The Cup Series caps off a doubleheader weekend with the Cook Out 400 with some short track racing at Richmond Raceway.
Thirty-eight teams brought cars to Richmond including Truck Series champion Corey Heim and Xfinity Series driver Jesse Love.
There are only two more races counting this weekend before the end of the regular season.
Goodyear has brought a new softer tire to Richmond that is showing some two seconds of tire fall off.
The drivers have been divided into two groups for a 25 minute practice session.
Kyle Busch quickly took his number eight car to the top of the leaderboard in group 1 practice with sub 23 second laps. Busch also topped the leaderboard in multiple lap times.
AJ Allmendinger’s number 16 car failed the inspection process twice; as a result, he has had his car chief ejected for the weekend and will lose his pit stall selection.
Denny Hamlin tops the leaderboard for group 2 but is in third place overall behind Kyle Busch and John Hunter Nemechek.
The caution flag comes out when Joey Logano gets into the wall with a flat tire. Calling the incident “a bit of a head scratcher” Joey Logano said that they are going to try and get the car fixed.
In the final minute of practice Carson Hocevar spins out.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Corey Heim who posted a time of 22.747 seconds.
Noah Gragson is making Cup Series start number 100 this weekend.
Justin Haley’s crew chief told his driver that if he had a 22.40 second lap, he would cook a filet Mignone. Haley missed the mark.
Alex Bowman is making Cup Series start number 350 tis weekend.
With a time of 22.244 seconds Ryan Preece puts his number 60 car on the pole with Tyler Reddick starting alongside on the front row.
Cook Out 440 lineup:
Ryan Preece
Tyler Reddick
AJ Allmendinger
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
Brad Keselowski
Bubba Wallace
Christopher Bell
Alex Bowman
Michael McDowell
Austin Dillon
Chris Buescher
Austin Cindric
William Byron
Carson Hocevar
Ty Dillon
Josh Berry
Erik Jones
Chase Briscoe
Ryan Blaney
Noah Gragson
Daniel Suarez
Ty Gibbs
Cole Custer
Justin Haley
Riley Herbst
Shane van Gisbergen
Kyle Busch
Zane Smith
Kyle Larson
Todd Gilliland
Corey Heim
Ross Chastain
John Hunter Nemechek
Jesse Love
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Cody Ware
Joey Logano
Stage one is 70 laps, stage two is 160 laps, and stage three is 170 laps for a total of 400 laps around the ¾ track.
With just one race at Richmond this year, the fans have come out in force to sell out the stands.
Pole sitter is the first driver below the cut line in the playoff standings.
The drivers have just eight sets of tiles for the race. The tire fall off is as much as three seconds over the life of the tires.
Joey Logano and Todd Gilliland will have to start the race from the back of the field after crews made some unapproved adjustments to the cars.
Ryan Preece brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Tyler Reddick alongside. Preece edges out in front from the inside lane with Tyler Reddick in second. Drivers are getting three wide back in the field.
Lap two, Ryan Preece leads the race with Tyler Reddick in second; AJ Allmendinger, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.
Lap five, Chase Elliott passes Brad Keselowski for fifth.
Lap eight, Ryan Preece has a half second lead on AJ Allmendinger; Tyler Reddick Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 12, Ryan Preece continues to lead the race with a lead of less than half a second on AJ Allmendinger; Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 14, Joey Logano has advanced only three places since the start of the race.
Chris Buescher has fallen seven spots since the start of the race; teammate Ryan Preece holds on to a half second lead on AJ Allmendinger; Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Jesse Love and Riley Herbst get loose after some contact from Joey Logano as he works his way through the field to 31st.
Lap 28, Ryan Preece holds on to his half second lead on AJ Allmendinger; Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 31, William Byron comes down pit road for a green flag pit stop.
Lap 33, Kyle Larson makes a green flag pit stop. Drivers go a lap down making a green flag stop. More drivers are making green flag pit stops.
Lap 36, Ryan Preece has pulled out to a second and a half lead on AJ Allmendinger.
Ty Dillon was charged with a crew member coming over the wall too soon and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Denny Hamlin makes his green flag pit stop; Chase Elliott is in second place.
Ty Gibbs was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 41, green flag pit stops continue. Denny Hamlin has unlapped himself on new tires.
