NASCAR: Driver Ratings for Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway

Crash NASCAR journalist Chad Smith goes through the field to hand out driver ratings for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway.
Brad Keselowski, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing at Richmond
Brad Keselowski, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing at Richmond

Chris Buescher: 10

An emphatic victory for the driver and the team, locking in a Playoff spoℱt.

Denny Hamlin: 9

Hamlin was in position to steal another victory but a❀ mistake on the final restart cost him.

Kyle Busch: 8

He started u𒐪p front and finished ജup front but the middle of the race did not go well.

Joey Logano: 7

Seemingly coming o💛ut of nowhere, Logano quietly snuck in for another top-five re🦹sult.

Ryan Preece: 9

It was𒁃 an impressive drive from Preece, who was certainly in his element today.

Brad Keselowski: 9

He led a race-high 102 laps and went to victory lane as an owner, but his mistake on the fi🍌nal pit stop may have cost him the win.

Martin Truex Jr: 9

Martin's run from the back of the field to the front was arguablꦜy the most impressive drive of the day.

Martin Truex Jr
Martin Truex Jr

Aric Almirola: 8

A strong day for Almirola, who rebounded from an early pit com💞mitment violation.

Austin Dillon: 7

This was a much-needed result for Dillon, after an embarrassinꦏg exit last weekend at Pocono.

Kevin Harvick: 7

Probablyღ not the way he wanted his final race at Richmond to go, but the four-time winner earned another 🍃top-ten finish.

Chase Briscoe: 6

All Stewart Haas cars f🧸inished inside the top 11 but Briscoe was the last of the bunch.

Bubba Wallace: 8

It was shaping up to be a🔜 strong day for Wallace, but another costly pit crew mistake r🐓uined that.

Chase Elliott: 7

He wa🅠s never💎 in contention for the win, but still managed to narrow his points deficit with four races to go.

Ryan Blaney: 6

Ford was strong but Blaney was unable to capitalize with just a 14th𒊎 place finish.

Ty Gibbs: 7

This was a dece💫nt showing for the rookie, who remains ♏in the hunt for one of the final Playoff positions.

Tyler Reddick: 5

It was a tale of two races for Reddick, who led every lap in Stage 1 but made a mistake coming to pit🐻 road on his final stop while running in 2nd place, which earned him a penalty.

Alex Bowman: 3

Bowman isﷺ in a must-win situation but throwing blocks at his teammate while battling for the Lucky Dog did not have anyone in the organization smiling.

Kyle Larson: 4

After winning the Spring race at Richmond, Larson (like the entir♊e Hendrick team) was out to lunch to🦋day.

Christopher Bell: 3

A horrible weekend for Bell, who made a🐓 mistake in qualif🗹ying and was penalized during the race, where he was never a factor.

William Byron: 3

Perhaps 𒁃the most surprising outcome today was Byron 🌞being such a non-factor as Hendrick struggled.

Michael McDowell: 3

Front Row tried to go off-strategy to get McDowell some track position, but it didn't work out as he clings to the fꦍinal Playꦏoff spot.

Ross Chastain: 2

Chastain might not have evenꦇ been mentioned on the broadcast today, which is becoming a recurring theme this seaso🦋n.

AJ Allmendinger: 1

Kaulig decided to gamble on letting🥀 AJ race at R🔯oad America on Friday and Saturday, and delivered a dud today as they fall 22 points below the Playoff cut line.

Daniel Suarez: 1

For the second week i♏n a row, Suarez saw his day end with a crash. The Trackhouse driver was never a factor in the race and is now 34 points below the cut line.

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