The NASCAR Cup Series drives toward the playoffs with the next-to-last regular season race, the Cook Out 400 on Aug. 16 at Richmond Raceway. The playoff picture is fairly clear for now, but that can all change if a driver not inside the top 16 of the playoff standings wins on Saturday.

Austin Dillon won the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway without controversy Saturday. He also claimed the race last year, but it came via a pair of chaotic last-lap moves on Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin that got him stripped of his automatic NASCAR playoff berth.

Chase Elliott's first DNF of the season means he's out of the running for Regular Season Champion. After a clean first stage of racing in the penultimate race of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season at Richmond Raceway, three close cautions snowballed into a crash that collected 13 drivers.

Denny Hamlin and Shane van Gisbergen will continue be under the spotlight as the NASCAR Cup Series heads for the playoffs soon. This Saturday brings a return to Richmond Raceway for the 2025 Cook Out 400.

Get up to speed with details for what to watch in Sunday's race at Richmond Raceway, the 25th race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

As NASCAR’s premier series returns Saturday night to Richmond, Virginia, with two races remaining in the regular season and three open slots in the playoffs, did Dillon’s win establish the new boundary of what’s permissible in pushing for a victory that guarantees a berth in the 10-race run to the title?

During the NASCAR Truck race at Watkins Glen, Jack Wood suffered a major hit against the guardrail in the esses while driving his No. 91 Chevrolet. He was evaluated and released from the infield care center, but in an announcement on Thursday, the team revealed that Wood will not be racing this weekend at Richmond Raceway.

NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 in Richmond, Va., this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network; Countdown to Green Gets Underway at 7 p.m. ET