Cook Out 400 Driver Grades: How Every Driver Scored at Richmond Raceway

August 15, 2026

Every driver from the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway, graded on what the scoring loops actually recorded: where they started, where they finished, how many laps they led, and whether they were still running at the end. Joey Logano grades out best with a A+.

How the grades are calculated

The grade is a formula, not an opinion. Each driver starts from their finishing position, gains credit for passing cars and for leading laps, and loses credit for not finishing:

Finish: the single biggest factor, scaled from the win down through the field.
Positions gained: starting position minus finishing position, capped so a deep starting spot cannot buy a top grade on its own.
Laps led: share of the race led, worth up to a full letter grade.
Did not finish: a fixed penalty if they were not running at the checkered flag.

Driver grades

Grade	Driver	Car	Start	Finish	Laps led	Points
A+	Joey Logano	22	10	1	95	73
A+	Chase Briscoe	19	2	2	171	52
A+	Austin Cindric	2	23	3		48
A+	Denny Hamlin	11	14	4	3	46
A+	Kyle Larson	5	30	6	2	31
A+	Chase Elliott	9	13	5		38
A	Alex Bowman	48	25	10		27
A	Tyler Reddick	45	32	11	7	28
A	Christopher Bell	20	8	7	29	36
A-	Shane Van Gisbergen	97	31	14		23
B+	Ross Chastain	1	18	12		25
B+	Josh Berry	21	3	8	1	40
B+	William Byron	24	5	9		30
B+	Noah Gragson	4	35	18		19
B	Daniel Suárez	7	20	16		21
B-	Ryan Blaney	12	1	13	88	41
B-	Austin Hill	33	33	23		0
B-	Ty Gibbs	54	4	15	1	22
C+	Austin Dillon	3	16	19		18
C+	Ryan Preece	60	6	17		20
C+	Chris Buescher	17	19	21		16
C	Bubba Wallace	23	7	20	3	22
C	John H. Nemechek	42	12	22		15
C-	Riley Herbst	35	17	24		13
C-	Michael McDowell	71	26	28		9
C-	Cole Custer	41	29	29		8
C-	Erik Jones	43	21	27		10
D	Connor Zilisch	88	11	25		12
D	Todd Gilliland	34	27	30		7
D	Ty Dillon	10	34	32		5
D	Brad Keselowski	6	9	26		11
D	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	47	28	31		6
D	Cody Ware	51	37	34		3
D	Josh Bilicki	66	36	35		0
F	AJ Allmendinger	16	15	33		4
F	Zane Smith	38	24	36		1
F	Carson Hocevar (Engine)	77	22	37		1