NASCAR Cup Series
Starting Lineup: NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Richmond
Jul 29, 2023
After making solid contact with the outside wall in the first round of NASCAR Cup Series qualifying from Richmond, it appears that Tyler Reddick's No. 45 XFINITY 10G Toyota Camry is still... as fast as XFINITY's internet.
Reddick, who was the fourth-quickest driver in round one from Group B, put down a stellar lap in the final round of qualifying, capturing his fifth career pole at NASCAR's top level, and the second in the history of 23XI Racing.
RELATED: NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 Starting Lineup
Posting a lap time of 23.749 seconds (113.689mph), the Corning, California native edged out Kyle Busch by just over a hundredth of a second, and as a result, will lead the field to green in Sunday's Cook Out 400 at Richmond.
Busch, who filled the vacancy in the Richard Childress Racing No. 8 after Reddick's departure, will start on the outside of the front row, with last weekend's winner and hometown driver Denny Hamlin starting in third place.
Chase Elliott will start from fourth in Sunday's 400-lap contest, but won't be eligible to reap the full benefits, as the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro lost rights to pit selection following multiple failures in pre-qualifying inspection.
Bubba Wallace, a teammate to polesitter Tyler Reddick, will start inside the top five, in fifth. William Byron, Ty Gibbs, Kevin Harvick, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., and Martin Truex, Jr. will round out the first five rows on the starting grid.
Beyond the top-10, things are more mixed than the NASCAR Cup Series field is accustomed to, as the three-quarter-mile facility picked up speed when Group B went out on track, putting the majority of that group's drivers ahead of those who didn't make the final round from Group A.
Ryan Preece and Noah Gragson will start 11th and 12th, after barely missing the final round of qualifying from Group B. BJ McLeod, driving the No. 78 for Live Fast Motorsports, will start 21st.
Other notables outside the top-10 include Larson (14th), Bowman (15th), Chastain (19th), Logano (23rd), Blaney (25th), Bell (29th), Cindric (30th), and Suarez (33rd).
Derek Kraus, who was tapped to qualify for the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro for Xfinity Series polesitter AJ Allmendinger, struggled on his run, posting the 36th-quickest qualifying lap.
Photo Credit: Sean Gardner, Getty Images
