makes his green flag pit stop.

Chris Buescher has a lead of over four seconds on Tyler Reddick; Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

There are just 16 crs on the lead lap.

Kyle Larson brings his car to pit road after a brush with the wall.

Kenny Hamlin passes Bubba Wallace for fourth.

Lap 320, Chris Buescher has a four second lead on Tyler Reddick with Ryan Preece four seconds behind that with Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski rounding out the top five.

Kyle Busch passes Bubba Wallace for sixth.

Lap 329, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Preece battle for third.  On newer tires, Kyle Larson gives Hamlin the bump to move Hamlin out of his way.

Lap 332, the top five are Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Preece, and Brad Keselowski.  There are 15 cars on the lead lap.

Chris Buescher has a near five second lead on Tyler Reddick and Reddick has a four second lead on Hamlin.

Lap 336, green flag pit stop begin with Brad Keselowski.

Lap 338, leader Chris Buescher makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over Ryan Blaney.

Tyler Reddick is charges with a commitment cone violation and will have to serve a pass through penalty. 

With 57 laps remaining in the race Martin Truex Jr leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second; Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Preece round out the top five.

Chris Buescher passes Martin Truex Jr for the lead.

Lap 351, Chris Buescher has a three and a half second lead on Martin Truex Jr.; Denny Hamlin, Ryan Preece, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.  There are 15 cars on the lead lap.

With 45 laps to go, Chris Buescher has pulled out to a lead of over five seconds on Martin Truex Jr; Denny Hamlin, Ryan Preece, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.

Denny Hamlin passes Martin Truex Jr for second.

Forty to go, Ryan Preece passes Martin Truex Jr for third.

Only 37 laps remain in the race, Chris Buescher has a lead of over six seconds on Denny Hamlin; Ryan Preece, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.  Chase Elliott is the last driver in the lead lap in 14th.

Just 30 laps to go, Chris Buescher holds a lead of over six seconds on Denny Hamlin; Ryan Preece, Martin Truex Jr, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

With 27 laps to go, Kyle Busch passes Martin Truex Jr for fourth.

Chris Buescher passes Tyler Reddick to put him one lap down.  There are 13 cars on the lead lap with Chase Elliott the last car on the lead lap.

Just 22 laps to go, Chris Buescher holds a lead of six and a half seconds on Denny Hamlin; Ryan Preece, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.

With 18 to go, Ryan Preece is slowly closing in on second place and Denny Hamlin.

Chris Buescher is on Chase Elliott’s bumper – Elliott is the last car on the lead lap.

Ten to go, Chris Buescher has a lead of over five and a half seconds on Denny Hamlin, Ryan Preece, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.

The first caution flag of the race for an on track incident comes out with just 10 laps remaining in the race.  Daniel Suarez spins out amid a great deal of smoke after contact from Noah Gragson.

Lead lap drivers come down pit road for that last set of sticker tires.  Chris Buescher wins the race off of pit road with Denny Hamlin in second and Kyle Busch in third.

Chris Buescher brings the field down for the green flag shootout to the end with just three laps remaining in the race.  Buescher’s crew tells Chris not to let Denny Hamlin do what he did to Kyle Larson last week.  Buescher edges out for the lead as drivers get three wide.

Chris Buescher has the lead and Denny Hamlin comes up  to battle for the lead but locks the tires. 

Chris Buescher takes the white flag.

Chris Buescher wins the race!  Cars are wrecking back in the field.  Buescher becomes the 12th driver to win a race this season and earn a spot in the playoffs.

Buescher gives a massive burnout that shreds the rubber and hides the car in smoke.

The unofficial results of the Cook Out 400:
Chris Buescher
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Busch
Joey Logano
Ryan Preece
Brad Keselowski
Martin Truex Jr
Aric Almirola
Austin Dillon
Kevin Harvick
Chase Briscoe
Bubba Wallace
Chase Elliott
Ryan Blaney
Ty Gibbs
Tyler Reddick
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Alex Bowman
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell
William Byron
Michael McDowell
Erik Jones
Ross Chastain
Todd Gilliland
Austin Cindric
AJ Allmendinger
Noah Gragson
Ryan Newman
Justin Haley
Harrison Burton
Corey LaJoie
Daniel Suarez
Ty Dillon
JJ Yeley
BJ McLeod