Lap 46, there are just eleven cars on the lead lap after green flag pit stops but some of the lead lap drivers have not make a pit stop.
Lap 48, Ryan Preece has a near three second lead on Chase Elliott.
Lap 53, Ryan Preece has a near three second lead on Chase Elliott with 28 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 56, the top five are Ryan Preece, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and AJ Allmendinger.
Lap 58, Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick battle for second.
Lap 59, Tyler Reddick passes Ryan Preece for the lead after Denny Hamlin brushes the wall.
Lap 62, Bubba Wallace passes Ryan Preece for third.
Lap 63, Tyler Reddick ahs a second and a half lead on Denny Hamlin; Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Lap 66, Tyler Reddick has increased his lead to three seconds on boss man Denny Hamlin; Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Bubba Wallace passes boss man Denny Hamlin for second.
With a near four second lead, Tyler Reddick wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Tyler Reddick
Bubba Wallace
Denny Hamlin
Austin Dillon
Austin Cindric
Christopher Bell
Ryan Blaney
Brad Keselowski
Josh Berry
AJ Allmendinger
Drivers come down pit road for service with Bubba Wallace winning the race off of pit road with teammate Tyler Reddick coming out second.
Denny Hamlin reports that he may have some toe link damage after getting into the line.
Denny Hamlin is charged with speeding on pit road and will restart the race from the back of the field. Hamlin also had a slow stop with jack issues.
AJ Allmendinger was charged with vehicle interference. Chase Elliott was also charged with a penalty for vehicle interference.
Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 80 with teammate Tyler Reddick alongside. Bubba Wallace takes the lead.
The top five are Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, and Ryan Blaney.
Ty Gibbs and Cody Ware are the only cars not on the lead lap.
Lap 84, Bubba Wallace has a lead of over half a second on Christopher Bell; Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
Lap 90, Bubba Wallace holds a lead of over half a second on Christopher Bell; Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
Lap 94, second place driver Christopher Bell is slowly closing the gap on leader Bubba Wallace and is now less than half a second out in front.
Lap 102, with the sun down and the lights in full effect, some of the drivers are beginning to climb the track, looking for the high line.
Lap 104, Christopher Bell is beginning to challenge Bubba Wallace for the lead.
Lap 111, Denny Hamlin has advanced 12 spots since the restart of the race and restarting from the back of the field.
Lap 113, Ryan Preece is the first driver to make a green flag pit stop in stage two.
Lap 114, Bubba Wallace has increased his lead and in nearly a second out in front of Christopher Bell; Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric.
After getting into the wall during practice and starting the race from the back of the field, Joey Logano has moved up to 12th place.
Lap 121, Tyler Reddick has passed Chrisotpher Bell for second over a second and a half behind teammate and leader Bubba Wallace.
More drivers are making their green flag pit stops.
Lap 125, the top five are Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, and Christopher Bell.
Lap 127, Tyler Reddick makes his green flag pits stop ans pit road is getting very busy.
Lap 130, with a lead of over four seconds, leader Bubba Wallace makes his green flag pit stop. Ryan Preece is the new leader.
Kyle Busch was caught speeding on pit road and has to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 124, The top five are Austin Dillon, Daniel Suarez, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, and Ryan Preece.
Bubba Wallace passes Ryan Preece for fifth.
Drivers are getting three and four wide across the track.
Cody Ware was caught speeding on pit road.
Tyler Reddick passes Austin Dillon for the lead.
Lap 142, 89 laps remain in stage two, this time 23XI driver Tyler Reddick is in the lead with teammate Bubba Wallace in second; Austin Dillon, Daniel Suarez, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
There are 28 cars on the lead lap.
Broadcaster Jeff Burton reports that the tires the teams are using tonight are the softest tires they have ever had.
Lap 150, Tyler Reddick has a near one second lead on Bubba Wallace; Austin Dillon, Daniel Suarez, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
Lap 153, Ryan Preece makes a green flag pit stop.
Lap 155, 23XI drivers Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace lead the race with Joey Logano in third, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Dillon rounding out the top five.
Lap 160, In a battle of the Austins, Austin Cindric passes Austin Dillon to take fifth place.
Lap 163, Bubba Wallace has caught teammate Tyler Reddick to battle for the lead.
Lap 164, Bubba Wallace takes the lead.
