NASCAR: Blaney again on pole in powerful Penske Ford
The Busch Light Pole Awards just keep stacking up for Ryan Blaney.
Blaney rolled his Ford Mustang to the fastest mark in Saturday’s Cup Series qualifying session, earning the top starting position for Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with a 22.541-second lap time. This pole adds to the No. 12 Team Penske team’s series-leading third of the season and is the ninth of Blaney’s career.
William Byron, the fastest Chevrolet in the field, slotted in only 0.037 seconds behind Blaney, landing his best qualifying effort of the season and solidifying his position on the front row. Six-time Richmond winner Kyle Busch led the Toyota effort at 22.634 seconds, rookie Chase Briscoe and Erik Jones rounded out the top five. Saturday’s qualifying session was two-group qualifying, with each driver being able to post two timed laps.