NASCAR Cup Series
Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Team Break Through at Richmond
Jul 30, 2023
RFK Racing dominated the day during Sunday's Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway with Chris Buescher scoring the win and locking the No. 17 Ford Mustang team in the NASCAR Playoffs, while Brad Keselowski padded his cushion on the Playoff bubble with just four races remaining in the regular season.
Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team was on a different strategy than most during Sunday's race, finishing seventh but remaining atop the regular season point standings.
Truex holds a 39-point advantage over teammate Denny Hamlin, who jumped a position over William Byron after a second-place finish in the No. 11 Toyota Camry. Christopher Bell remained in the fourth position, while Kyle Busch gained one spot to jump into the top-five.
Driver Point Standings: NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Richmond
Rank | Driver | Vehicle | Points | Ldr | Nxt | Race Wins | Stage Wins | Playoff Pts | GL | Starts | Old Pts Pos | Top 5 | Top 10 | DNFs | Poles | Race Pos | Attempts |
1 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | 744 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 22 |
2 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | 705 | -39 | 39 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 22 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 22 |
3 | William Byron | 24 | 701 | -43 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 22 | -1 | 22 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 22 |
4 | Christopher Bell | 20 | 653 | -91 | 48 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 22 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 22 |
5 | Kyle Busch | 8 | 648 | -96 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 22 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 22 |
6 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | 634 | -110 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 22 |
7 | Ross Chastain | 1 | 626 | -118 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 10 | -2 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 22 |
8 | Kyle Larson | 5 | 619 | -125 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 13 | -1 | 22 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 22 |
9 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | 614 | -130 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 22 |
10 | Joey Logano | 22 | 609 | -135 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 22 |
11 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | 603 | -141 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 22 |
12 | Tyler Reddick | 45 | 602 | -142 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | -1 | 22 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 22 |
13 | Chris Buescher | 17 | 598 | -146 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 22 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 22 |
14 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | 514 | -230 | 84 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 22 |
15 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 506 | -238 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 22 |
16 | Michael McDowell | 34 | 470 | -274 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 22 |
17 | Ty Gibbs # | 54 | 452 | -292 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 22 |
18 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | 448 | -296 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 22 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 27 | 22 |
19 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | 436 | -308 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 22 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 22 |
20 | Chase Elliott | 9 | 430 | -314 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 21 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 15 |
21 | Alex Bowman | 48 | 428 | -316 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -5 | -1 | 19 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 19 |
22 | Austin Cindric | 2 | 406 | -338 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 22 |
23 | Justin Haley | 31 | 400 | -344 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 23 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 22 |
24 | Aric Almirola | 10 | 384 | -360 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 22 |
25 | Ryan Preece | 41 | 382 | -362 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 22 |
26 | Todd Gilliland | 38 | 370 | -374 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 22 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 22 |
27 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | 356 | -388 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 22 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 22 |
28 | Erik Jones | 43 | 336 | -408 | 20 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 0 | 22 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 22 |
29 | Austin Dillon | 3 | 323 | -421 | 13 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 1 | 22 | 30 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 22 |
30 | Harrison Burton | 21 | 303 | -441 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 22 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 22 |
31 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | 283 | -461 | 20 | 0 | 0 | -25 | 0 | 22 | 31 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 22 |
32 | Ty Dillon | 77 | 203 | -541 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 34 | 22 |
33 | Noah Gragson # | 42 | 199 | -545 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 28 | 21 |
34 | BJ McLeod | 78 | 117 | -627 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 15 |
35 | Cody Ware | 65 | -679 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
36 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 55 | -689 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
37 | Jenson Button | 36 | -708 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
38 | Travis Pastrana | 26 | -718 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
39 | Ryan Newman | 51 | 24 | -720 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 |
40 | Jordan Taylor | 16 | -728 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
