What’s Happening?

NASCAR is finally back from the Olympic break and that means more on-track action from the best drivers in the world! This weekend, for the 23rd round of the 2024 season, NASCAR returns to Richmond Raceway for the Cookout 400, primetime on a Sunday night. Earlier in the year, Denny Hamlin won the spring race at the track in a controversial finish. Tonight, he started from the pole. Beside him was his teammate Martin Truex Jr. and behind them was short track ace Josh Berry. Who had speed tonight and who continued to struggle? Who rebounded and who fell off after the hitch in the schedule? Let’s break it down! Here’s everything that happened in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway.

• Fast during qualifying were the usual suspects: Denny Hamlin (who won the race in the spring) and Martin Truex Jr. Short track specialist in Josh Berry also started out front alongside NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, Chase Elliott. Surprisingly good in qualifying was Austin Dillon who lined up sixth. They were hoping that this weekend could be a rebound for that whole RCR team.
• A lot of the focus for today’s race was on the cutoff bubble. With Kyle Busch in must-win territory, he desperately needed a strong showing in Richmond. Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace started near the top-5 with the hopes of pointing his way in. He was only 7 points below the cutline heading into tonight’s race.
• Another big storyline throughout tonight’s race was the prime vs. option tires. This choice for teams meant that strategy could be played in interesting ways. Teams were given 6 sticker sets of the harder prime tire and 2 sets of the softer option tire. This certainly threw a wrench into tonight’s race.

The Finish

To start the final stage of the race, Christopher Bell rocketed out front with Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in toe. Dropping like a rock was Daniel Suarez who fell from 2nd all the way down to 16th. Over halfway, we continued to be caution-free for incident. However, Martin Truex Jr. who entered tonight’s race 108 points over the cutline radioed into his team saying that he was blowing up. He subsequently brought his number 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota down pit road. The team then pushed it behind the wall. He officially retired from the race.

A plethora of strategies mixed up the field with Christopher Bell falling down to 13th and Daniel Suarez regaining the lead. Suarez was the last driver in the pitting sequence and once he pitted, Denny Hamlin retook the lead. While Hamlin and Logano led the field, the fastest car on the track with just under 90-laps to go was Austin Dillion in the Bass Pro Shops #3 for Richard Childress Racing. With 75 laps to go, Dillon was able to pass Logano. The 3 car then set his sights on race leader Denny Hamlin.

With under 70 laps to go, Joey Logano kicked off the next cycle of green flag pit stops. With this round of pit stops, Christopher Bell cycled back to the lead with Daniel Suarez behind him. They were the last two drivers to stay out during this cycle. Bell pitted with 57 laps to go while Suarez ran a little bit longer. Suarez was passed by Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillion with just over 60 laps to go as the race for the lead started to heat up.

Suarez pitted with 39 laps to go. The team elected to take option tires, hoping that they would pay off like they had earlier in the race. Meanwhile out front, while taking 28 laps to go, Austin Dillion cleared Denny Hamlin for the lead. The 3 started pulling away from the 11 but with 20-laps to go, the 99 came back into play. Suarez on his option tires, plowed through the field up to the 6th position.

With 10-laps to go, Austin Dillon was able to stretch his lead over Hamlin to 2.5 seconds. Meanwhile, Suarez was back in sixth at just over 8 seconds behind the leader and charging hard. Dillon was able to take 2-laps to go but before he could take the white flag, the caution flew after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Preece tangled right in front of the leaders. This meant that we were heading into overtime.

The leaders pit under caution, all the drivers save for Daniel Suarez opting to put on the option tires to end the race. Dillon was able to win the race off pit road over Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin. On the restart, Dillion was slow to go. On the backstretch, Joey Logano cleared the 3 to take the lead. With the 22 appearing the check out as the field took the white flag, Austin Dillon sent his number 3 Chevy into the final corner and tagged Logano from behind. Logano spun and backed his 22 Ford into the wall. As the 3 missed the final corner, the 11 of Denny Hamlin capitalized on the bottom. However, coming to the line Dillon wrecked Hamlin and crossed the line 1st. With this win, Austin Dillon put himself and his number 3 team in the 2024 NASCAR Playoffs. Congratulations to him and that whole RCR team.

