Richmond Raceway used to be a regular when it came to tracks that hosted two NASCAR Cup Series races per year, but that 66-year streak came to an end when the track hosted just one event in 2025.
The 2020 season also technically only saw the four-turn, 0.75-mile (1.207-kilometer) Richmond, Virginia oval host one race, but it was initially scheduled to host two. COVID-19-related restrictions resulted in the removal of one of those two dates.
For Saturday night's 400-lap Cook Out 400, there has been just one change made to the entry list since this past weekend's race at Iowa Speedway, and that change is the addition of a non-chartered (open) car after there were none at Iowa. Just three of the 2026 season's first 23 races have been run with only the 36 chartered cars and no open entries.
The No. 66 Garage 66 (MBM Motorsports) Ford is back on the entry list for the first time since the race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in mid-July, and with Josh Bilicki behind the wheel for the first time since the race at Watkins Glen International in May. Bilicki hasn't run a Cup Series oval race since July 2025.
With Bilicki's car being the only open car on this weekend's entry list, it is unsurprisingly set to lead off Friday afternoon's qualifying session. The qualifying order, as usual, was determined by the metric that NASCAR has used since 2025, factoring in each car's result in the most recent race (70%) and its position in the owner standings (30%).
Here's the full qualifying order for this weekend at Richmond.
NASCAR Cup Series qualifying order at Richmond
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Josh Bilicki, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford |
2 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
3 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
4 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
5 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
6 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
7 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
8 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
9 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
10 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
11 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
12 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
13 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
14 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
15 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
16 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
17 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
18 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
19 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
20 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
21 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
22 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
23 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
24 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
25 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
26 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
27 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
28 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
29 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
30 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
31 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
32 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
33 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
34 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
35 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
36 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
37 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
USA Network is set to provide live coverage of the Cook Out 400 from Richmond Raceway beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET this Saturday, August 15. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series regular season's antepenultimate race!
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