The 2024 Cook Out 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on August 11, 2024, at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Contested over 408 laps -- extended from 400 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 0.75-mile (1.21 km) asphalt short track, it was the 23rd race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. Austin Dillon won the race, breaking a 68-race winless drought, dating back to the 2022 Coke Zero Sugar 400. Denny Hamlin finished 2nd, and Tyler Reddick finished 3rd. Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain rounded out the top five, and Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar, Chase Elliott, and Daniel Suárez rounded out the top ten.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 23 of 36 in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | August 11, 2024 | ||
| Location | Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.75 mi (1.207 km) | ||
| Distance | 408 laps, 306 mi (489.6 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 400 laps, 300 mi (480 km) | ||
| Average speed | 100.155 miles per hour (161.184 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 22.850 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 125 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 1.2 (2.22 million) | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and Todd Gordon | ||
| Turn Announcers | Mike Bagley (Backstretch) | ||
Report
editBackground
edit
Richmond Raceway (RR) is a 0.75 miles (1.21 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.[9] Known as "America's premier short track", it has formerly hosted events such as the International Race of Champions, Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown, and the USAC sprint car series. Due to Richmond Raceway's unique "D" shape which allows drivers to reach high speeds, Richmond has long been known as a short track that races like a superspeedway. With its multiple racing grooves, and proclivity for contact Richmond is a favorite among NASCAR drivers and fans.[10]
Race Notes
editThe race was the first after a two-week break due to NBC Sports' coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
On July 16, NASCAR announced the rules used in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway will be in effect. Teams will have six sets of yellow-lettered primary tires (it will generally require six sets of tires during the race, excluding safety car sessions, where teams often change tires on pit stops), and two sets of red-lettered option tires during the race, and teams will use one set of each in practice sessions. The eight sets of tires is the same as was the case in the March race, although two sets each will be of the softer option tires for this race. Teams will qualify on the primary tire, and must use both the primary and option tire during the race. The rule may be waved in case of rain. Teams may not mix red and yellow letter tires on the car at the same time during the race.[11]
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
editAustin Dillon was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 22.698 seconds and a speed of 118.953 mph (191.436 km/h).[12]
Practice results
edit| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 22.698 | 118.953 |
| 2 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 22.716 | 118.859 |
| 3 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 22.735 | 118.760 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editDenny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 22.850 and a speed of 118.162 mph (190.163 km/h).[13]
Qualifying results
editRace
editRace results
editStage results
editStage One Laps: 70
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 4 | Josh Berry (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 160
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage results
editStage Three Laps: 170
Having taken the lead from Denny Hamlin with 28 laps to go, Austin Dillon, who entered the race 32nd in points, drove out to a two and a half second lead over the next twenty five laps. However, a crash right in front of him involving Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Preece sent the race into overtime. When the race resumed, Joey Logano, using the high line to his advantage, took the lead on the restart and led coming to turn three on the final lap. Dillon, realizing what was at stake, and despite being four car lengths back of Logano entering the corner, sent it in, and got into the back of Logano, sending him into a spin. Hamlin went through on the bottom but Dillon also got into the 11 car, sending Hamlin into the outside wall as Dillon took the win under caution. Logano and Hamlin later criticized Dillon for his actions.[14][15]
Three days later, NASCAR stripped Dillon of his playoff eligibility, whilst allowing the win to stand, whilst also fining Logano $50,000 for showing his frustrating with the RCR crew by spinning his tires in front of Dillon’s pit stall. In addition, Dillon’s spotter Brandon Benesch was suspended for three races after audio surfaced of him telling Dillon to “wreck him” (Hamlin) on the team radio.[16] RCR later announced they would appeal the penalties.[17] An independent appeals panel upheld all but the Benesch penalty on August 21. Benesch, who had served the first of his three race suspension at Michigan, had his penalty reduced to time served (one race).[18]
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 3 | Austin Dillon [a] | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 408 | 25 |
| 2 | 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 408 | 52 |
| 3 | 10 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 408 | 40 |
| 4 | 8 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 408 | 42 |
| 5 | 22 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 408 | 32 |
