NASCAR race at Richmond results, live updates: Chris Buescher wins

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Cook Out 400 highlights and live results

Stage 3

Lap 400: Chris Buescher holds off Denny Hamlin to win at Richmond! The Top 10: Buescher, Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick. Check NASCAR.com for full results. More to come soon!

Here’s a look at that restart:

Lap 390: And of course... a caution! Daniel Suarez spins out, prompting the race’s first caution-for-cause with 10 laps to go. Chris Buescher had mounted a six-second lead over the rest of the field before the yellow flag. Now all the leaders will put on four fresh tires and duke it out for the win. Can Buescher hold on?

Lap 327: Kyle Larson with some payback? The driver of the No. 5 car, who was running a lap down, shoved Denny Hamlin on the frontstretch. The two got into a public disagreement after the race in Pocono for how Hamlin raced him. No harm, no foul. Hamlin still in winning contention, after all.

Lap 326: We might see a race with only two yellows today. And that probably would be just fine for Chris Buescher, who’s piloting a season-best run here at Richmond. He’s running P1, with Tyler Reddick, Ryan Preece and Denny Hamlin closely behind. Brad Keselowski, Buescher’s boss and teammate, is in P5.

Lap 287: Chris Buescher makes a trip down pit road a lap before his teammate and race leader Brad Keselowski does — and that pays off. Buescher clears Keselowski (who had an awkward entrance/exit from pit road) when they both enter the oval. That’s likely the second-to-last pit stop for the race today. Teams are good on fuel; they’ll just need to replenish tires.

Lap 243: Green green green! We have not yet had a caution-for-cause. Very clean race.

Stage 2

Lap 230: And Brad Keselowski takes home the Stage 2 win. That’s his third on the year. The rest of the Top 10 earning stage points, in order: Keselowski Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano. MTJ has found his groove — and that’s a scary proposition for the rest of the field. He had been struggling all day, potentially looking at going down two laps exiting Stage 2, but now he salvaged a good Stage 2 finish. Alex Bowman earns the free pass; his teammate Kyle Larson will be a lap down to start Stage 3.

Lap 210: Now that everything has shaken out, let’s take stock of the Top 10: Brad Keselowski is leading the field — taking big-time advantage of Bubba Wallace’s pit stop blunder from earlier in the stage — with Tyler Reddick in P2. Keselowski’s RFK Racing teammate, Chris Buescher, is in third, with Denny Hamlin and Wallace right behind them. Spots six through 10? Kyle Busch (who’s found consistency after a shaky start), Ryan Preece, Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs, Austin Dillon.

Lap 174: Another round of green-flag pit stops. This one is a bit more eventful. Bubba Wallace, running strong all day, has a blunder when the jackman doesn’t lift the car enough to remove the front tire. The 23 car was leading for a bunch of today’s race before that. We’ll see how the lost time affects his positioning once everything shakes out.

Lap 123: Green flag pit stops beginning! Ryan Preece begins the proceedings. No big surprises here. The only thing of note, really, is that Aric Almirola notches a commitment line penalty; he’ll have to pass through pit road again.

Lap 81: We’re green again! Tyler Reddick came off pit road first, but his teammate, Bubba Wallace, passed him on a turn on the stage restart. That means the 23 is in the lead for the first time of the day. The rest of the Top 10: Wallace, Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Ty Gibbs, Michael McDowell, Aric Almirola and Joey Logano. As you could probably discern based on the new handful of drivers in the Top 10: Pit road execution is critical at Richmond; it’s where most of today’s passing will occur.

Stage 1

Lap 70: Well, that was painless! It was also great for 23XI Racing. Tyler Reddick takes the Stage 1 win without much of a fuss. Bubba Wallace finishes second, and Denny Hamlin (owner of 23XI) takes third. All of the drivers earning stage points: Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Preece, William Byron, Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs.

Lap 53: There are 70 laps in Stage 1 — and while there hasn’t been much movement in the Top 5, the Top 10 has seen a little shake-up. Where it stands now: Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch (who’s dropped from P2 to P6 in 50 laps), William Byron, Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs.

Lap 9: And short-track racing has returned! Tyler Reddick has begun to separate himself from the pack, while Denny Hamlin overtakes Kyle Busch for second. The inside line is strong today. Some fun trivia: These are the first laps Reddick has ever led on a short track.

Green flag, 3:19 p.m.: Let’s get it going!

3:11 p.m.: Engines are fired, and we’re five minutes away from the green flag! The race broadcast has spent a lot of time talking about Daniel Suarez, who has seen bad finishes the last few weeks put him in a big point deficit. He still has an outside shot at the playoffs — but if he’s relying on a win, it probably won’t come today. He’s starting 33rd after a rough qualifying session Saturday.

2:24 p.m.: Tyler Reddick passed prerace inspection and is good to start on the pole. AJ Allmendinger will start at the rear because he didn’t qualify the car this weekend; he was at Road America competing in the Xfinity Series race. Here’s some important timing info, per NASCAR: Driver Introductions will begin promptly at 2:30 p.m.; Invocation: 3:01:20 p.m.; National Anthem: 3:02:00 p.m.; Command: 3:09:00 p.m.; Green Flag: 3:16:00 p.m.

2:08 p.m.: Per CBS Sports, here’s what the most recent betting lines looked like: Martin Truex Jr. is still the favorite at +450, with Denny Hamlin (+550) and Kyle Larson (+600) following him. (Will we see another Hamlin and Larson face-off?) Christopher Bell is set for +650, and Kevin Harvick is set for +700. Check out the full listing here.

2 p.m.: We’re about an hour away from the green flag! Today’s race at Richmond (USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is the fifth-to-last race of the Cup Series regular season. That means a bunch of good but winless drivers probably see the Cook Out 400 less as an opportunity and more as a lifeline. Among that group: Kevin Harvick, who sits at eighth in points and won the summer race at Richmond last year, and Chase Elliott, the sport’s most popular driver on the sport’s most powerful team (Hendrick Motorsports).

If qualifying is any indication, it seems like every manufacturer and every big team should have speed. Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing will start on the pole with his teammate, Bubba Wallace, starting in P5. Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch will start second — with Joe Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin starting third and Elliott starting fourth. Check out the full starting lineup here.

How to watch Richmond race

• Race: Cook Out 400

• Place: Richmond Raceway

• Date: Sunday, July 30

• Time: 3 p.m.

• Purse: $7,565,800

• TV: USA, 2:30 p.m.

• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

• Distance: 300 miles (400 laps)

• Stages: Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 70), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 230), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 400)