Recovering from a slow first half as the first-year driver of the No. 19 Toyota, NASCAR Cup Series’ Chase Briscoe continues climbing the playoff standings.
Despite his trouble on restarts, he faced eventual winner Shane van Gisbergen during last Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International.
“That restart just didn’t go our way and we lost a lot of track position,” Briscoe said, as reported by NBC Sports. “The 88 (van Gisbergen) was able to get five spots ahead of us before of us on the first lap and kept pulling further and further away.
“We will go onto Richmond (Raceway on Sunday) and see what we can do.”
Briscoe enters Saturday night’s event with four top-five finishes in his past five starts. He drew +1800 sports-betting odds to win the Cook Out 400, according to BetOnlne Sportsbook. At +400, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin drew top odds.
Below, we’ll preview the top storylines heading into Saturday night’s Cook Out 400, go over the odds, and give our best bets for the 25th race on the 2025 NASCAR schedule.
Chase Briscoe on pit road pic.twitter.com/DpVryJgENh
— Commander (@Commander17Fan) August 10, 2025
Cook Out 400 Storylines
- Christopher Bell’s P2 at Watkins Glen marked the No. 20 Toyota’s eighth top-three finish this season. That’s one-third of his starts. The short-track dirt racer posted four top-fives in five road-course events.
- Chris Buescher, who holds the final playoff spot, maintained his slim provisional standing by earning a stage win and placing third last Sunday.
- Connor Zilisch, who fell off his machine and broke his collarbone moments after winning Saturday’s Xfinity Series event, was forced to withdraw from Sunday’s Cup appearance. Zilisch had surgery Tuesday to “get a plate and screws to help with the healing process,” he posted on X (Twitter).
The bracelet I got in the hospital this morning bc of anesthesia. Can’t make this stuff up😂 pic.twitter.com/FEUo2wTYea
— Connor Zilisch (@ConnorZilisch) August 12, 2025
Cook Out 400 Driver Odds
Here is an early look at the drivers’ odds for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway, according to BetOnline Sportsbook:
| Driver | NASCAR Cup Series’ Cook Out 400 Odds |
|---|---|
| Christopher Bell | +400 |
| Denny Hamlin | +400 |
| Kyle Larson | +800 |
| William Byron | +900 |
| Joey Logano | +900 |
| Ryan Blaney | +1100 |
| Chase Briscoe | +1800 |
| Chase Elliott | +1800 |
| Brad Keselowski | +2000 |
| Ross Chastain | +2200 |
| Chris Buescher | +2200 |
| Tyler Reddick | +2500 |
| Kyle Busch | +2800 |
| Josh Berry | +3300 |
| Carson Hocevar | +3300 |
| Ty Gibbs | +3300 |
| Bubba Wallace | +3300 |
| Austin Dillon | +3300 |
| Alex Bowman | +4000 |
| Ryan Preece | +4000 |
| Daniel Suarez | +6600 |
| Austin Cindric | +7500 |
| Corey Heim | +8000 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | +10000 |
| Erik Jones | +10000 |
| John Hunter Nemechek | +15000 |
| AJ Allmendinger | +20000 |
| Noah Gragson | +20000 |
| Michael McDowell | +20000 |
| Zane Smith | +25000 |
| Shane van Gisbergen | +25000 |
| Justin Haley | +30000 |
| Todd Gilliland | +30000 |
| Cole Custer | +30000 |
| Jesse Love | +30000 |
| Riley Herbst | +50000 |
| Ty Dillon | +50000 |
| Cody Ware | +100000 |
*-Odds current at time of publication
Cook Out 400 Predictions and Picks
Here are our best NASCAR Cup Series bets for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway:
Denny Hamlin (+400)
The co-race favorite, Hamlin has made a habit out of contending at Richmond, posting two wins and five top-five finishes in his past six outings. He could use some pre-playoff momentum.
Kyle Larson (+800)
Larson’s 265 laps led since the start of 2022 paces all active pilots. He won the April 2023 event. Can he generate a spark for the postseason?
Austin Dillon (+3300)
How about a long shot? Dillon bulldozed his way to a controversial 2024 win at Richmond. He’s also posted three top-10s in his past six outings. Can he do it again – cleanly?
Last time NASCAR was at Richmond, Austin Dillon gave us the most controversial finish in recent memory with an intentional wreck. 😳 pic.twitter.com/i0lwFopPoI
— Motorsport (@Motorsport) August 12, 2025
