For the second week in a row, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney will lead the Cup Series field to the green flag. This time, he will do so at Richmond Raceway.
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Blaney, who won the pole at Iowa Speedway last weekend, posted the fastest lap at Richmond Raceway on Friday evening (22.225 seconds). He secured his fourth pole win of the season and the 16th of his career, setting himself up to take advantage of clean air.
Blaney also won the pole at Richmond during the 2022 Cup Series season.
MORE: Richmond Raceway Cup Series Starting Lineup
Chase Briscoe qualified second with a lap of 22.275 seconds. This marks his second time starting a race on the front row this season. He also started second in the season-opening Daytona 500.
The rest of the top 10 included Josh Berry (22.281), Ty Gibbs (22.295), William Byron (22.347), Ryan Preece (22.435), Bubba Wallace (22.450), Christopher Bell (22.459), Brad Keselowski (22.491), and Joey Logano (22.495).
This starting position is significant for Bell, whose team avoided a major issue. The No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE failed pre-race inspection twice on Friday afternoon, so the team lost pit stall selection and its car chief.
However, the No. 20 passed inspection on the third attempt, so Bell still had the opportunity to take part in practice and qualifying. He also avoided having to serve a pass-through penalty after taking the green flag on Saturday night.
Other notable drivers in the starting lineup include Connor Zilisch, AJ Allmendinger, and Austin Dillon.
Zilisch qualified 11th with a lap of 22.510 seconds. He took advantage of his 11th-place finish at Iowa Speedway last weekend that set him up to go out much later in qualifying at Richmond Raceway.
Allmendinger finished eighth last weekend at Iowa, so he also went out later in the qualifying order. He posted the 15th-fastest lap at 22.546 seconds.
Dillon qualified 16th with a lap of 22.575 seconds. This puts him in the front half of the field as he sets out to win his third consecutive race at the Virginia short track.
