Heading into the penultimate Cup Series race of the 2025 regular season, the battle for making it into the knockout rounds is closer than ever, with several drivers looking to pace their way into the Round of 16. Ryan Preece stands as one driver looking to cement his name in the playoffs, with only three spots remaining on the roster, and he has just given himself a significant boost ahead of the Cook Out 400.
As many as 13 different drivers have won a Cup race this season, leaving only three spots open for the top points finishers to make it into the post-regular season festivities. Heading to Richmond, the likes of Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, and Alex Bowman will be hoping for a strong outing, but Preece stands in their way.
Starting Line Up for the Cook Out 400 Set As Ryan Preece Takes Pole Position
Entering the race weekend 34 points below the playoff cut line, Preece has just earned himself a major advantage ahead of the Cook Out 400, as he took a surprise pole position for the race start for only the second time in his career. As such, he now has a great opportunity to earn vital stage points and push drivers down the order to move up the driver standings.
The RFK Racing driver lapped the short track in 22.244 seconds, going 0.087 seconds faster than P2 starter Reddick. Notably, Preece remained the only driver on the day to clock an average speed of over 121 mph, further highlighting his dominance during the qualifying session.
With Reddick lining up beside him in the front row, Preece also has a great chance to compete against one of his direct competitors vying for a playoff spot, with the No. 45 driver currently sitting in P14 in the standings.
Elated with the result, the No. 60 driver thanked his team for giving him the opportunity to drive the car as he said, “What a race car. It might not have shown up in practice, but it did in qualifying.”
Brad Keselowski reacts to his driver, Ryan Preece, winning the pole at Richmond. pic.twitter.com/6bUy1GXPx7
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 15, 2025
A.J. Allmendinger bounced back from a pre-qualifying inspection issue to land himself a P3 starting position with Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliot lining up in P4 and P5, respectively.
The complete starting lineup of the Cook Out 400 is as follows:
1 Ryan Preece – 22.244
2 Tyler Reddick – 22.331
3 AJ Allmendinger – 22.341
4 Denny Hamlin – 22.347
5 Chase Elliott – 22.361
6 Brad Keselowski – 22.362
7 Bubba Wallace – 22.379
8 Christopher Bell – 22.384
9 Alex Bowman – 22.397
10 Michael McDowell – 22.406
11 Austin Dillon – 22.426
12 Chris Buescher – 22.430
13 Austin Cindric – 22.442
14 William Byron – 22.461
15 Carson Hocevar – 22.501
16 Ty Dillon – 22.506
17 Josh Berry – 22.516
18 Erik Jones – 22.526
19 Chase Briscoe – 22.545
20 Ryan Blaney – 22.548
21 Noah Gragson – 22.549
22 Daniel Suarez – 22.549
23 Ty Gibbs – 22.553
24 Cole Custer – 22.577
25 Justin Haley – 22.608
26 Riley Herbst – 22.608
27 Shane Van Gisbergen – 22.646
28 Kyle Busch – 22.679
29 Zane Smith – 22.680
30 Kyle Larson – 22.692
31 Todd Gilliland – 22.725
32 Corey Heim – 22.747
33 Ross Chastain – 22.755
34 John Hunter Nemechek – 22.823
35 Jesse Love – 22.831
36 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 22.842
37 Cody Ware – 22.947
38 Joey Logano – No Time
The Qualifying session in Richmond was in for some shockers, with Joey Logano having to abandon his lap. After wrecking his car in practice, Logano came back on the track after his team worked hard to repair the car.
However, a severe tire rub meant he had to back out of qualifying, and will now start the race from the last row. Meanwhile, continuing his poor run of form, Kyle Larson will start in P30 after being one of the slowest drivers of the session.
