2023 Cook Out 400 Preview
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For the second time this season, the NASCAR Cup Series will head to Richmond as the annual Cook Out 400 is set to take place today at 3 o’clock. Only five regular season races remain and the standings are still pretty close for both the regular season title and the final playoff spots so some drivers need to have big days to increase their cushion or to stay within range of pointing into the postseason. Here are five drivers who I think will have great runs at the three quarters of a mile short track.
Back in the spring, Kyle Larson went to victory lane for the second time at Richmond in his career and then he won at Martinsville soon after that so he has been solid on the short tracks this season. North Wilkesboro was the site of his other victory this season at the All-Star race and it might be forgotten since he dominated and it was a non-points race but again, it was on a short track. He is starting from the 14th position but that should not hold Larson back as he won at Martinsville this year after starting in the 19th position and you can never count out the defending winner at any race track.
Last Sunday, Denny Hamlin captured his seventh win at Pocono which made him the all-time winner at the track. Now today, he is going to a track that he has also had a lot of success at, as he has won four times at Richmond, including last season’s spring race. However, Hamlin struggled in the spring race this season, finishing 20th but he is entering Richmond with a lot of momentum this time and he is starting 3rd behind the front row of Reddick (a car he owns) and Kyle Busch. I am sure that he will have a strong day as long as someone does not retaliate against him since he has angered some drivers from his aggressive racing and his comments lately, especially after his Pocono win.
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Speaking of past winners at Richmond, let’s talk about the man who won this exact race one year ago, Kevin Harvick. Even though this is his final season, Harvick has shown no signs of slowing down as he is well above the playoff cutoff line despite not locking himself in with a win yet. Like Hamlin, Harvick also has four wins at Richmond and he has been the fastest car by far at a struggling Stewart-Haas Racing organization so it should not surprise anybody if he is leading during the final laps later this afternoon. Harvick will start from the eighth position as he will try to bring the #4 car back to victory lane one more time during his legendary career.
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When you look at Christopher Bell’s career stats at Richmond in the #20 car, it is hard to believe that he is still looking for his first win at the track. Bell has an astonishing 3.8 average finish at Richmond in five starts at Joe Gibbs Racing including a runner-up finish in this race last season to Kevin Harvick. Everyone was looking at Bell to win New Hampshire a couple weeks ago since it is seen as his best track and he was in contention for most of the day but a late crash ended his hopes of another solid finish. Then, Bell spun out in the Pocono race last week but he battled back to finish sixth and Bell is going to have to rally again today as he is starting way back in the 29th position.
The last driver I would like to talk about for the race today is Chase Elliott, who still needs to get a win to clinch a playoff spot. It seems too difficult at this point for Elliott to point his way in as he comes into Richmond down 56 points to Michael McDowell for the 16th spot and this is after everyone expected Elliott to get a win as soon as he returned to the #9 car. However, that has not been the case, Elliott has not shown race-winning speed in most races and sitting out Gateway due to him intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin at Charlotte did not help his situation either.
On the bright side, Elliott has still managed to post the highest average finish of all full-time drivers this season with an 11.7 mark as his lack of stage points is seen as the main reason he is still so far behind McDowell. After a fourth place qualifying position, I am optimistic about Elliott’s chances of winning today because his starting spot of sixth, is his highest since the Coca Cola 600 and he was second fastest in practice. Also, despite not winning at the track, he has a runner-up finish and five top-5 finishes at Richmond. Furthermore, Josh Berry finished second at Richmond earlier this year with Elliott’s car and team so as long as Chase maintains his track position, this could be the day he gets it done and takes the monkey off his back.
After a successful Pocono weekend, I am excited to see how Richmond will follow it up as there are a lot of storylines and drama carrying into this race and short tracks can definitely make tempers flare between drivers once again.