| 6 | 5 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 408 | 50 |
| 7 | 15 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 408 | 30 |
| 8 | 19 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 408 | 31 |
| 9 | 4 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 408 | 34 |
| 10 | 21 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 408 | 37 |
| 11 | 11 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 408 | 26 |
| 12 | 12 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 408 | 25 |
| 13 | 13 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 408 | 24 |
| 14 | 3 | 4 | Josh Berry (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 408 | 24 |
| 15 | 28 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 408 | 27 |
| 16 | 29 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 408 | 21 |
| 17 | 23 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 408 | 20 |
| 18 | 7 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 408 | 22 |
| 19 | 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 408 | 32 |
| 20 | 16 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 407 | 17 |
| 21 | 25 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 407 | 16 |
| 22 | 14 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 407 | 15 |
| 23 | 20 | 71 | Zane Smith (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 407 | 14 |
| 24 | 18 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 407 | 13 |
| 25 | 26 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 407 | 12 |
| 26 | 30 | 16 | Ty Dillon (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 407 | 11 |
| 27 | 36 | 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 406 | 10 |
| 28 | 17 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 406 | 9 |
| 29 | 27 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 406 | 8 |
| 30 | 32 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 406 | 7 |
| 31 | 35 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 405 | 6 |
| 32 | 31 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 405 | 5 |
| 33 | 34 | 15 | Riley Herbst (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 405 | 0 |
| 34 | 24 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 404 | 3 |
| 35 | 37 | 66 | Parker Retzlaff (i) | Power Source | Ford | 402 | 0 |
| 36 | 33 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 397 | 1 |
| 37 | 2 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 250 | 9 |
| Official race results-\ | |||||||
Race statistics
edit- Lead changes: 26 among 9 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 5 for 23
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 3 hours, 3 minutes, and 19 seconds
- Average speed: 100.155 miles per hour (161.184 km/h)
Media
editTelevision
editUSA covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. Kim Coon, 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 |
Kim Coon Marty Snider Dillon Welch |
Radio
editThe 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. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform when the field races down the backstraightaway. Jason Toy, Chris Wilner, 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: Mike Bagley | Jason Toy Chris Wilner Winston Kelley |
Standings after the race
edit
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Notes
edit- ^ Dillon was docked 25 points following the penalties on August 14.
References
edit- ^ "2024 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
- ^ Taranto, Steven (October 4, 2023). "NASCAR Cup Series 2024 schedule announcement: New additions, race dates, plus the complete calendar". CBS Broadcasting Inc. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ "NASCAR unveils 2024 Cup schedule as Atlanta, Watkins Glen move to playoffs". National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. October 4, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
- ^ "Practice Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. August 10, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
- ^ "Qualifying Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. August 10, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
- ^ "Cook Out 400 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. August 11, 2024. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 11, 2024. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- ^ "NASCAR Truck Series returning to Richmond in April, 2020". Richmond Times-Dispatch. 3 April 2019.
- ^ "Motorsport.com Tony Stewart's favorite track is Richmond.=". 6 September 2012.
- ^ "Tire-strategy choices return for Cup Series race at Richmond". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
- ^ Utter, Jim (August 10, 2024). "NASCAR Cup Richmond: Austin Dillion Leads Practice With Option Tire". Motorsport.com. Richmond, Virginia: Motorsport Network. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
- ^ Utter, Jim (August 10, 2024). "NASCAR Cup Richmond: Hamlin beats JGR team-mate Truex to pole". Motorsport.com. Richmond, Virginia: Motorsport Network. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
- ^ Clarke, Mary (August 11, 2024). "Joey Logano furiously called out Austin Dillon after final lap collision at Cook Out 400". Retrieved August 12, 2024.
- ^ Biswas, Sabyasachi (August 11, 2024). ""We have no real officiating": Denny Hamlin slams NASCAR, promises payback to Austin Dillon in post-race comments at Richmond". Retrieved August 12, 2024.
- ^ Albert, Zack (August 14, 2024). "NASCAR officials drop Austin Dillon from Cup Series Playoffs; Logano fined". Retrieved August 14, 2024.
- ^ "Richard Childress Racing to appeal Richmond penalties". August 15, 2024. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
- ^ "Penalty to No. 3 Cup team upheld after appeal; spotter suspension reduced to 1 race". August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.