Saturday night under the lights in Richmond, Virginia, is where you’ll find NASCAR’s stars this weekend. They’ll take to the historic .75-mile D-shaped oval that made its first appearance on the Cup Series schedule in 1953. In total, the track has hosted a staggering 136 NASCAR Cup Series races. Let’s dive into this week’s NASCAR picks, odds, and best bets for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway.
Austin Dillon has been victorious the last two seasons at Richmond. In 2024, after dominating the race, a late spin by Ricky Stenhouse Jr put Dillon in the position where he had to wreck Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in order to win the race. NASCAR allowed him to keep the win, but deemed him ineligible for the playoffs at the time. He backed it up last year with another strong run and a second, less controversial trip to victory lane.
Richmond marks just three races left in the “regular season” before the new Chase format starts. After Richmond comes New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and then Daytona. There remain four drivers who have already locked up their spots in the Chase. Denny Hamlin and last week’s winner Ty Gibbs, who moved into second place in the points standings. Ryan Blaney, who slid into third spot, and Tyler Reddick, who dropped from second to fourth place in the standings after a lap two crash at Iowa Speedway.
Odds to Win Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway
Denny Hamlin +460
Christopher Bell +500
Joey Logano +800
Ryan Blaney +800
Ty Gibbs +1000
Kyle Larson +1000
Chase Briscoe +1400
Bubba Wallace +1400
Austin Dillon +1500
Tyler Reddick +1500
William Byron +2000
Chase Elliott +2200
Carson Hocevar +3300
Austin Cindric +3500
Chris Buescher +3500
Josh Berry +4500
Brad Keselowski +4500
Ross Chastain +5000
Ryan Preece +6000
Daniel Suarez +7500
Alex Bowman +7500
Shane Van Gisbergen +10000
Michael McDowell +10000
Erik Jones +12500
Zane Smith +17500
Connor Zilisch +17500
Todd Gilliland +25000
Austin Hill +25000
Riley Herbert +25000
John Hunter Nemechek +30000
AJ Allmendinger +30000
Ty Dillon +50000
Cole Custer +50000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +50000
Noah Gragson +50000
Cody Ware +50000
Josh Bilicki +50000
Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway Best Bets
Denny Hamlin Top 5 (-125)
Let’s head over to Fanatics Sportsbook to take advantage of this first bet. In the last four races here at Richmond, Hamlin has finished in the top two three times. In the last nine, seven times he has finished top four. Hamlin had a car capable of winning last year, but a speeding penalty got him stuck back in the field before he was involved in a crash. He still managed a 10th-place run.
What has Hamlin done lately? I’m glad you asked. Taking out road courses and drafting tracks, April 12th at Bristol Motor Speedway was the last time Denny Hamlin finished outside of the top five on a “traditional oval.” That’s an impressive run, including last week at the similar Iowa Speedway, where he had a car he didn’t love and brake issues, but still managed a fifth-place run. Hamlin is money right now, and so is this bet.
Ford Over Chevrolet (-130)
Manufacturer matchups are always a fun bet. It allows your action to be on whoever happens to be the best for each manufacturer rather than just two drivers. I love Ford over Chevrolet this week for a few reasons. Namely Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano. Logano has been particularly strong here; outside of a 19th-place finish in 2024 when Austin Dillon wrecked him as one of the leaders coming to the line, Logano has three top-four finishes in a row and has been top six in eight of the last nine here. Blaney has struggled until last year, when it clicked. He led 39 laps and finished third.
As far as short tracks this season, it’s easily been a Ford affair in this matchup. At Iowa, Blaney and Josh Berry easily beat Ross Chastain as the top Chevy. Logano was strong at Iowa until a bad pit stop. Logano picked up the win at North Wilkesboro, besting the top Chevy of Shane Van Gisbergen. At Bristol, chalk it up to Ryan Blaney beating Kyle Larson, which he also did at Phoenix. Martinsville, where Chase Elliott stole a win, was the one race where Chevy picked up the head-to-head win. The top of the Chevy board is weak right now, while the top of the Ford board is almost as strong as they come.
Joey Logano to Win (+800)
Speaking of those strong Fords. After betting Joe Gibbs Racing (+125) as a team to win, I think all four of their cars are the ones to beat this week. Joey Logano was quickly my next bet. As mentioned before, Logano has been strong here. He had a taste of victory just two seasons ago at this track. Logano has been hungry to get back to victory lane here, where he hasn’t been since 2017. His utter dominance at North Wilkesboro just a few weeks ago, and then being the car that was leading what ended up being the winning strategy last week. That’s enough to convince me that even year Joey is back, the clutch late-season performer has arisen, and the rest of the field better watch out.
Fueled by WIN THE RACE‘s Professional NASCAR Strategy Platform
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