Tyler Reddick Tops Qualifying For Richmond Cup Pole

Tyler Reddick poses for photos after winning the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway. Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Tyler Reddick earned his first NASCAR Cup Series pole of the season Saturday afternoon at Richmond Raceway.

Reddick scored the pole with a lap of 113.669 mph around the 0.75-mile raceway, outpacing Kyle Busch – the track’s winningest active driver – by a slight .011-second advantage.

“Really excited to be on the pole for the first time this year with 23XI and nice to finally get that first pole with the team,” said Reddick, who made slight contact with the turn 4 wall during the first session of qualifying and wasn’t sure if the team would need to make any repairs before Sunday’s race.

“I pretty much knew I was going to hit the wall but I knew if I lifted I wasn’t going to be able to make that second round, so I stayed in it,” Reddick said of the close call. “Hit the wall pretty good but was able to transfer into that second round.”

With Toyota winning three of the last six races – including the last two – Reddick is optimistic about the make’s chances come Sunday.

“I feel like we’ve been really strong since the year started,” Reddick said, adding, “We had the speed and were kind of giving away the races and opportunities and all of us have done a better job of executing and closing out those races and getting those wins.”

Denny Hamlin was third quick, with Dawsonville, Georgia’s Chase Elliott fourth, and Reddick’s teammate Bubba Wallace fifth.

William Byron, Ty Gibbs, defending race winner Kevin Harvick, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Martin Truex, Jr. rounded out the top 10..

Of note, the cars of Elliott, Ross Chastain, and Justin Haley failed pre-race inspection twice and will lose their car chiefs and pit selections for Sunday’s race.

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Saturday’s Qualifying Results

1. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 113.689 mph.
2. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 113.636 mph.
3. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 113.536 mph.
4. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 113.503 mph.
5. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 113.374 mph.
6. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 113.369 mph.
7. (54) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 113.355 mph.
8. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 113.246 mph.
9. (47) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Chevrolet, 112.843 mph.
10. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 112.622 mph.
11. (41) Ryan Preece, Ford, 0.000 mph.
12. (42) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
13. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 0.000 mph.
14. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
15. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
16. (38) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 0.000 mph.
17. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
18. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 0.000 mph.
19. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
20. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 0.000 mph.
21. (78) B.J. McLeod, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
22. (21) Harrison Burton, Ford, 0.000 mph.
23. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 0.000 mph.
24. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 0.000 mph.
25. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 0.000 mph.
26. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 0.000 mph.
27. (43) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
28. (31) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
29. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 0.000 mph.
30. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 0.000 mph.
31. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
32. (51) Ryan Newman, Ford, 0.000 mph.
33. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
34. (77) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
35. (15) J.J. Yeley(i), Ford, 0.000 mph.
36. (16) Derek Kraus(i), Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.