Race Week Briefing: Richmond Raceway

Event: Cook Out 400

Date/Time: Saturday, August 15, 2026, 7 p.m. ET

Location: Richmond Raceway, Richmond, Virginia

Layout: 0.75-Mile Short Track

TV/Radio: USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

After back-to-back finishes of seventh at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and a season-best fourth at Iowa Speedway, Josh Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team head to Richmond Raceway looking to continue their recent momentum.

Berry and the Wood Brothers have delivered two of their strongest performances of the season over the past two weekends, and Richmond presents another opportunity to keep that run going. The three-quarter-mile D-shaped oval shares some characteristics with the 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway, where Berry and the No. 21 team showed strong pace throughout last weekend’s race.

“We’ve put together a couple of solid weekends in a row, and it feels like we’re continuing to build some momentum,” Berry said. “Richmond is a place I’ve always enjoyed racing and where I’ve had some good runs in the past, so I’m looking forward to getting back there.”

Berry has enjoyed success at Richmond throughout his career. In his first NASCAR Cup Series start at the track in 2023, while filling in for the injured Chase Elliott, Berry raced to a runner-up finish. At Richmond last season with the Wood Brothers, he recorded an eighth-place finish. In four total starts, Berry hasn’t finished worse than 14th. 

“Hopefully we can keep executing, continue building on what we’ve been doing the last few weeks and put together another strong weekend,” Berry said.

Practice for Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 is set for Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 4:40 p.m. Coverage of both sessions will be available on truTV.

Saturday’s 400-lap, 300-mile race is scheduled to take the green flag shortly after 7 p.m. ET, with coverage on USA Network. Stage breaks are planned for Laps 70 and 230.