Joey Logano took the pole for the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway with a time of 21.349 seconds and a speed of 126.470 mph. Matt Kenseth was fastest in the first two rounds of qualifying but ultimately could only manage an outside front row start.
Only four non-winning drivers; David Ragan, Tony Stewart, Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon made it to the final round of qualifying. Of the top seven starting positions Saturday night, only Ragan (fifth) and Kevin Harvick (sixth) are not JGR/Penske cars.
The day started off with the first session of Cup practice of the day. Larson and Casey Mears, another driver who can only make the Chase by winning this weekend, clocked in the first and second times. Following them were Brad Keselowski, Harvick and Kyle Busch. The best 10 consecutive lap average in the two-hour session belonged to Justin Allgaier.
The final practice session of the day had Harvick speeding to a 21.526 in qualifying trim. He led Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch in the 80-minute session.
Notably, Denny Hamlin, coming off a torn ACL on Tuesday, struggled with the 42nd best time. However, after the session, Hamlin said in a media Q & A that the ACL was not an issue when in the car. “In the car I’m as comfortable as any place that I am,” said Hamlin, also saying that the main problem with the injury is swelling, limiting mobility out of the car.
Full starting lineup for the Federated Auto Parts 400 on Saturday Night:
Row 1
1st Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford
2nd Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota
Row 2
3rd Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford
4th Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M’s Crispy/American Heritage Chocolate Toyota
Row 3
5th David Ragan, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine
6th Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet
Row 4
7th Carl Edwards, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota
8th Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet
Row 5
9th Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet
10th Tony Stewart, No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet
Row 6
11th Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet
12th Austin Dillon, No. 3 DOW Chevrolet
Row 7
13th Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet
14th Danica Patrick, No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet
Row 8
15th Casey Mears, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet
16th Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet
Row 9
17th Brian Scott, No. 33 Shore Lodge Chevrolet
18th Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Brandt Chevrolet
Row 10
19th Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Cargill Chevrolet
20th Kasey Kahne, No. 5 HendrickRideAlong.com Chevrolet
Row 11
21st AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger/Bush’s Beans Toyota
22nd Paul Menard, No. 27 Libman/Menard’s Chevrolet
Row 12
23rd Jeff Gordon, No. 24 3M Chevrolet
24th Aric Almirola, No. 43 Smithfield Foods/Waffle House Ford
Row 13
25th Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota
26th Clint Bowyer, No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota
Row 14
27th Michael Annett, No. 46 Switch Hitch Toyota
28th Trevor Bayne, No. 6 AdvoCare Ford
Row 15
29th Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet
30th David Gililand, No. 38 The Pete Store Ford
Row 16
31st Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet
32nd Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Go Bowling/Draft Kings Ford
Row 17
33rd Matt Dibenedetto, No. 83 James Madison University Toyota
34th Cole Whitt, No. 35 MDS Ford
Row 18
35th Landon Cassill, No. 40 Precon Marine/Interstate Moving Services Chevrolet
36th Alex Bowman, No. 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
Row 19
37th Brett Moffit, No. 34 Dockside Ford
38th Greg Biffle, No. 16 Cheez-It Ford
Row 20
39th Michael McDowell, No. 95 Thrivent Financial Ford
40th Reed Sorenson, No. 98 Premium Motorsports Ford
Row 21
41st Brian Scott, No. 33 Shore Lodge Chevrolet
42nd Jeffrey Earnhardt, No. 32 BeerFrost.com/CorvetteParts.net Ford
Row 22
43rd JJ Yeley, No. 26 Maxim Toyota