Joey Logano successfully defended the lead from Chase Briscoe in the closing laps on Saturday (August 15) night to win the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway.
It’s Logano’s second win of the season and the 39th of his career, and he continues his hot stretch of races this summer. He now has two wins in the last four races and has climbed from 20th to ninth in points during the last six races.
“Don’t let the boys get hot, we’re pretty strong right now,” Logano told the USA broadcast postrace. “It’s awesome to see the speed in the No. 22 again….we’ve had a great car here the last five races. We haven’t been able to capitalize with a win, we’ve been so close but sweet redemption today.”
Briscoe led a race-high 171 laps but had to settle for second after getting passed by Logano late in the final stage. The runner-up result marked Briscoe’s first top 10 at Richmond in 10 starts.
“I thought that last run, I was a little bit better than him (Logano),” Briscoe told the USA broadcast on pit road. “It’s weird to be mad running second here, this has been a real struggle for me at this place…but just to be that close and not get it done is still frustrating.”
Behind the top two was Logano’s Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric, who finished third. Points leader Denny Hamlin crossed the line in fourth while Chase Elliott scored in his first top 10 since May in fifth.
Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Josh Berry, William Byron, and Alex Bowman completed the top 10.
Ryan Blaney won the opening stage and led 88 laps before having brake issues late in the race, which dropped him down to a 13th-place finish.
The only two cautions for cause occurred during green flag pit stops that jumbled up the running order.
Zane Smith spun during the second stage and during the final stage, Carson Hocevar misshifted which stalled him on the track and ended his night.
Hamlin holds a 115-point lead in the standings over Blaney in second, and the top seven in points have officially clinched Chase spots.
Shane van Gisbergen now holds the last Chase spot by 50 points over Ryan Preece. Cindric’s third-place run moved him up to 15th in the standings.
Cup Results at Richmond
The Cup Series will return to action on Sunday, Aug. 23, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Dollar Tree 301. The 25th race of the season will begin at 3 p.m. ET, with TV coverage provided by USA.
Michael Bellifemini joined Frontstretch in February 2026 as a contributor. Bellifemini was born and raised in New Jersey and graduated from Seton Hall University. He called Seton Hall men's and women's basketball games for their college radio station, 89.5 FM WSOU, and continues to broadcast in the area. Outside of covering NASCAR, Bellifemini is also an avid baseball, football, basketball, and hockey fan and enjoys watching different sports leagues on a daily basis.