NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond: Where to watch the Cook Out 400, live stream, preview, pick to win

For the past two weeks, all of NASCAR had the welcome and necessary opportunity to relax and recharge after their unceasing marathon of a season took them from February all the way to July without a break. But the serenity of the past two weeks is about to give way to the intensity of the next four: Four weeks, and four races, leading up to the end of the regular season that will decide which drivers will be in the 16-driver playoffs come September and earn the right to pursue a Cup Series championship.

The four-race fight to the end of the regular season begins this weekend with the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway, the first return trip by NASCAR to any racetrack this season. After a controversial final restart in the springtime, Denny Hamlin returns to RIchmond looking to sweep the season at his home racetrack, while Martin Truex Jr. is seeking redemption after a late yellow flag and Hamlin's restart denied him what would have been a dominant first win of the season.

While fairly safe on points, Truex can virtually assure himself a playoff berth with a win at Richmond the way two other drivers -- Kevin Harvick in 2022 and Chris Buescher in 2023 -- have over the past two years in NASCAR's return trip to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Where to watch the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond

Date: Sunday, Aug. 11
Location: Richmond Raceway -- Henrico County, Va.
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: USA Network
Stream: fubo ( try for free )

What to watch

Following a trial run of different tire compounds earlier this year in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro, NASCAR has announced this weekend's race at Richmond will once again feature soft "option" tires for teams to use strategically alongside the "prime" baseline tire. The option tires feature greater grip and thus higher speeds at the start of a run, but degrade faster and lead to steep lap time falloffs quicker than the prime tires do.

While North WIlkesboro's new pavement offered a limited glimpse as to the effect what varying Goodyear tire compounds could have on the racing product, Richmond presents a platform for them to potentially shine. Thanks to Richmond's highly worn and abrasive surface, races at this track over the last several years have turned into strategy-heavy affairs, with each team trying to time their pit cycles just right to gain as much time and track position as they can on fresh tires.

For Richmond, NASCAR will allow each team eight sets of sticker tires -- six prime and two option -- along with a scuff set of prime tires from qualifying. NASCAR will not mandate when teams are to use their sets of option tires during the race, but all four tires compounds on the car must match at all times.

Should the variance between tires have the intended effect, there's a very good chance Sunday's race could boil down to exactly when, and in what scenario, each team uses their option tires and how well their drivers are able to manage their falloff and conserve their tires from behind the wheel.

News from over the break

• In a reversal from what was expected, Spire Motorsports announced during the Olympic break that Corey LaJoie will not return as the driver of the team's No. 7 Chevrolet in 2025. Despite LaJoie having signed a two-year contract extension with Spire last summer, The Athletic reported the team had become increasingly dissatisfied with LaJoie's performance relative to his teammates, namely rookie Carson Hocevar in the No. 77. After opening the year with a fourth-place finish in the Daytona 500 and a top-15 finish at Atlanta, LaJoie has only had two other top-15 finishes from that point forward and no finishes inside the top 10.
• 23XI Racing has announced Juan Pablo Montoya will drive the team's No. 50 Toyota at Watkins Glen, marking the Colombian racing legend's first NASCAR start in 10 years. The two-time Indianapolis 500 champion and seven-time Formula One Grand Prix winner competed full-time in NASCAR from 207 to 2013, winning twice in his Cup career including at The Glen in 2010.
• In a video released by the company, Andretti Global president JF Thormann alluded to the company's interest in expanding into NASCAR. According to WIBC , the Andretti team remains only in the exploratory phase of expanding into NASCAR, where Mario Andretti won the 1967 Daytona 500 and where nephew John Andretti competed full-time for much of the 1990s and 2000s.
• A misdemeanor charge of domestic violence against NASCAR driver Gray Gaulding was officially dismissed by the Mecklenburg County, N.C. District Attorney's Office on July 25. Gaulding, who has competed in all three of NASCAR's national touring series, was indefinitely suspended by NASCAR in early April following his arrest for the incident in question.
  

Pick to win

Martin Truex Jr. (+500) -- Even with the prime and option tires presenting a new variable, it's hard to imagine Martin Truex Jr. not picking up where he left off at Richmond in the spring, where he led 228 of 407 laps to add to the 1,587 career laps he's led at that track -- his highest total at any track in NASCAR by far. The idea of a tire management race also plays into the hands of both veteran drivers like Truex and Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole -- If you'll remember Bristol in the spring, Truex led 54 laps and finished second in a race with extreme tire wear that inspired NASCAR to pursue softer and variable tire compounds for short tracks, an experience that I think will be to his and his team's advantage this weekend.