RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Ryan Preece will start from the pole position Saturday night at Richmond Raceway while trying to lock in a spot for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Preece earned his second career pole in 212 Cup starts with a lap at 121.381 mph around the 0.75-mile oval in his No. 60 Ford.
“What a great car,” said Preece, whose previous pole came at Martinsville Speedway in April 2023.
Crew members roll the car of Ryan Preece onto the track during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Bryon Houlgrave)
With two races remaining in the regular season, Preece still can make the playoffs through the points standings, but a win would secure an automatic berth.
Tyler Reddick, who can lock into the 16-driver playoff field on points with a strong result Saturday, qualified second. AJ Allmendinger will start third despite his No. 16 Chevrolet failing prerace inspection twice, which resulted in a loss of pit stall selection and the ejection of car chief Jaron Antley.
Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five in qualifying.
Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
Sweeping the top three starting spots, Preece, Reddick and Allmendinger were joined by six other winless drivers qualifying in the top 15: Brad Keselowski (sixth), Alex Bowman (ninth), Michael McDowell (10th), Austin Dillon (11th), Chris Buescher (12th) and Carson Hocevar (15th). It’ll be a tougher slog to get to the front for Ty Gibbs (22nd) and Kyle Busch (28th).
Three-time Cup champion Joey Logano, a two-time winner at Richmond, will start last in the 38-car field after being unable to turn a lap in qualifying. Logano hit the Turn 4 wall in practice because of a right-front tire problem on his No. 22 Ford.
Starting position is critical at Richmond, which tends to have long green-flag stretches when it’s easy to fall a lap down. Last August’s race had only three caution flags, which is tied for the fewest on a short track since the 2022 debut of the Next Gen car.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing