RICHMOND, VA — It’s his home track, and he’s been racing here in the NASCAR Cup Series for two decades, but Denny Hamlin still finds navigating Richmond Raceway to be very difficult.
“Qualifying here is extremely, extremely technical. I would say it’s probably the hardest to qualify to hit your marks. I spent tons of time trying to work on it this week. I never got all four (turns), not at the same time,” Hamlin said Friday Aug. 14. “It’s extremely hard to kind of tell you what it is. You got to enter the corner as fast as you can.
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“It is the same Richmond that it’s been ever since I’ve known it.”
The points leader with three races remaining until the start of the postseason Chase, Hamlin — who grew up in nearby Chesterfield, Virginia — will start in 14th on Saturday night in the Cook Out 400, NASCAR’s lone race at the historic Richmond Raceway this season.
While Hamlin will be aiming for his sixth career Cup Series win at Richmond, Ryan Blaney will be looking for his first. The driver of the No. 12 Ford for Team Penske — who is third in points entering this race — is the pole-sitter for the fourth time in the last five races. He’ll be joined on the front row by Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Chase Briscoe.
For drivers on the bubble of the Chase cut line, the pressure is on for these last three races. Hamlin, Blaney, Ty Gibbs and Tyler Reddick have all clinched their spots in the postseason. The drivers in fifth and 10th — Briscoe and Kyle Larson — are separated by just 34 points, so there’s plenty of movement that can happen there as well, but much of the focus will be on the drivers hovering around 16th in the standings as only the top 16 drivers make the Chase.
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Entering the Cook Out 400, Austin Cindric is in possession of the 16th Chase spot, but Ryan Preece trails him by just 29 points, while Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski and Erik Jones are within 50 points of Cindric.
After a strong seventh-place finish last weekend at Iowa — his fifth top-10 of the season — Chastain is feeling a bit more optimistic. His No. 1 Chevrolet will start 18th on Saturday.
“I drank a Busch Light (after Iowa). It was great,” Chastain said. “The job doesn’t stop just because you’re slow. The sport doesn’t care that you’re slow. And so, with our different approach, clearly we’re off the track we were on and we’re on a better one now. It feels good to see it pay off at least one weekend.
“For us right now, we’ve got to go really fast and we’ve got to do it across the entire race… If the car’s good, we’ll drive forward.”
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Here’s all the information you need to get ready for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway:
What time does the NASCAR Cup race at Richmond start?
The Cook Out 400 is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 15, at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia.
What TV channel is the NASCAR Cup race at Richmond on?
The Cook Out 400 will be broadcast on USA Network. Pre-race coverage will start at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Leigh Diffey will have the call alongside analysts Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte. Burton and Letarte will join host Marty Snider and 1999 Winston Cup champion Dale Jarrett on pre- and post-race shows. Former Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne will debut as the pace-car analyst.
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Will there be a live stream of the NASCAR Cup race at Richmond?
Unlike last season, NASCAR races broadcast by USA Network cannot be streamed on Peacock. Subscribers to YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV can watch through those services, or fans can log into the USA Network app with their cable provider information.
HBO Max will continue to provide live streams of in-car cameras, while MRN will carry the live radio broadcast.
Stream the Cook Out 400 at Richmond on Sling
How many laps is the NASCAR Cup race at Richmond?
The Cook Out 400 is 400 laps around the 0.750-mile track for a total of 300 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 70 laps; Stage 2: 160 laps; Stage 3: 170 laps.
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Who won the NASCAR Cup race at Richmond last year?
Austin Dillon has been the king of Richmond recently, winning each of the last two Cup Series races at the short track. His 2024 finish ended in controversy when he wrecked Joey Logano and hooked Denny Hamlin on the final lap of an overtime restart. Days after the race, NASCAR upheld Dillon’s win, but penalized him by not awarding him a playoff berth under the old win-and-in format. Dillon won in his No. 3 Chevrolet last season without incident, leading 107 laps and crossing the finish line with a 2.4 second advantage.
What is the lineup for the Cook Out 400?
(Car number in parentheses)
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John Hunter Nemechek (42)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASCAR at Richmond: Start time, TV, streaming, lineup for Cook Out 400
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