NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond starting lineup: Kyle Larson wins his third pole of 2022

Kyle Larson won the pole for the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday afternoon, posting a lap of 23.042 (117.177 mph) in the final round of qualifying to earn the top starting spot over Ross Chastain. Larson’s pole is his third of the 2022 season, as he also scored the pole for the Daytona 500 in February and at Sonoma in June.

Saturday’s qualifying session saw dynamic track conditions, as the track gradually picked up speed and allowed drivers in the latter part of Group A and Group B to post faster lap times than those who made their qualifying attempts earlier. As a result, several contenders who went out earlier in qualifying — like Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola and Austin Cindric — were unable to put down a fast lap and will start toward the rear of the field.

Five teams in total had multiple failures in pre-qualifying tech inspection, with Brad Keselowski, Noah Gragson, Chris Buescher, Justin Haley and Todd Gilliland’s cars all failing inspection twice. Each team lost pit selection and had a crew member ejected from the weekend.

Federated Auto Parts 400 starting lineup

1. #5 – Kyle Larson
2. #1 – Ross Chastain
3. #11 – Denny Hamlin
4. #24 – William Byron
5. #48 – Alex Bowman
6. #19 – Martin Truex Jr.
7. #41 – Cole Custer
8. #6 – Brad Keselowski
9. #43 – Erik Jones
10. #12 – Ryan Blaney
11. #23 – Bubba Wallace
12. #3 – Austin Dillon
13. #4 – Kevin Harvick
14. #45 – Ty Gibbs
15. #14 – Chase Briscoe
16. #38 – Todd Gilliland (R)
17. #22 – Joey Logano
18. #17 – Chris Buescher
19. #16 – Noah Gragson
20. #47 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
21. #20 – Christopher Bell
22. #42 – Ty Dillon
23. #9 – Chase Elliott
24. #99 – Daniel Suarez
25. #77 – Landon Cassill
26. #8 – Tyler Reddick
27. #31 – Justin Haley
28. #51 – Cody Ware
29. #18 – Kyle Busch
30. #21 – Harrison Burton (R)
31. #7 – Corey LaJoie
32. #10 – Aric Almirola
33. #2 – Austin Cindric (R)
34. #34 – Michael McDowell
35. #15 – J.J. Yeley
36. #78 – B.J. McLeod