Cup Series: Complete Cook Out 400 Starting Lineup

Ryan Preece, the guy who’s been desperately scrapping for every playoff point this season, stunned the field at yesterday’s qualifying by grabbing his second career pole position at Richmond Raceway. The No. 60 RFK Racing Ford driver absolutely torched the field with a blistering 22.244-second lap at 121.381 mph to edge out Tyler Reddick, who probably thought he had this thing wrapped up.

Here’s the beautiful thing about NASCAR. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, someone like Preece comes along and reminds you that on any given Saturday, literally anything can happen. With the playoffs breathing down everyone’s necks like an overzealous debt collector, this pole position couldn’t have landed at a better time for the Connecticut native who’s been fighting tooth and nail just to stay relevant in the championship conversation.

How the Starting Lineup Actually Shaped Up

The qualifying session at Richmond wasn’t just about Preece’s shocking speed show. Tyler Reddick, who’s been having quite the season, had to settle for second place in the starting lineup after posting a respectable 22.331-second lap. That’s racing for you. Sometimes, a few measly thousandths of a second separate absolute glory from crushing disappointment.

AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top three, proving once again that he’s not just some road course specialist who gets lucky twice a year. The Kaulig Racing driver has been quietly putting together rock-solid performances all season long, and starting third at Richmond puts him in a prime position to make some serious noise when Saturday night rolls around.

Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott filled out the top five, which honestly isn’t shocking news to anyone who’s been paying even the slightest bit of attention this year. These guys have been fast virtually everywhere, and Richmond has always been one of those tracks where experience and setup knowledge matter way more than just having raw horsepower under the hood.

Notable Performances and Head-Scratching Struggles

Kyle Busch, the guy who used to absolutely own Richmond Raceway like it was his, qualified in a disappointing 28th place. Twenty-eighth! This is the same driver who has three Cup Series victories at Richmond and used to make this track look easier than Sunday morning.

Kyle Larson, another wheelman who typically runs up front and makes it look effortless, found himself starting way back in P30. This is a guy who’s supposed to be one of the most naturally gifted drivers in the entire garage area. That’s definitely not the starting position you want when you’re trying to make a statement in the thick of playoff season.

Meanwhile, Ross Chastain, the watermelon farmer turned NASCAR driver who everyone either absolutely loves or loves to hate with a burning passion, will be starting 33rd. That’s particularly brutal considering how well he’s typically run at Richmond in previous seasons, and it puts him in a real hole right from the drop of the green flag.

The Complete Starting Lineup Breakdown

The starting lineup for Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 reads like a fascinating who’s who of NASCAR, mixed with a healthy dose of drivers desperately trying to make their mark on the sport. Here’s exactly how all 38 drivers will line up when that green flag finally drops and the real action begins.

Starting from the coveted pole position, Ryan Preece leads this talented field, followed closely by Tyler Reddick sitting pretty in second place. AJ Allmendinger sits third, with the always-dangerous Denny Hamlin fourth and Chase Elliott rounding out the top five. Brad Keselowski qualified sixth, which puts both RFK Racing teammates, Preece and Keselowski, in absolutely excellent positions to score some serious championship points.

Bubba Wallace secured seventh place on the starting lineup, followed by Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, and Michael McDowell, rounding out what should be a competitive top ten. Austin Dillon, Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric, William Byron, and Carson Hocevar complete the top fifteen starting positions, setting up what could be an absolutely wild race from the very beginning.

Playoff Implications and Championship Drama

 Tonight’s Cup Series starting lineup at Richmond Raceway means absolutely everything and absolutely nothing at the exact same time. Sure, starting up front gives you a significantly better chance to avoid the inevitable chaos and carnage that Richmond often produces like clockwork, but we’ve all seen plenty of races won from the back of the pack by drivers who refused to give up.

For Preece specifically, this pole position is absolutely massive. The guy desperately needs every single point he can possibly get his hands on, and starting first gives him the best possible chance to have a clean, drama-free race and maybe, just maybe, grab that elusive first Cup Series victory that’s been haunting him. Wouldn’t that be something special? A driver fighting desperately for a playoff spot suddenly becomes the ultimate spoiler in someone else’s championship dreams.

