To the shock and surprise of absolutely no one, Shane Van Gisbergen claimed victory on a road course once again – bringing his total to four on the season. Now, NASCAR gets back on an oval as the best in the series look to win the 2025 Cook Out 400 from Richmond Raceway.
With the NASCAR playoffs just two races away, expect the intensity to hit new levels as drivers below the cutline become desperate to find their way into the postseason. After all, NASCAR fans remember what happened at Richmond last season. Let’s dive in.
2025 Cook Out 400 Entry List
Richmond will feature two of the top prospects in the lower divisions of NASCAR as Truck Series leader Corey Heim and Xfinity competitor Jesse Love both make starts this weekend. Heim will be behind the wheel of the #67 for 23XI while Love wheels the #33 for RCR.
Prosper, Texas' very own @Chris_Buescher has success at @RichmondRaceway. pic.twitter.com/BrMV800O4i
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 13, 2025
As is the case with other short tracks on the NASCAR schedule, Richmond has suffered immensely from the racing of the NextGen car. I don’t have high hopes for this race until serious changes are made to the short track package for these cars. Expect struggles to pass to be prevalent all race long. It may get wild at the end, but the middle stages will likely be relatively calm.
Playoff Picture Heading into Richmond
Richmond isn’t nearly as much of a wild card as Daytona when it comes to drivers below the cutline possibly punching their playoff ticket. However, anything can happen in motorsports. Last season at this race, Austin Dillon claimed victory but was stripped of his playoff standing because of the way he won that race.
AUSTIN DILLON TURNS JOEY LOGANO TO WIN AT RICHMOND! 👀 pic.twitter.com/R8FXVNrzAK
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) August 12, 2024
- Denny Hamlin – Four Wins
- Shane Van Gisbergen – Four Wins
- Christopher Bell – Three Wins
- Kyle Larson – Three Wins
- William Byron – Two Wins
- Chase Elliott – One Win
- Ryan Blaney – One Win
- Chase Briscoe – One Win
- Bubba Wallace – One Win
- Joey Logano – One Win
- Ross Chastain – One Win
- Austin Cindric – One Win
- Josh Berry – One Win
- Tyler Reddick +117
- Alex Bowman +60
- Chris Buescher +34
- Ryan Preece -34
- Kyle Busch -102
Chris Buescher widened the gap between himself and teammate Ryan Preece for the final postseason spot. Mathematically, Kyle Busch could still point his way in, but he’s likely in a must-win position. Busch’s teammate did win this race last year, but I think it’s unlikely the #8 has enough speed at Richmond to get it done.
2025 Cook Out 400 Race Predictions
Iowa probably represents the closest track on the schedule so far to Richmond. While not exact, I expect the cars that ran well at Iowa to show similar speed Saturday night. William Byron won that race, and I expect him to be fast once more.
Ryan Blaney showed impressive speed at Iowa as well, and the Penske cars seem to have the best (or at least most consistent) short track program in the Cup Series at this time. Blaney will factor in as well.
One of the most surprising aspects of that Iowa race was Brad Keselowski dominating most of the event and winning the first and second stages. This tells me that Keselowski ought to be fast at Richmond as well. With Chris Buescher holding a past Richmond win, RFK seems primed for a great day.
With six Cup Series wins at @RichmondRaceway, could this weekend be @KyleBusch's path to the NASCAR Playoffs? pic.twitter.com/BpX35OzzXc
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 14, 2025
That brings me to my race winner pick. Ryan Preece also had a strong run at Iowa. I think Preece gets his breakthrough Cup Series win here at Richmond and punches his playoff ticket while putting his teammate Chris Buescher below the cutline.
Check out the schedule below so you don’t miss any on-track action this weekend.
Friday 08/15
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying – 2:10 p.m. CT on FS2
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – 4:40 p.m. CT on TruTV
eero 250 (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series) – 6:30 p.m. CT on FS1
Saturday 08/16
Cook Out 400 (NASCAR Cup Series) – 6:30 p.m. CT on USA and HBO Max
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