The penultimate race of the regular season will take place at Richmond Raceway on Saturday night, as Joe Gibbs racing tries to win their eighth Cook Out 400 race since 2018. Austin Dillon won last year’s race, but his playoff eligibility was later rescinded for violating the rules by intentionally wrecking another driver. Denny Hamlin is the latest Joe Gibbs driver to win at Richmond, which he achieved last March. 

Hamlin is the +400 favorite (risk $100 to win $400) in the 2025 Cook Out 400 odds, while Christopher Bell is +450. Other NASCAR at Richmond contenders include Kyle Larson (+750), William Byron (+850) and Joey Logano (+900). Saturday’s race is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET. 

Before making any Cook Out 400 picks, you NEED to see what CBS Sports NASCAR writer Steven Taranto has to say.

Taranto, who moonlights as a sim racer and has 20 career wins in iRacing, is the lead NASCAR writer for CBSSports.com. Taranto was red-hot for SportsLine in 2024 as he nailed 17 winners, including 16-1 longshot William Byron at the Daytona 500 and 14-1 longshot Chase Elliott at Texas. Anybody following his NASCAR picks could have seen HUGE returns!

For the 2025 Cook Out 400, Taranto is high on Brad Keselowski (+1600). He also has a head-to-head prop bet, with Josh Berry (+135) to finish ahead of Chris Buescher (-180). “When it comes to odds in this head-to-head matchup, Chris Buescher has been given the upper hand thanks in large part to his win at Richmond in 2023, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s coming off a third place run at Watkins Glen. But now could be the time for Josh Berry to finally break out of top 15 purgatory and get his first top 10 in three months.

Berry ran second at Richmond while subbing for Chase Elliott in 2023, and he followed that up with two top 15 finishes there in 2024, including a strong run in the August race where he started third and ran up front throughout the first half before fading to 14th. If Berry can tap back into his short track skills, look for this to be a statement race for him and the Wood Brothers as they enter their second-straight playoff appearance.”

Taranto has also identified four other drivers in his 2025 Cook Out 400 best bets. He’s also high on a huge NASCAR longshot who’s around 70-1, potentially netting any backer a HUGE payday! You ABSOLUTELY NEED to see his picks before locking in any NASCAR picks of your own.