NASCAR Cup Series Race Report - Richmond

August 17, 2025

Cook Out 400 - Richmond Raceway
Richmond, Va. - August 16, 2025

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/RICHMOND WATER HEATERS FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE

START: 13TH  
STAGE 1: 5TH  
STAGE 2: 8TH   
FINISH: 5TH  
POINTS: 15TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric and the No. 2 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters team collected a top-five finish under the lights at Richmond Raceway, rounding out a top-five effort from all three Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horses at the .75-mile track. Cindric lined up 13th for the race start, spending the majority of the 400-lap race within the field's top-10. In a race where fresh tires were at a premium to gain track position, the No. 2 crew used that to their advantage throughout the event to position Cindric at the front of the field. A timely four-tire green-flag stop in Stage 1 propelled the No. 2 forward and ultimately had Cindric crossing the line fifth at the first stage break. The No. 2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse was refreshed with four more tires and fuel prior to the next 160-lap segment, and a spot gained from the crew's speedy efforts had the Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford Mustang Dark Horse ready for another charge to the front. The first 30 laps of Stage 2 were run caution-free and with minimal on-track passes to be seen, but another round of green-flag stops reignited the No. 2. Cindric took full advantage and made some aggressive passes to advance; even engaging a three-wide move to eventually overtake fifth place. A melee of cautions towards the end of the second stage forced multiple restarts though, with the final one creating a 20-lap shootout to the second stage finish. Cindric found himself pinned to the bottom lane yet salvaged an eighth-place result and still pleased with his overall handling as the track continued to tighten. In the race's final stage, teams continued to strategize with their remaining tire allotment, and with just over 100 laps remaining, the field's leaders began their penultimate green-flag stops. Crew chief Brian Wilson called Cindric to pit lane towards the end of the established cycle, and it wasn't long after Cindric returned track that he maneuvered his way back into the top 10. As the laps ticked, the steady climb continued with only one final green-flag stop remaining to ultimately seal the No. 2's team fate. In the end, it was Cindric taking fifth with the result advancing Cindric one position in the point standings to 15th with just one final race left in the regular season before the NASCAR Playoffs begin.

CINDRIC'S THOUGHTS: "I'm happy with the effort. It's a shame the restart in stage three went the way it did because we had a really great long run car and I just had to drive the snot out of it to move through the field. I thought we were maybe good enough to contend for a top three finish if not a win if we didn't get so far back, but it takes all the pieces. My team ran a playoff capable race tonight and the boys are ramping up."

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 BODYARMOR SPORTS DRINK FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE

START: 20TH 
STAGE 1: 7TH  
STAGE 2: 3RD  
FINISH: 3RD  
POINTS: 5TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney led 39 laps and was in contention for the win late in Saturday night's Cook Out 400 at Richmond before ultimately taking the checkered flag third - marking a career-best finish at the Virginia short track. With the result, Blaney and the No. 12 team have finished eighth or better in the last five races to move up to fifth in the points standings heading into the regular season finale at Daytona next weekend. After starting 20th, the BODYARMOR Sports Drink Ford gained seven spots in the opening 20 laps prior to the start of the first green flag pit cycle of the night. Blaney went on to break into the top-10 by lap 61 before crossing the line seventh at the end of Stage 1. Crew chief Jonathan Hassler made the call to run long during the opening stint of Stage 2, allowing Blaney to work his way into the top-five before hitting pit road on lap 128 for four tires and fuel. Three cautions in the final 50 laps of the segment set up a restart with 17 laps to go in the stage as Blaney took the green flag from the inside of row two and went on to post a third-place finish in Stage 2. Blaney settled into sixth in the running order after the ensuing restart as the 12 team's long run speed came to life, vaulting the BODYARMOR Sports Drink Ford to second by lap 285 prior to a scheduled green flag stop just six laps later. After making his way off pit road, Blaney made quick work to take over the race lead on lap 304 as he stretched out his lead while the pit cycle completed. The No. 3 began to close in on Blaney nearly 30 later as the two raced side-by-side for the lead for several laps before he conceded the spot, prompting the No. 3 team to short pit from the lead four laps prior to Blaney making his way to pit road for the final stop of the night with 55 laps remaining. Blaney fought to cut into a six-second deficit to the leader upon rejoining the field, but the tire falloff in the final 30 laps was too much to overcome as the 12 team settled for a third-place result.

BLANEY'S THOUGHTS: "Overall, honestly, it was a really good night and a really good weekend. We got better all night and led some laps. I thought we were in a great position to try to contend for it. I thought running long was the play there because [Austin Dillon] came up there and passed me. So we were like, let's try and have a handful of fresher tires. I was trying to be really disciplined when I got back on the racetrack of like, 'let the tires do their thing and maybe I'll get to him at the end of this run.' I don't know. They just fell off a cliff really hard. It kind of surprised me a little bit, but, overall, a good night. I wish we could have been closer. It's unfortunate that our worst run of the race was our last run, but I don't really know what we could have done differently. It was just one of those odd things, but, overall, a really good finish and a good showing. We work really hard at this place, so hopefully we learned some stuff going forward."

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE

START: 38TH  
STAGE 1: 19TH  
STAGE 2: 15TH  
FINISH: 4TH  
POINTS: 12TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Despite starting at the rear of the field Saturday night due to an incident in practice the day prior, Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil team rallied to come away with a fourth-place finish at Richmond, marking Logano's 18th top-10 finish in his last 22 Cup Series starts at the Virginia short track. After the No. 22 team made extensive repairs to the right side suspension of the Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse late Friday night, Logano faced an uphill battle from the onset of the Cookout 400, but gained 10 positions in the first 30 laps prior to the start of the first green flag pit cycle. Logano went a lap down following his four tire stop on lap 35 but worked his way back on the lead lap with 18 to go in the opening segment before crossing the line 19th in Stage 1. The Shell-Pennzoil Ford continued to make its way towards the top-10 early on in Stage 2, but a string of three cautions in a 50-lap span halted Logano's momentum on the long run. Logano lined up to restart from the outside row two with 17 laps remaining in the segment and had to manage a right rear tire going down through the end of the run, resulting in a 15th-place finish in Stage 2. After the field took the green to begin the final run of the night, Logano quickly worked his way inside the top-10 after restarting 12th, climbing the leaderboard to fifth prior to the No. 22 team's final stop of the 400-lap event on lap 344. Logano was scored seventh by the time the green flag cycle was complete and the Shell-Pennzoil Ford's long run speed came to life over the final 40 laps, picking up three more spots during the course of the final run culminating in a fourth-place effort.

LOGANO'S THOUGHTS: "We had a really fast Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang. The car had a lot of speed in it, but we just had to overcome too much. We got up into contention and then we had a flat right-rear and lost all of it again, and then steadily grind your way back into the top-five. Apparently, I needed maybe 500 or 600 laps. It's just not our weekend. We had a flat tire in practice and then another flat tire in the race and both of them were punctures. It's not like we were being too aggressive or anything like that, it's just running over stuff on the racetrack. Not our weekend."

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Daytona for the final race of the regular season on Saturday, August 23. Coverage of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 begins at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC, MRN, and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.