Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Richmond Qualifying
Friday, August 15, 2025
PREECE PUTS HIS FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE ON THE RICHMOND POLE
Ryan Preece drove his No. 60 RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse to the pole Friday at Richmond Raceway.
The pole is Preece’s second in the Cup Series with the other one coming at Martinsville in 2023.
Ford Qualifying Results:
1st – Ryan Preece
6th – Brad Keselowski
12th – Chris Buescher
13th – Austin Cindric
17th – Josh Berry
20th – Ryan Blaney
22nd – Noah Gragson
24th – Cole Custer
29th – Zane Smith
31st – Todd Gilliland
37th – Cody Ware
38th – Joey Logano
POLE-WINNING PRESS CONFERENCE
RYAN PREECE, No. 60 Kroger/Kleenex Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Being 37th or whatever we were in practice our objective was just to see where the tire fall off went and try to manage that pace. For me, going into qualifying and pushing the tire, pushing the grip level and all those things, you just don’t know what you’re gonna have going into turn one. As I’ve said over the past few months, just trust. Our communication as a team has grown. My trust level that I drive it in there is gonna stick has grown and what I can tell you is when I drove it off into turn one, I know I got it all because the amount of time I drove it in there versus the grip she potentially had was definitely on the limit. It felt really good and Derrick made great adjustments, along with the entire No. 60 RFK team and I’m just proud to have Kroger and Kleenex on the car this weekend.”
IS IT EASIER OR MORE DIFFICULT TO MANAGE TIRES FROM THE POLE IF YOU GET OUT FRONT? “I’d definitely, especially at a place like this, would rather be out front. I think there’s still some questions of how you want to do it, but I’d rather be the one leading rather than trying to have to pass people and potentially abusing the tire that way, so tomorrow it’s gonna be get out front, get clean air and set my pace and take care of them. I’d rather be out front right now.”
IF YOU WIN, WOULD YOU CLIMB ON TOP OF YOUR CAR? “I’d climb up on top and I potentially might even do a backflip, but I don’t think the backflip would go very well, but, I think I’ll still climb up.”
SOME DRIVERS SAID WITH THE AMOUNT OF FALL OFF IT MIGHT SHAKE UP THE ONE STOP, TWO STOP STRATEGY EVERYONE JUGGLES HERE. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON WHAT WE MIGHT SEE WITH COOLER TEMPERATURES? “I think that’s a great question, and I definitely think there is some truth to that, but when it comes to what strategy we choose to play, I’m gonna let Derrick make those decisions because at the end of the day he’s gonna be the guy that’s drilling the computer and trying to figure out what’s gonna be the best strategy. From there, I trust him and Brent and Matt to make the right decision and give us the best opportunity to be on the best strategy, have the best track position, have the best pit stops and execute a great race.”
IS IT SAFE TO SAY AFTER PRACTICE YOU WERE SURPRISED YOU GOT THE POLE? “Not necessarily surprised. I knew Brad put down a really good lap, which made me feel a lot more confident on what the potential was going to be, but, like I said, going into that practice I wanted to make sure I was managing the tires right away, that there was no questions going into tomorrow if I could have done a better job in practice or how I needed to do it. So, going into turn one, I leaned on what I drove with the modified and how hard I was pushing the pace there and I felt like a lot of that helped me somewhat going into today. Always a good thing to get those extra laps and run modifieds when I can, but that was one of those moments that I drove it off into turn one and said, ‘If she sticks, she sticks. If she doesn’t, probably not gonna have a great starting spot, but I’m not leaving anything on the table.’”
HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BEING UP FRONT WHEN PASSING HAS BEEN SO HARD HERE? “Yeah, for sure. That’s a great question. Passing is definitely not easy and then when you’re trying to come from 20th or 30th and having to pass people you’re just abusing the tire that much more, so I think having the opportunity to start from the pole is gonna make our job quite a bit easier as far as keeping control of the race, and then from there as far as managing tires I think with how my car drove in the modified race I know exactly what I don’t want, so when we go into our debrief I’m sure Brad, myself and Chris are gonna have some conversations of what our cars felt like and we’ll just try and make our best adjustments to make sure we take care of those tires.”
WHAT’S THE TRUST LEVEL WITH THE TEAM AND HOW NICE IS IT TO HAVE THAT KIND OF BOND WITH YOUR CREW CHIEF? “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had good relationships in the past, but I think the biggest thing was learning that sometimes, I don’t want to put this the wrong way, but I can be my own worst enemy because I know too much and then I start talking to myself or talking to my crew chief like a driver, but at the same time a driver that’s a crew chief and starting to make them not necessarily believe in what they’re doing. So, I’ve really focused and emphasized just driving the damn race car and it seems to be paying off pretty well, but I’ve really enjoyed my time working with Derrick, being teammates with Brad and Chris. I know I sound like a broken record when I say this, but I’m truthfully honest. I’m very honest when I say this. It’s been nice to have the knowledge and experience that Brad has had, as well as being teammates with Chris, who is super, super fast and raw talented. To be able to lean on two guys that have all that, I just feel like we’re in a really good spot at RFK right now.”
WHAT IS THE MINDSET BEING ON THE POLE AND KNOWING WHAT A WIN WOULD DO? “For me, it’s a great opportunity to go win the stage and get 10 points. As much as I hate talking about points, especially racing against my teammate, I think he’s starting 11th, so this is an opportunity to try and close back in on some of those points he put on us, but as well as an opportunity for us to execute tomorrow. There’s no better place than starting on the pole and with stage one being 70 laps, I don’t think you’re gonna have anybody pitting in that stage because there’s no way you can make it up. So my hope is that we don’t have any cautions and we run 70 straight laps. We can win that stage and then from there it’s everybody whoever came up with the best strategy and takes care of their tires best seems like that’s what it’s gonna be.”
I HAVEN’T HEARD A DRIVER THINK THEY CAN GO 70 LAPS ON THESE TIRES WITHOUT ONE BLOWING, SO IS THAT REALISTIC? “I don’t think you’re gonna see people pit 35 laps and then 35. I just don’t see that happening. I haven’t also looked at the tire wear, so maybe you have talked to some people they have looked at those wears, but my math would say that somebody coming in and pitting after 35 laps and splitting a 70-lap stage, where there is a lot of potential for cautions and putting you two laps down, the risk is too much. So, from what I see and what our job is gonna have to be if it does go green, is to manage those tires and do the best you can there. So, make it work.”
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It’s a decent spot. It’s an important race for track position, so being able to have that flexibility for strategy, I feel like I’m sitting in the exact same stuff from last week when I also qualified 13th. We’re at least starting in the ballgame, but the tire today was pretty interesting. It’s gonna take a lot for me to understand what I want out of my car for tomorrow. I feel like it’s one of the more difficult racetracks to really dial in on one thing that just needs to be better and that will improve our performance.” DIFFERENT CONDITIONS TOMORROW NIGHT. WILL THAT BE AN ADJUSTMENT? “Yeah, I think tomorrow you’ll experience a lot of change from today, so that just adds another factor on top of making those decisions for tomorrow.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We just had to go out there to attempt to qualify. Something went wrong earlier in the day, and I’m not sure why the tire went down, but it was messed up from lap one. That kind of showed its head a little bit more as the run went, so not good.”
