The NASCAR Cup Series visited a sold-out Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday night for the Cook Out 400. Ryan Preece started the race on the pole, with Tyler Reddick starting second.
Ryan Preece led the opening 58 laps. On lap 59, Tyler Reddick passed him for the lead in between Turns 3 and 4. Preece, who did not pit, fell back, and Denny Hamlin was in second place chasing Reddick. Late in the stage, Bubba Wallace passed Hamlin for second. Reddick would go on to win the first stage.
During the caution, Bubba Wallace beat Reddick off pit road for the lead. In the second stage, there were three cautions. The first happened on lap 182 when Daniel Suarez hit Ty Gibbs, causing him to get loose and hit Tyler Reddick at Turn 4. On lap 192, Cody Ware spun at Turn 2, and on lap 199 involved 11 cars when Kyle Busch turned Chase Briscoe entering Turn 3.
The other drivers who were involved were Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski, Justin Haley, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Todd Gilliland, Cole Custer, and Erik Jones. Kyle Busch also hit Chase Elliott, turning him, and Elliott hit William Byron. Bubba Wallace led 122 laps to win the second stage over Daniel Suarez.
During the caution, Michael McDowell took two tires to beat Bubba Wallace off pit road for the lead. In the final stage, Austin Dillon made it a three-wide battle for the lead. He passed both McDowell and Wallace for the lead on lap 242. Dillon extended to over two seconds ahead of Bubba Wallace.
Later, drivers began to make pit stops. Bubba Wallace lost a left rear tire leaving his pit stall on lap 291. The lead would change four times. Austin Dillon would take the lead for good on lap 352. Dillon led 107 laps, including the final 49 laps, to win his first race of the season by 2.471 seconds over Alex Bowman. Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Austin Cindric rounded out the top five.
Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, Josh Berry, Brad Keselowski, and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top ten. There were 24 lead changes among 11 drivers, and five cautions for 44 laps.
The Cup Series heads to Daytona International Speedway for the final race of the regular season next Saturday at 7:30 pm on NBC.