Lap 168, Bubba Wallace has a near one second lead on Tyler Reddick; Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
Lap 170, teammates Austin Cindric and Joey Logano battle for fourth. Fellow Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney is in third.
Lap 173, there are just 22 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 174, Bubba Wallace has a two and a half second lead on Tyler Reddick.
Drivers make their second green flag pit stops in stage two.
Lap 179, Bubba Wallace has a lead of over three seconds and makes his pit stop giving the lead over to Kyle Larson.
Denny Hamlin had another slow pit stop when there was an issue with the front left tire.
The first caution flag comes out for an on track incident when Tyler Reddick spins out after contact from Ty Gibbs.
Kyle Busch continues to report a loose condition in his car.
With Kyle Larson’s pit stop, Bubba Wallace again takes the lead and brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 189.
Bubba Wallace leads the race with Daneil Suarez in second; Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Austin Dillon round out the top five. Drivers are getting four wide across the track.
Lap 191 the caution flag comes out when Cody Ware spins out.
Some of the drivers come down pit road during the caution flag.
Bubba Wallace leads the race and brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 196 with Daniel Suarez alongside. Wallace holds on to the lead. Drivers are three, four, and five wide across the track as the race approaches the halfway mark.
The caution flag comes out on la 198 for a big crash involving Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Justin Haley, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Todd Gilliland, Cole Custer, Erik Jones, Ty Dillon, and Denny Hamlin. This is the first DNF for Chase Elliott this season! Contact between Kyle Busch and Chase Briscoe started the melee. Justin Haley is also out of the race.
Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 214 with Daniel Suare alongside. Wallace holds on to the lead.
The top five are Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Preece, and Austin Dillon.
Austin Dillon passes Ryan Preece for fourth.
Lap 218, Bubba Wallace has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Daniel Suarez.
With nine laps remaining in stage two, Bubba Wallace has pulled out to a lead of over a second and a half on Daniel Suarez; Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, and Ryan Preece round out the top five.
With a near two second lead, Bubba Wallace wins stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Bubba Wallace
Daniel Suarez
Ryan Blaney
Austin Dillon
Alex Bowman
Ryan Preece
Carson Hocevar
Austin Cindric
William Byron
Kyle Larson
Drivers come down pit road for service with Michael McDowell winning the race off of pit road after taking only two tires. Bubba Wallace comes out second, the first driver on four fresh tires.
There are still numerous reports of loose conditions in the cars from the drivers; while some drivers are reporting tight conditions.
Christopher Bell had to back up to his pit stop with a loose lug nut.
Michael McDowell brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Bubba Wallace alongside on lap 241. McDowell edges out in front on the inside lane but Bubba Wallace moves up on the inside and Bubba Wallace comes up on the outside for a three way battle with Dillon taking the lead.
The top five are Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Michael McDowell, and Carson Hocevar.
Carson Hocevar passes Michael McDowell for fourth.
Lap 247, Michael McDowell has fallen back to eighth place since the race start.
Lapa 249, Austin Dillon has a one second lead on Bubba Wallace; Alex Bowman, Carson Hocevar, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.
There are 31 cars on the lead lap with two drivers out of the race.
Lap 251, Michael McDowell has fallen to 13th after taking only two tires during his pit stop.
Lap 254, Austin Dillon has pulled out to a lead of a second and a half on Bubba Wallace; Alex Bowman, Carson Hocevar, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.
Michael McDowell continues to fall through the field.
Lap 262, Austin Dillon continues to increase his lead and is now over two and a half seconds out in front of Bubba Wallace; Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.
Lap 269, Austin Dillon now has a three second lead on Bubba Wallace; Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five with 28 cars on the lead lap.
Daniel Suarez passes Carson Hocevar for fifth.
While nearly three seconds behind the leader, Bubba Wallace is running the fastest laps on the track.
Lap 279, drivers are beginning to make their green flag pit stops.
Austin Dillon’s lead is down to two and a half seconds on Bubba Wallace.
John Hunter Nemechek was charged with a penalty on pit road.
Lap 284, Austin Dillon’s lead is down to under two and a half seconds on Bubba Wallace.
Ryan Blaney passes Bubba Wallace for second.
With 115 laps remaining in the race, more drivers are making their green flag pit stops.
Lap 289, Ryan Blaney has closed the gap on leader Austin Dillon to under two seconds.
