By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service
RICHMOND, Va. – Ryan Preece has delivered in the clutch, claiming the second Busch Light Pole position of his career Friday afternoon at Richmond (Va.) Raceway as he tries to earn a Playoff position with only two regular season races remaining to set the 16-driver NASCAR Cup Series championship field.
It’s certainly a good omen for Preece heading into Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the three-quarter mile track.
His No. 60 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford Mustang turned a fast lap of 121.381 mph, edging 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick by .087-second. The 34-year-old Connecticut-native Preece last led the field to green in 2023 at another Virginia short track, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
“I felt like it was on my bingo card, I’m not sure about everybody else’s,” said a smiling Preece, who currently trails his RFK teammate Chris Buescher by 34 points for the final Playoff points position.
“That Ford Mustang was really sporty. I felt good about it in practice and it showed up for qualifying. We have a great starting spot and tomorrow we’ve just got to go execute and hopefully we can win this race.”
“At a place like this I would rather be out front. … I’d rather be the one leading. Tomorrow is about getting out front, getting the clean air and setting my pace.”
It was also a particularly good day for the small Kaulig Racing team, whose veteran driver A.J. Allmendinger qualified third fastest for his best career start at the track. Virginia native and hometown favorite, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin will roll off fourth. Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott rounds out the top five.
Among those contending for the final three Playoff positions. Reddick needs only gain 30 points Saturday night to finalize his spot. Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, who holds a 60-point advantage inside the standings, will start ninth. Buescher, in the 16th and final Playoff points position, qualified 12th.
Thirteen different drivers have claimed Playoff positions with victories this season. A new race winner this week at Richmond or next week in the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway would leap over Reddick, Bowman and Buescher in the Playoff eligibility.
NASCAR Cup Series championship leader, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron qualified 14th. He holds a 42-point advantage on his teammate Elliott for the Regular Season Championship and the 15 bonus points that pays following the Daytona race.
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon, the defending race winner, will start 11th. His teammate, six-time Richmond winner Kyle Busch will roll off 28th.
Three-time and reigning series champion Joey Logano will start 38th.
Interview:
NCS Pole Winner – Ryan Preece (No. 60 RFK Racing Ford) –
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – Cook Out 400
Richmond Raceway
Richmond, Virginia
Friday, August 15, 2025
1. (60) Ryan Preece, Ford, 121.381 mph.
2. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 120.908 mph.
3. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 120.854 mph.
4. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 120.822 mph.
5. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 120.746 mph.
6. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 120.741 mph.
7. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 120.649 mph.
8. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 120.622 mph.
9. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 120.552 mph.
10. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 120.503 mph.
11. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 120.396 mph.
12. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 120.374 mph.
13. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 120.310 mph.
14. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 120.208 mph.
15. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 119.995 mph.
16. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 119.968 mph.
17. (21) Josh Berry, Ford, 119.915 mph.
18. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota, 119.861 mph.
19. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 119.760 mph.
20. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 119.745 mph.
21. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 119.739 mph.
22. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford, 119.739 mph.
23. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 119.718 mph.
24. (41) Cole Custer, Ford, 119.591 mph.
25. (7) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 119.427 mph.
26. (35) Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 119.427 mph.
27. (88) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 119.226 mph.
28. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 119.053 mph.
29. (38) Zane Smith, Ford, 119.048 mph.
30. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 118.985 mph.
31. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 118.812 mph.
32. (67) Corey Heim(i), Toyota, 118.697 mph.
33. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 118.655 mph.
34. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 118.302 mph.
35. (33) Jesse Love(i), Chevrolet, 118.260 mph.
36. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 118.203 mph.
37. (51) Cody Ware, Ford, 117.662 mph.
38. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 0.000 mph.
