RICHMOND, Va. — For the second time in as many weeks, Ryan Blaney has won the pole for a NASCAR Cup Series race during qualifying Friday at Richmond Raceway.
One week after taking the top spot at Iowa Speedway, Blaney drove his Team Penske Ford to a best lap of 22.225 seconds (121.485 mph) to earn his fourth pole of the season and the 16th of his career.
“It was a good lap. I think the last seven of us maybe kind of caught a little cloud and that was kind of that cloud for rolling in and helping the last handful of us out. Overall, it was a decent lap” Blaney said. “I hit my marks not too bad and was able to get the pole, so I’m really proud of the effort. The last couple of weeks in qualifying has been really good, so hopefully it transfers over to tomorrow night.”
Blaney edged Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe by .050 seconds to lead the field for the Cook Out 400 at the three-quarter-mile track.
Josh Berry qualified third in the Wood Brothers Racing Ford, while Ty Gibbs (Toyota) and William Byron (Chevrolet) completed the top five.
The second five were Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano.
