The first 22 races of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season were all contested at different venues. But 10 of the season's final 14 races are set to be contested at venues that have already hosted races this year.
After the Cup Series had two consecutive off weekends due to NBC's coverage of the Summer Olympics in Paris, France, Richmond Raceway is set to become the first track to host a second Cup Series race this year, and that race, the Cook Out 400, is ironically the season's second race called the Cook Out 400.
The first one, however, took place at Martinsville Speedway back in early April, not at the four-turn, 0.75-mile (1.207-kilometer) Richmond Raceway oval in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond Raceway hosted the Toyota Owners 400 one week prior, in late March.
Richmond Raceway is considered a short track, so each driver is set to make a two-lap qualifying attempt. Drivers are split up into two groups, with the qualifying order determined by the metric NASCAR has used since 2020. A full explanation of that formula, which includes four variables, is available here.
The fastest five drivers in each group are set to advance to the second round to battle for the pole position, also with two-lap qualifying efforts.
The drivers who don't advance out of the first group are set to line up on the outside lane, and the drivers who don't make it out of the second group are set to line up on the inside lane. This marks a slight change from last summer's race at the track, though it is the same format that was used there back in the spring.
What is different from the spring race, however, is the fact that the second round shootout for the pole position is now group-based, a rule change that was implemented back in June. Drivers are no longer necessarily guaranteed to earn their starting positions based strictly on speeds.
The driver with the sixth fastest speed could start as high as second, and the only driver guaranteed to have his starting position determined by where he ranks on the speed chart is the driver who takes the pole position with the fastest overall speed.
1st - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2nd - Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
3rd - Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
4th - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
5th - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
6th - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
7th - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
8th - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
9th - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
10th - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
11th - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
12th - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
13th - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
14th - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
15th - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
16th - Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
17th - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
18th - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
19th - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
20th - Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
21st - Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
22nd - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
23rd - Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
24th - Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
25th - Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
26th - Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
27th - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
28th - Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
29th - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
30th - Ty Dillon, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
31st - Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
32nd - Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
33rd - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
34th - Riley Herbst, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
35th - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
36th - Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
37th - Parker Retzlaff, No. 66 MBM Motorsports Ford
Indy 500 winner set to make first NASCAR start in 10 years. Indy 500 winner set to make first NASCAR start in 10 years. dark. Next
Tune in to USA Network this Sunday, August 11 at 6:00 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the Cook Out 400 from Richmond Raceway. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!
feed
