Ryan Preece Secures Pole at Richmond, Seeking a NASCAR Playoff Berth
In an exciting qualifying session at Richmond Raceway, Ryan Preece secured the pole position for Saturday night’s race, desperately seeking a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Preece secured his second career pole position, with a lap at 121.381 mph aboard his No. 60 Ford on the 0.75-mile oval.With only two races remaining in the regular season, Preece still has the opportunity to enter the playoffs through points standings, but a win would secure him an automatic spot. Tyler Reddick, who could secure his place in the playoffs with a good result on Saturday, qualified in second place. AJ Allmendinger will start third despite his No. 16 Chevrolet failing pre-race inspection twice, resulting in the loss of his pit stall selection and the ejection of crew chief Jaron Antley. Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five in the standings. In addition to Preece, Reddick, and Allmendinger, six other winless drivers also qualified in the top 15: Brad Keselowski (sixth), Alex Bowman (ninth), Michael McDowell (tenth), Austin Dillon (eleventh), Chris Buescher (twelfth), and Carson Hocevar (fifteenth). Ty Gibbs (22nd) and Kyle Busch (28th) will have a more difficult task to advance. Joey Logano, three-time Cup champion, and two-time Richmond winner, will start last on the 38-car grid after failing to complete a lap in qualifying. Logano hit the wall in Turn 4 during practice due to a problem with the front right tire of his No. 22 Ford. The starting position is crucial in Richmond, where races often have long green-flag runs, making it easy to get a lap down. Last August’s race had only three caution flags, matching the fewest on a short track since the Next Gen car debuted in 2022.What a great car!
Ryan Preece