The real story will be watching drivers like Busch, Larson, and Chastain methodically work their way through heavy traffic. These aren’t exactly drivers who are content to ride around in the back and collect participation trophies, and their inevitable attempts to move forward aggressively could create exactly the kind of intense, door-to-door racing that makes Richmond such an unpredictable wild card venue.

What This Starting Lineup Really Tells Us About Competition

Richmond has always been one of those unique tracks where track position definitely matters, but not nearly as much as casual fans might think. The racing groove can shift dramatically throughout the races. pit strategy often takes precedence over raw qualifying speed, and those crucial late-race restarts can completely alter the outcome in an instant.

That said, Preece’s surprising pole position serves as a perfect reminder that in NASCAR, hope truly does spring eternal. One absolutely perfect qualifying lap can change your entire weekend, your entire season trajectory, maybe even your entire career path. For a driver who’s been grinding it out in decent equipment without quite breaking through to that next level of success, this is exactly the kind of positive momentum you desperately need heading into the most pressure-packed part of the season.

This starting lineup also perfectly highlights just how incredibly competitive the Cup Series has become in recent years. When drivers of Busch and Larson’s proven caliber are starting way back in the pack, it clearly shows that on any given weekend, literally anyone can be blazing fast or anyone can struggle mightily and find themselves in a deep hole.

Cookout 400 at Richmond: Starting Lineup

• 1. Ryan Preece, No. 60 (RFK Racing, Ford)
• 2. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 (23XI Racing, Toyota)
• 3. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 (Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet)
• 4. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 (Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota)
• 5. Chase Elliott, No. 9 (Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet)
• 6. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 (Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, Ford)
• 7. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 (23XI Racing, Toyota)
• 8. Christopher Bell, No. 20 (Joe Gibbs, Racing Toyota)
• 9. Alex Bowman, No. 48 (Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet)
• 10. Michael McDowell, No. 71 (Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet)
• 11. Austin Dillon, No. 3 (Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet)
• 12. Chris Buescher, No. 17 (Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, Ford)
• 13. Austin Cindric, No. 2 (Team Penske, Ford)
• 14. William Byron, No. 24 (Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet)
• 15. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 (Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet)
• 16. Ty Dillon, No. 10 (Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet)
• 17. Josh Berry, No. 21 (Wood Brothers Racing, Ford)
• 18. Erik Jones, No. 43 (Legacy Motor Club, Toyota)
• 19. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 (Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota)
• 20. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 (Team Penske, Ford)
• 21. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 (Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet)
• 22. Noah Gragson, No. 4 (Front Row Motorsports, Ford)
• 23. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 (Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota)
• 24. Cole Custer, No. 41 (Haas Factory Team, Ford)
• 25. Justin Haley, No. 7 (Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet)
• 26. Riley Herbst, No. 35 (23XI Racing, Toyota)
• 27. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 (Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet)
• 28. Kyle Busch, No. 8 (Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet)
• 29. Zane Smith, No. 38 (Front Row Motorsports, Ford)
• 30. Kyle Larson, No. 5 (Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet)
• 31. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 (Front Row Motorsports, Ford)
• 32. Corey Heim, No. 67 (23XI Racing, Toyota)
• 33. Ross Chastain, No. 1 (Trackhouse Racing, Chevrolet)
• 34. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 (Legacy Motor Club, Toyota)
• 35. Jesse Love, No. 33 (Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet)
• 36. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 (HYAK Motorsports, Chevrolet)
• 37. Cody Ware, No. 51 (Rick Ware Racing, Ford)
• 38. Joey Logano, No. 22 (Team Penske, Ford)

Final Thoughts

Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 starting lineup promises to deliver another classic Richmond slugfest, and with this particular starting lineup, there’s absolutely no shortage of compelling storylines to follow closely. Will Preece somehow convert his hard-earned pole into something much more meaningful? Can these struggling superstars fight their way to the front through heavy traffic? And most importantly, who’s going to survive Richmond’s inevitable chaos to take home the victory?