Ryan Blaney stands on the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Seires race at Phoenix Raceway on March 13, 2022. Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images
For the second consecutive race and third time of the seven-race old season, Ryan Blaney will start from the Busch Light Pole – earning the top position Saturday in qualifying for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway.
Blaney’s No. 12 Penske Racing Ford Mustang turned in a lap of 119.782 mph to take the top position by only .20 over William.
Blaney – who, remarkably, has only a single top-10 finish in 11 starts at the 0.75-mile Richmond track – was fastest in his first group as well as topping the final qualifying session.
“It means a lot,” Blaney said. “Honestly, I didn’t think I got a very good lap. It was kind of an ugly lap on my end. Really proud of the 12 group.
“Track position means a lot here,” he continued. “Especially how my past history is here, I need all the track position I can get. Good start to the weekend, just got to keep it up and keep tires under it, that’s the biggest thing. We’ll see what tomorrow holds. Should be fun.”
Kyle Busch will start third, Chase Briscoe. Busch’s six wins at Richmond is most among active drivers and he is one of three former winners to advance to the top 10 in qualifying.
The Richmond track has historically been a good venue for the Joe Gibbs Racing team, which is still looking for its first victory of the 2022 season. Five different
Gibbs drivers have accounted for eight wins in the last 12 Richmond races.
Erik Jones will start fifth, alongside Martin Truex, Jr., who has won three times in the last five Richmond races. Kevin Harvick, another three-time Richmond winner, will start sixth alongside last weekend’s winner, Ross Chastain. Christopher Bell and Aric Almirola rounded out the top 10 in qualifying.
Defending race winner, Alex Bowman will start 28th in the 37-car field.
NASCAR Cup Series
Richmond Raceway – Richmond, VA
Toyota Owners 400 – April 2, 2022
Saturday’s Qualifying Results
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford 22.541 119.782
2. 24 William Byron Liberty University Chevrolet 22.578 119.585
3. 18 Kyle Busch Mars Crunchy Cookie Toyota 22.634 119.290
4. 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 22.658 119.163
5. 43 Erik Jones FOCUSfactor Chevrolet 22.747 118.697
6. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota 22.761 118.624
7. 4 Kevin Harvick Mobil 1 Triple Action Formula Ford 22.761 118.624
8. 1 Ross Chastain ONX Homes/iFly Chevrolet 22.767 118.593
9. 20 Christopher Bell SiriusXM Toyota 22.804 118.400
10. 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 22.819 118.322
11. 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 22.516 119.915
12. 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 22.520 119.893
13. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 22.523 119.877
14. 99 Daniel Suarez CommScope Chevrolet 22.544 119.766
15. 9 Chase Elliott A SHOC Chevrolet 22.552 119.723
16. 8 Tyler Reddick Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet 22.586 119.543
17. 21 Harrison Burton # Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 22.593 119.506
18. 17 Chris Buescher Violet Defense Ford 22.600 119.469
19. 6 Brad Keselowski Violet Defense Ford 22.606 119.437
20. 2 Austin Cindric # Discount Tire Ford 22.644 119.237
21. 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 22.653 119.190
22. 38 Todd Gilliland # Black’s Tire Ford 22.670 119.100
23. 77 Landon Cassill(i) Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet 22.725 118.812
24. 34 Michael McDowell Navage Nasal Care Ford 22.739 118.739
25. 3 Austin Dillon BREZTRI Chevrolet 22.761 118.624
26. 16 A.J. Allmendinger(i) Action Industries Chevrolet 22.766 118.598
27. 45 Kurt Busch Embrace Home Loans Toyota 22.807 118.385
28. 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 22.818 118.328
29. 23 Bubba Wallace Dr Pepper Toyota 22.828 118.276
30. 42 Ty Dillon Chevyliners.com Chevrolet 22.847 118.177
31. 7 Corey LaJoie Nations Guard Chevrolet 22.971 117.540
32. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. SunnyD Chevrolet 22.982 117.483
33. 51 Cody Ware Nurtec ODT Ford 23.164 116.560
34. 78 B.J. McLeod Surface Sunscreen/MaintenanceSupplies.com 23.189 116.435
35. 15 J.J. Yeley(i) Nabor Force Ford 23.229 116.234
36. 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
37. 44 Greg Biffle Norfolk State University Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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