Kyle Larson won the pole for the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday afternoon, posting a lap of 23.042 (117.177 mph) in the final round of qualifying to earn the top starting spot over Ross Chastain. Larson's pole is his third of the 2022 season, as he also scored the pole for the Daytona 500 in February and at Sonoma in June.
Saturday's qualifying session saw dynamic track conditions, as the track gradually picked up speed and allowed drivers in the latter part of Group A and Group B to post faster lap times than those who made their qualifying attempts earlier. As a result, several contenders who went out earlier in qualifying -- like Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola and Austin Cindric -- were unable to put down a fast lap and will start toward the rear of the field.
Five teams in total had multiple failures in pre-qualifying tech inspection, with Brad Keselowski, Noah Gragson, Chris Buescher, Justin Haley and Todd Gilliland's cars all failing inspection twice. Each team lost pit selection and had a crew member ejected from the weekend.
Federated Auto Parts 400 starting lineup
- #5 - Kyle Larson
- #1 - Ross Chastain
- #11 - Denny Hamlin
- #24 - William Byron
- #48 - Alex Bowman
- #19 - Martin Truex Jr.
- #41 - Cole Custer
- #6 - Brad Keselowski
- #43 - Erik Jones
- #12 - Ryan Blaney
- #23 - Bubba Wallace
- #3 - Austin Dillon
- #4 - Kevin Harvick
- #45 - Ty Gibbs
- #14 - Chase Briscoe
- #38 - Todd Gilliland (R)
- #22 - Joey Logano
- #17 - Chris Buescher
- #16 - Noah Gragson
- #47 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- #20 - Christopher Bell
- #42 - Ty Dillon
- #9 - Chase Elliott
- #99 - Daniel Suarez
- #77 - Landon Cassill
- #8 - Tyler Reddick
- #31 - Justin Haley
- #51 - Cody Ware
- #18 - Kyle Busch
- #21 - Harrison Burton (R)
- #7 - Corey LaJoie
- #10 - Aric Almirola
- #2 - Austin Cindric (R)
- #34 - Michael McDowell
- #15 - J.J. Yeley
- #78 - B.J. McLeod
