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 .75-mile (1.21 km) D-shaped short track, it was the 22nd race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 22 of 36 in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | July 30, 2023 | ||
| Location | Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility .75 mi (1.2 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 300 mi (480 km) | ||
| Average speed | 98.783 miles per hour (158.976 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | 23XI Racing | ||
| Time | 23.749 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | |
| Laps | 102 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and Todd Gordon | ||
| Turn Announcers | Dave Moody (Backstretch) | ||
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.
Practice
William Byron was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 23.057 seconds and a speed of 117.101 mph (188.456 km/h).[10]
Practice results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 113.689 mph (182.965 km/h).[11]
Qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage results
Stage OneLaps: 70
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage TwoLaps: 160
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage results
Stage ThreeLaps: 170
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 400 | 49 |
| 2 | 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 49 |
| 3 | 2 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 39 |
| 4 | 23 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 400 | 34 |
| 5 | 11 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 400 | 41 |
| 6 | 13 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 400 | 44 |
| 7 | 10 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 33 |
| 8 | 24 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 400 | 31 |
| 9 | 17 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 28 |
| 10 | 8 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 400 | 33 |
| 11 | 20 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 400 | 26 |
| 12 | 5 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 400 | 41 |
| 13 | 4 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 31 |
| 14 | 25 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 400 | 23 |
| 15 | 7 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 400 | 25 |
| 16 | 1 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 400 | 39 |
| 17 | 9 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 20 |
| 18 | 15 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 19 |
| 19 | 14 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 18 |
| 20 | 29 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 399 | 17 |
| 21 | 6 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 399 | 20 |
| 22 | 18 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 399 | 15 |
| 23 | 27 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 399 | 14 |
| 24 | 19 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 399 | 13 |
| 25 | 16 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 399 | 12 |
| 26 | 30 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 399 | 11 |
| 27 | 36 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 399 | 10 |
| 28 | 12 | 42 | Noah Gragson (R) | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 398 | 9 |
| 29 | 32 | 51 | Ryan Newman | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 398 | 8 |
| 30 | 28 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 398 | 7 |
| 31 | 22 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 397 | 6 |
| 32 | 31 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 397 | 5 |
| 33 | 33 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 396 | 4 |
| 34 | 34 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 396 | 3 |
| 35 | 35 | 15 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 396 | 0 |
| 36 | 21 | 78 | B. J. McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Chevrolet | 395 | 1 |
| Official 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: 98.783 miles per hour (158.976 km/h)
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.
| USA | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dave Burns Marty Snider Dillon 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 Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Todd Gordon | Backstretch: Dave Moody | Jacklyn Drake Kim Coon Winston Kelley |
Standings after the race
- 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.