Joey Logano Holds Off Chase Briscoe To Win Richmond Thriller

RPW EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY: Steven Brien / RPW – RICHMOND, VA  – Joey Logano held off Chase Briscoe in the closing laps to earn his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season Saturday night in the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway.

“We’re pretty strong right now,” Logano said after climbing from his No. 22 Ford. “It was a great car.” Logano led 95 laps and has now won three races at Richmond. The victory is his second in the last four races and moves him up to ninth in the points standings.

“It was a fun little cat and mouse game there,” he added. “It’s getting the points I would need.”

Briscoe led a race-high 171 laps but settled for second.

“It got really, really loose, and I gave up a three second advantage,” Briscoe said. “It’s weird to be mad about a second here.” 

Austin Cindric finished third, gaining valuable points and strengthening his position above the Chase cutline.

“This was the kick in the ass that this team needed,” Cindric said. “Suffering in silence and succeeding in silence in some ways, and tonight was a good way to drop the mirror in front and just be able to remember who we are.”

Denny Hamlin finished fourth and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five. Kyle Larson was sixth, followed by Christopher Bell, Josh Berry, William Byron and Alex Bowman.

Polesitter Ryan Blaney held off Briscoe to win Stage 1, his sixth stage victory of the season.

Logano finished third, Cindric fourth and Berry fifth. Bubba Wallace was sixth, while Hamlin, Bell, Elliott and Byron also earned stage points.

The first incident of the day occurred on Lap 126 when Zane Smith got loose and spun into the outside wall in Turn 2 during green-flag pit stops, trapping several contenders laps down.

After passing Briscoe, Logano pulled away to win Stage 2 by nearly nine seconds over Hamlin.

Briscoe finished third, Cindric fourth and Blaney fifth. Berry was sixth, followed by Elliott, Bell, Tyler Reddick and Byron to complete the top 10.

Carson Hocevar brought out the caution on Lap 284 after downshifting from fifth to third gear and blowing his engine.

In the Chase standings, Shane van Gisbergen holds the final Chase spot by 50 points over Ryan Preece.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway next week for the penultimate race of the regular season.

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Cook Out 400

Richmond Raceway

Richmond, Va.

Sunday August 15, 2026

1. (10) Joey Logano, Ford, 400.
2. (2) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 400.
3. (23) Austin Cindric, Ford, 400.
4. (14) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 400.
5. (13) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 400.
6. (30) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 400.
7. (8) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 400.
8. (3) Josh Berry, Ford, 400.
9. (5) William Byron, Ford, 400.
10.  (25) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 400.
11.  (32) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 400.
12.  (18) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 399.
13.  (1) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 399.
14.  (31) Shane van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 399.
15.  (4) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 399.
16.  (20) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 399.
17.  (6) Ryan Preece, Ford, 398.
18.  (35) Noah Gragson, Ford, 398.
19.  (16) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 398.
20.  (7) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 398.
21.  (19) Chris Buescher, Ford, 398.
22.  (12) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 398.
23.  (33) Austin Hill (i), Chevrolet, 397.
24.  (17) Riley Herbst, Toyota, 397.
25.  (11) Connor Zilisch (R), Chevrolet, 397.
26.  (9) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 397.
27.  (21) Erik Jones, Toyota, 396.
28.  (26) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 396.
29.  (29) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 396.
30.  (27) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 396.
31.  (28) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 396.
32.  (34) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 394.
33.  (15) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 394.
34.  (37) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 392.
35.  (36) Josh Bilicki (i), Ford, 391.
36.  (24) Zane Smith, Ford, 366.
37.  (22) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, Engine, 279.