Ryan Preece tops qualifying at Richmond, earns second career Cup Series Pole

Ryan Preece was fastest during the qualifying session at Richmond Raceway on Friday evening with a 121.381 mph lap. It was his second career Cup Series pole and his first since Martinsville Speedway in 2023.

“That was great adjustments by Derek (Finley) and everybody with this Kleenex, Kroger Ford Mustang,” Preece said. “I can’t think RFK enough for the opportunity, and boy, what a race car. It might not have shown up in practice early on for that fast lap, but it did in qualifying.”

Preece is currently outside the cutline for the Playoffs in 17th place

Tyler Reddick (120.908 mph), AJ Allmendinger (120.854), Denny Hamlin (120.822), and Chase Elliott (120.746) rounded out the top five.

Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, and Michael McDowell completed the top 10.

Joey Logano did not make a qualifying lap and will start from the rear of the field after a tire issue in practice caused damage to his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

Saturday’s race at Richmond Raceway is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast on the USA Network and HBO Max, with radio coverage provided by MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Starting Line Up
Richmond Raceway
Cook Out 400

PosNoDriverTeamTimeSpeed
160Ryan PreeceKroger/Kleenex Ford22.244121.381
245Tyler ReddickChumba Casino Toyota22.331120.908
316AJ AllmendingerBlack’s Tire Chevrolet22.341120.854
411Denny HamlinProgressive Toyota22.347120.822
59Chase ElliottUniFirst Chevrolet22.361120.746
66Brad KeselowskiBuildSubmarines.com Ford22.362120.741
723Bubba WallaceLeidos Toyota22.379120.649
820Christopher BellDEWALT Toyota22.384120.622
948Alex BowmanAlly Chevrolet22.397120.552
1071Michael McDowellWorkforce Chevrolet22.406120.503
113Austin DillonBass Pro/Winchester Chevrolet22.426120.396
1217Chris BuescherFifth Third Bank Ford22.43120.374
132Austin CindricMenards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford22.442120.31
1424William ByronLiberty University Chevrolet22.461120.208
1577Carson HocevarDelaware Life Chevrolet22.501119.995
1610Ty DillonSea Best Chevrolet22.506119.968
1721Josh BerryEero Ford22.516119.915
1843Erik JonesDollar Tree Toyota22.526119.861
1919Chase BriscoeBass Pro Shops Toyota22.545119.76
2012Ryan BlaneyBodyArmor Sports Drink Ford22.548119.745
2199Daniel SuarezQuaker State Chevrolet22.549119.739
224Noah GragsonArmorGuard Ford22.549119.739
2354Ty GibbsSiriusXM Toyota22.553119.718
2441Cole CusterHaasTooling.com Ford22.577119.591
257Justin HaleyGainbridge Super League Chevrolet22.608119.427
2635Riley Herbst #Monster Energy Toyota22.608119.427
2788Shane Van Gisbergen #WeatherTech Chevrolet22.646119.226
288Kyle BuschRebel Bourbon Chevrolet22.679119.053
2938Zane SmithLong John Silver’s Ford22.68119.048
305Kyle LarsonHendrickCars.com Chevrolet22.692118.985
3134Todd GillilandLove’s Travel Stops Ford22.725118.812
3267Corey Heim(i)Robinhood Toyota22.747118.697
331Ross ChastainJockey Infinite Cool Underwear Chevrolet22.755118.655
3442John Hunter NemechekPye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota22.823118.302
3533Jesse Love(i)C4 Energy Chevrolet22.831118.26
3647Ricky Stenhouse Jr.Ram Self Storage Chevrolet22.842118.203
3751Cody WareArrowhead Brass Ford22.947117.662
3822Joey LoganoShell Pennzoil Ford00
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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

Angie Campbell
Angie Campbell
A native of Charlotte, NC, Angela (Angie) was first introduced to racing by her father. An avid fan of NASCAR, she found a way to combine her love of racing with her passion for writing. Angie is also an award-winning member of the National Motorsports Press Association. Follow her on Twitter @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

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