RICHMOND, Va. -- Ryan Preece will lead the Cup Series field to the green flag on Saturday night at Richmond Raceway.
The RFK Racing driver won his first pole of the season on Friday afternoon with a lap of 22.244 seconds. This is his second career pole win and first since 2023 when he drove for Stewart-Haas Racing.
According to NASCAR Insights, this is the first pole for RFK Racing since Texas in 2022 and the first pole for the No. 60 since Boris Said at Daytona in 2006.
MORE: Ryan Preece wins pole. Full Richmond lineup
"Great adjustments by Derrick (Finley, crew chief) and everybody with this Kleenex Kroger Ford Mustang," Preece said after qualifying. "I can't thank RFK (Racing) enough for the opportunity and, boy, what a race car.
"We might not have showed up in practice early on for that fast lap, but it did in qualifying."
Tyler Reddick qualified second with a lap of 22.331 seconds. The rest of the top 10 included AJ Allmendinger (22.341), Denny Hamlin (22.341), Chase Elliott (22.361), Brad Keselowski (22.362), Bubba Wallace (22.379), Christopher Bell (22.384), Alex Bowman (22.397), and Michael McDowell (22.406).
Austin Dillon, the defending winner at Richmond Raceway, qualified 11th overall with a lap of 22.426 seconds. Chris Buescher, who won at Richmond in 2023, joined Dillon on the sixth row with a lap of 22.430 seconds.
Thirty-seven of the drivers on the entry list attempted to complete qualifying laps during the Friday afternoon session. Joey Logano served as the lone exception.
The three-time champion slammed into the outside wall during practice due a flat tire. He originally took the No. 22 Ford to pit road so that the team could attempt to get it ready for qualifying. However, Logano did not have the opportunity.
Logano will start Saturday night's race from the 38th position. He will not have to go to a backup car for the Cup Series race, but his team will have to do extensive work to the right side of the car. This includes the suspension, the toe links, and the control arms.