The Layout

As reported by Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, the stage breakdown for tonight’s Cookout 400 was as follows:

• Stage 1: 70-Laps
• Stage 2: 160-Laps
• Final Stage: 170-Laps

The teams were given 7 sets (including 1 set of scuffs) of the yellow-lettered standard tires and 2 sets of the red-lettered softer compound. No drivers were forced to go to the rear and, for once, the forecast looked promising with only a 5% chance of rain.

JGR Picks Up Where They Left Off in the Spring For Stage 1

The opening stage was dominated by the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers. Denny Hamlin led the opening 50 or so laps of the race before he was passed by teammate Christopher Bell. Bell led the remaining 20 laps on his way to win the stage. It was his 10th stage win of 2024, the most among all drivers. Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. finished right behind him while 23XI driver, Bubba Wallace finished the stage in 5th. This certainly would help Bubba as he tries to race his way into the playoffs. Slipping back during this stage was Josh Berry who crossed the line in 10th.

With this stage win, Bell earned 10 points and 1 playoff point which will prove to be very valuable in the postseason.

Following the stage, the field came down pit road. Bell won the race off pit road with his teammates Denny Hamlin and Truex Jr. close behind. Bell did receive some damage in the pits, however, as he got into and spun around Erik Jones. The damage appeared to be relatively insignificant and he restarted the race in the lead.

The first driver to take the option tires was Daniel Suarez who restarted just inside the top-20.

Daniel Suarez Uses Strategy To Win Stage 2

When the race restarted to begin the 160-laps second stage, there was an intense and hard battle for the lead between Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin. Hamlin was able to overtake Bell sixteen laps into the stage. Meanwhile, on the move on those option tires was Daniel Suarez who sliced and diced his way through the field. On these tires, he was running 2 miles per hour faster than the leaders and was able to take the lead by lap-93. Also on option tires was Michael McDowell who drove from 28th all the way to 7th within the first 50 laps of the stage.

Chase Briscoe started the first cycle of green flag pit stops where he chose option tires. With the 14 pitting, the leaders all started to come down pit road for service. Suarez switched back to the prime tires for this second run of the second stage. Meanwhile, a handful of other drivers opted for the option tires. However, the JGR drivers of Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Martin Truex Jr. all decided to play it more conservatively, opting to save their option tires for the final stage.

Bell retook the lead from Kyle Larson who hadn’t yet pitted on Lap-144. Following another cycle of green flag pit stops which saw almost everyone switch over to prime tires, Daniel Suarez, using strategy, was able to wrestle his way back up to the lead. He led all of the closing laps of the stage and went on to capture the 4th stage win of his career and fist of 2024.

Kyle Busch on option tires was caught and put a lap down. He did not get the free pass as Suarez lapped Josh Berry before taking the white and green checkered flag. Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin ended the stage in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Gaining valuable points in this stage was Austin Dillon who finished the stage in 5th. Bubba Wallace also continued to collect stage points as he finished the second stage in the 8th position.

During the stage caution, Christopher Bell won the race off pit road with Daniel Suarez and Denny Hamlin following him out.

The Playoff Picture

With this win by Austin Dillon, the number 3 RCR team is locked into the 2024 NASCAR Playoffs. This means that the playoff picture has been shaken up some. Truex Jr. is still above the cutline but with tonight’s DNF, he’s only 78 points to the good. Ty Gibbs currently rests at 19 points above the cutline. After a 4th place finish, Bubba Wallace is currently in the playoffs at 3 points to the good. On the outside looking in are Chris Buescher (-3), Ross Chastain (-3), Chase Briscoe (-103), and Kyle Busch (-122).

Conclusion

That does it for The Daily Downforce’s coverage of the Cookout 400 at Richmond Raceway, race fans! What did you make of this race? Did you find it boring? What do you think of the prime vs. option tires? Would you like them to return permanently for every race? For just short tracks? What do you make of the winner and how he won? Let us know all of your thoughts by commenting on all of our social media pages!

Be sure to keep tuning into DailyDownforce.com for all the latest news and rumors in the world of NASCAR. NASCAR is back and now we’re looking forward to getting back at it in Michigan next week!