NASCAR qualifying at Richmond: Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman among the top 10 in Cup Series starting lineup for Saturday

RICHMOND, Va. - NASCAR Cup Series cars took to the track at Richmond Raceway for the first time on Friday night, turning practice laps followed by a qualifying session that set the starting lineup for Saturday night's race. 

Chase Elliott turned in a lap of 22.361 seconds to qualify fifth, best among the Hendrick Motorsports contingent. Alex Bowman was also solid, recording a time of 22.397 seconds to nab the ninth starting spot. William Byron will start 14th after a lap of 22.461 and Kyle Larson will start 30th. 

Qualifying took place after a 50-minute, split qualifying sessions with two groups each getting 25 minutes. Larson turned in the sixth-best individual lap at 22.986 seconds. 

Larson has scored a pair of wins at Richmond in his career including the last for Hendrick Motorsports, which came in 2023. Alex Bowman also has a victory at the 0.75-mile D-shaped oval, winning in 2021. 

Saturday's event is the penultimate race of the regular season. Currently, Byron holds a 42-point advantage over Elliott atop the NASCAR Cup Series points standings. Bowman is 15th in the playoff standings, still 60 markers above the elimination line. 

Here's how the field will line up for Saturday night's race at Richmond Raceway:

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Starting lineup for NASCAR race tomorrow

1. Ryan Preece, No. 60, 22.244
2. Tyler Reddick, No. 41, 22.331
3. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16, 22.341
4. Denny Hamlin, No. 11, 22.347
5. Chase Elliott, No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet, 22.361
6. Brad Keselowski, No. 6, 22.362
7. Bubba Wallace, No. 23, 22.379
8. Christopher Bell, No. 20, 22.384
9. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 22.397
10. Michael McDowell, No. 71, 22.406
11. Austin Dillon, No. 3, 22.426
12. Chris Buescher, No. 17, 22.43
13. Austin Cindric, No. 2, 22.442
14. William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet, 22.461
15. Carson Hocevar, No. 77, 22.501
16. Ty Dillon, No. 10, 22.506
17. Josh Berry, No. 21, 22.516
18. Erik Jones, No. 43, 22.526
19. Chase Briscoe, No. 19, 22.545
20. Ryan Blaney, No. 12, 22.548
21. Noah Gragson, No. 4, 22.549
22. Daniel Suarez, No. 99, 22.549
23. Ty Gibbs, No. 54, 22.553
24. Cole Custer, No. 41, 22.577
25. Justin Haley, No. 7, 22.608
26. Riley Herbst, No. 35, 22.608
27. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88, 22.646
28. Kyle Busch, No. 8, 22.679
29. Zane Smith, No. 38, 22.68
30. Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 22.692
31. Todd Gilliland, No. 34, 22.725
32. Corey Heim, No. 67, 22.747
33. Ross Chastain, No. 1, 22.755
34. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42, 22.823
35. Jesse Love, No. 33, 22.831
36. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47, 22.842
37. Cody Ware, No. 51, 22.947
38. Joey Logano, No. 22 (did not complete qualifying lap)

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NASCAR practice results

1. Kyle Busch, No. 8, 22.848
2. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42, 22.86
3. Denny Hamlin, No. 11, 22.899
4. Noah Gragson, No. 4, 22.901
5. Corey Heim, No. 67, 22.964
6. Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 22.986
7. Ty Dillon, No. 10, 22.989
8. Justin Haley, No. 7, 22.991
9. Cole Custer, No. 41, 22.998
10. Riley Herbst, No. 35, 23.017
11. Austin Dillon, No. 3, 23.024
12. Michael McDowell, No. 71, 23.049
13. Todd Gilliland, No. 34, 23.052
14. Christopher Bell, No. 20, 23.083
15. Carson Hocevar, No. 77, 23.09
16. Bubba Wallace, No. 23, 23.101
17. Jesse Love, No. 33, 23.107
18. Tyler Reddick, No. 45, 23.107
19. Daniel Suarez, No. 99, 23.124
20. Ryan Blaney, No. 12, 23.141
21. Chris Buescher, No. 17, 23.185
22. Ross Chastain, No. 1, 23.185
23. Chase Briscoe, No. 19, 23.196
24. William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet, 23.196
25. Brad Keselowski, No. 6, 23.203
26. Austin Cindric, No. 2, 23.222
27. Erik Jones, No. 43, 23.267
28. Ty Gibbs, No. 54, 23.291
29. Chase Elliott, No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet, 23.299
30. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 23.311
31. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16, 23.323
32. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88, 23.326
33. Cody Ware, No. 51, 23.335
34. Josh Berry, No. 21, 23.364
35. Zane Smith, No. 38, 23.408
36. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47, 23.426
37. Ryan Preece, No. 60, 23.538
38. Joey Logano, No. 22, 23.681

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Where is NASCAR racing this weekend?

The NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series are racing at Richmond Raceway this weekend. 

NASCAR TV schedule for this weekend

Friday, Aug. 15

• 7:30 - CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race (FS1)

Saturday, Aug. 16

• 7:30 p.m. - Cup Series race (USA)