41 | Andy Lally | 13 | -731 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
42 | Jimmie Johnson | 12 | -732 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
43 | Kimi Raikkonen | 8 | -736 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
44 | Jonathan Davenport | 1 | -743 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
45 | Josh Berry(i) | 0 | -744 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 45 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
46 | JJ Yeley(i) | 15 | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 46 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 15 |
47 | Zane Smith(i) | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 47 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
48 | Riley Herbst(i) | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 48 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
49 | Chandler Smith(i) | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
50 | Josh Bilicki(i) | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
51 | Austin Hill(i) | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
52 | Cole Custer(i) | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
53 | Grant Enfinger(i) | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
54 | Brennan Poole(i) | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
55 | Conor Daly(i) | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
56 | Gray Gaulding(i) | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
57 | Anthony Alfredo(i) | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
58 | Matt Crafton(i) | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
59 | Carson Hocevar(i) | 0 | -744 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 59 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Joe Gibbs Racing continues to show its strength through the summer months, with three cars in the top four in the NASCAR Cup Series owner point standings. The No. 19 Toyota Camry remains atop the standings, followed by the No. 11 Toyota Camry, the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, No. 20 JGR Toyota Camry, and Richard Childress Racing's No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
Owner Point Standings: NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Richmond
Rank | Owner | Points | Number | Ldr | Nxt | Race Wins | Stage Wins | Playoff Pts | Attempts |
1 | Joe Gibbs Racing | 744 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 22 |
2 | Joe Gibbs Racing | 730 | 11 | -14 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 22 |
3 | Hendrick Motorsports | 701 | 24 | -43 | 29 | 4 | 7 | 22 | 22 |
4 | Joe Gibbs Racing | 653 | 20 | -91 | 48 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 22 |
5 | Richard Childress Racing | 648 | 8 | -96 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 22 |
6 | Stewart-Haas Racing | 634 | 4 | -110 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
7 | Trackhouse Racing | 626 | 1 | -118 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 22 |
8 | Hendrick Motorsports | 619 | 5 | -125 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 22 |
9 | Team Penske | 614 | 12 | -130 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 22 |
10 | Team Penske | 609 | 22 | -135 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 22 |
11 | RFK Racing | 603 | 6 | -141 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 22 |
12 | 23XI Racing | 602 | 45 | -142 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 22 |
13 | RFK Racing | 598 | 17 | -146 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 22 |
14 | Hendrick Motorsports | 561 | 9 | -183 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
15 | JTG Daugherty Racing | 514 | 47 | -230 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 22 |
16 | 23XI Racing | 506 | 23 | -238 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
17 | Hendrick Motorsports | 474 | 48 | -270 | 32 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 22 |
18 | Front Row Motorsports | 470 | 34 | -274 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
19 | Joe Gibbs Racing | 452 | 54 | -292 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
20 | Kaulig Racing | 448 | 16 | -296 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
21 | Trackhouse Racing | 436 | 99 | -308 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
22 | Team Penske | 406 | 2 | -338 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
23 | Kaulig Racing | 400 | 31 | -344 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
24 | Stewart-Haas Racing | 384 | 10 | -360 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
25 | Stewart-Haas Racing | 382 | 41 | -362 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
26 | Front Row Motorsports | 358 | 38 | -386 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
27 | Spire Motorsports | 341 | 7 | -403 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
28 | Legacy Motor Club | 336 | 43 | -408 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 22 |
29 | Richard Childress Racing | 323 | 3 | -421 | 13 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 22 |
30 | Wood Brothers Racing | 303 | 21 | -441 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
31 | Stewart-Haas Racing | 283 | 14 | -461 | 20 | 0 | 0 | -25 | 22 |
32 | Rick Ware Racing | 232 | 15 | -512 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
33 | Legacy Motor Club | 210 | 42 | -534 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
34 | Rick Ware Racing | 205 | 51 | -539 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
35 | Spire Motorsports | 203 | 77 | -541 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
36 | Live Fast Motorsports | 162 | 78 | -582 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
37 | Trackhouse Racing | 63 | 91 | -681 | 99 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
38 | Front Row Motorsports | 54 | 36 | -690 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
39 | 23XI Racing | 26 | 67 | -718 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
40 | Kaulig Racing | 21 | 13 | -723 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
41 | Beard Motorsports | 14 | 62 | -730 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
42 | Legacy Motor Club | 12 | 84 | -732 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
43 | TMT Racing | 9 | 50 | -735 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images