Three races remain on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series regular season, including the season's first Saturday night race this weekend at Richmond Raceway.
Saturday's Cook Out 400, the lone race at the four-turn, 0.75-mile (1.207-kilometer) Richmond, Virginia oval this year, is set to be a 400-lap race under the lights. Up until 2025, Richmond had been on the schedule twice each year dating back to 1959.
Because Richmond is considered a short track, each driver is set to be allowed to make two qualifying laps in Friday afternoon's single-car qualifying session. With top lap speed, rather than average lap speed, set to determine the starting lineup, drivers have the option to only run a single lap.
There is no second round shootout for pole like there is on superspeedways. Each driver is limited to one attempt.
The full qualifying order was determined by the metric that NASCAR has used since 2020. NASCAR modified that metric to make it easier to understand before the 2025 season. It takes into account each car's finish in the most recent race (70%) as well as its position in the owner standings (30%).
Follow along with our qualifying updates from Richmond Raceway.
NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup at Richmond
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
2 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
3 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
4 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
5 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
6 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
7 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
8 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
9 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
10 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
11 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
12 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
13 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
14 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
15 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
16 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
17 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
18 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
19 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
20 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
21 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
22 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
23 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
24 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
25 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
26 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
27 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
28 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
29 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
30 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
31 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
32 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
33 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
34 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
35 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
36 | Josh Bilicki, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford |
37 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
Live coverage of the Cook Out 400 from Richmond Raceway is set to be provided by USA Network beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 15. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of the action from the Richmond, Virginia short track!
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