Bubba Wallace lost a wheel on pit road. He stopped into Chase Briscoe’s pit stall and the crew puts the tire back on the car.
Austin Dillon makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Carson Hocevar.
Ty Gibbs has a fire in his car. He reports the brakes have failed.
With 100 laps to go, Carson Hocevar has a lead of over three seconds on Ryan Blaney; William Byron, Austin Dillon, and Josh Berry round out the top five.
After his tire issue, Bubba Wallace was charged with a penalty and had to serve a passthrough penalty.
Ryan Blaney takes the lead with Austin Dillon in second; Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Carson Hocevar, and Josh Berry round out the top five.
Lap 310, Ryan Blaney has a one second lead on Austin Dillon; William Byron, Alex Bowman, and Josh Berry round out the top five.
Christopher Bell was charged with a commitment cone violation and had to serve a passthrough penalty.
Alex Bowman is running the fastest laps on the track.
Lap 317, Ryan Blaney has a lead of less than a second on Austin Dillon; Alex Bowman ,Josh Berry, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
Lap 320 Carson is the first driver on pit road for another round of green flag stops.
Lap 329, Austin Dillon comes up to battle with Ryan Blaney for the lead.
Lap 331, the top five are Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Josh Berry, and Austin Cindric.
Lap 335, the battle continues with Cody Ware on their bumpers. On fresh tires; lap down driver Cody Ware passes Austin Dillon and Ryan Blaney.
Lap 338, Austin Dillon and Ryan Blaney swap the lead back and forth as their battle for the lead continues.
Ross Chastain and Carson Hocevar unlap themselves on fresher tires as the battle for the lead continues.
Lap 341, Austin Dill makes his pit stop; Ryan Blaney has the lead.
Lap 244, there are only eleven cars on the lead lap and green flag pit stops continue.
Lap 345, leader Ryan Blaney comes down pit road for service. Austin Cindric is the new leader.
John Hunter Nemechek is off the track.
Lap 349, Kyle Larson leads the race with Brad Keselowski in second; Austin Dillon, ty Gibbs, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.
Lap 350, Kyle Larson comes down pit road and gives the lead over to Brad Keselowski.
Lap 351, Brad Keselowski makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Austin Dillon.
With 45 laps remaining in the race, Austin Dillon has a lead of over five seconds on Ryan Blaney; Alex Bowman, Carson Hocevar, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.
Lap 360, Carson Hocevar makes his final green flag pit stop and has a slow stop.
Austin Dillon’s lead over Ryan Blaney is now under five seconds; Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
Just 30 laps remain in the race with Austin Dillon leading the race by three and a half seconds on Ryan Blaney; Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
Austin Cindric passes Daniel Suarez for fourth.
With 22 laps to go, there are only 13 cars on the lead lap.
John Hunter Nemechek has returned to the track but is eleven laps down.
With just 18 laps to go, Austin Dillon has a four second lead on Ryan Blaney; Alex Bowman Austin Cindric, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
With 16 to go, Alex bowman passes Ryan Blaney for second; but is four seconds behind the leader.
Just 10 to go, defending his win from last year, Austin Dillon has a three and a half second lead on Alex Bowman; Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
Five to go and leader Austin Dillon is mired in traffic; his lead is now under three seconds in front of Alex Bowman.
Austin Dill takes the white flag.
Austin Dillon goes back to back at Richmond to race his way into the playoffs!
With Dillon’s win, there are only two more spots open in the playoffs with one more race remaining in the regular season.
The unofficial results of the Cook Out 400:
Austin Dillon
Alex Bowman
Ryan Blaney
Joey Logano
Austin Cindric
Kyle Larson
Danield Suarez
Josh Berry
Brad Keselowski
Denny Hamlin
Zane Smith
William Byron
Chase Briscoe
Shane van Gisbergen
Carson Hocevar
Kyle Busch
Michael McDowell
Ty Gibbs
Ross Chastain
Ty Dillon
Christopher Bell
AJ Allmendinger
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Cole Custer
Todd Gilliland
Erik Jones
Noah Gragson
bubba Wallace
Corey Heim
Chris Buescher
Riley Herbst
Cody Ware
Jesse Love
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Preece
John Hunter Nemechek
Justin Haley
Chase Elliott