Saturday night's Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) will be the 25th race of the NASCAR Cup Series season, meaning drivers are down to their final two opportunities to solidify their playoff positioning. With Daytona's high banks and unpredictability awaiting in the regular-season finale after Richmond, this will be the most traditional path to Victory Lane left in the regular season.
All three short-track races have been won by a different driver this season. In the most recent trip to the 0.75-mile Virginia short track, Austin Dillon came away victorious in a controversial finish to the 2024 summer race as he bumped Joey Logano out of the way in Turn 3 and hooked Denny Hamlin coming to the checkered.
What is the total purse for the 2025 Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway?
The purse for the Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway is $9,797,935, according to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports.
Purses for Richmond weekend include all payouts, all positions, contribution to season-ending points fund, contingency awards, etc.; and for Cup, all charter payouts based on participating and historical performance:
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 13, 2025
Cup: $9,797,935
Truck: $782,900
The Cup Series purse for Richmond falls in line with recent events on the schedule, but marks a significant jump from last season's $7,925,121 purse for the summer race.
Although the Xfinity Series takes the week off before picking back up at Daytona, the Craftsman Truck Series takes center stage on Friday night for some racing under the lights to conclude its regular season. While not as much of an increase, the total purse for the trucks is $782,900, up slightly from the $744,784 that was awarded last season.
How much does the Cook Out 400 winning driver earn?
The exact take-home for the winner of the Cook Out 400 is not verified. According to Pockrass, the total purse includes all payouts, all positions, contribution to season-ending points fund, contingency awards and for Cup, all charter payouts based on participating and historical performance.
Shane van Gisbergen enters Richmond following his fourth consecutive win on a road/street course, tying him for the second-most all-time with Chase Elliott and Dan Gurney. That success has not translated to ovals yet and he competes at Richmond in a Cup car for the first time on Saturday night, so don't expect the road course success to transfer over.
Instead, Hamlin, who is a five-time winner at the track, should be one of the favorites with a win (2024 spring) and two runner-ups in the last three races there. Despite a tough summer stretch, two-time Richmond winner Kyle Larson is another driver to keep an eye on with back-to-back top-10s at the short track. As for a driver who has yet to visit Victory Lane at Richmond, look out for three-race 2025 winner Christopher Bell, who has finished inside the top 10 in all but two of his nine starts.