RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Ryan Preece will start from the pole position Saturday night at Richmond Raceway while trying to lock in a spot for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Preece earned his second career pole in 212 Cup starts with a lap at 121.381 mph around the 0.75-mile oval in his No. 60 Ford.
“What a great car,” said Preece, whose previous pole came at Martinsville Speedway in April 2023.
With two races remaining in the regular season, Preece still can make the playoffs through the points standings, but a win would secure an automatic berth.
Tyler Reddick, who can lock into the 16-driver playoff field on points with a strong result Saturday, qualified second. AJ Allmendinger will start third despite his No. 16 Chevrolet failing prerace inspection twice, which resulted in a loss of pit stall selection and the ejection of car chief Jaron Antley.
Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five in qualifying.
Sweeping the top three starting spots, Preece, Reddick and Allmendinger were joined by six other winless drivers qualifying in the top 15: Brad Keselowski (sixth), Alex Bowman (ninth), Michael McDowell (10th), Austin Dillon (11th), Chris Buescher (12th) and Carson Hocevar (15th). It’ll be a tougher slog to get to the front for Ty Gibbs (22nd) and Kyle Busch (28th).
Three-time Cup champion Joey Logano, a two-time winner at Richmond, will start last in the 38-car field after being unable to turn a lap in qualifying. Logano hit the Turn 4 wall in practice because of a right-front tire problem on his No. 22 Ford.
Starting position is critical at Richmond, which tends to have long green-flag stretches when it’s easy to fall a lap down. Last August’s race had only three caution flags, which is tied for the fewest on a short track since the 2022 debut of the Next Gen car.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Crew members roll the car of Ryan Preece onto the track during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Bryon Houlgrave)
Crew members roll the car of Ryan Preece onto the track during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Bryon Houlgrave)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jordan Kyrou scored the only goal in a shootout and the St. Louis Blues beat Tampa Bay 3-2 on Friday night to snap the Lightning's franchise record-tying 11-game winning streak.
Kyrou’s backhand shot beat Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov had a chance to extend the shootout but was stopped by Joel Hofer, who made 34 saves in regulation and overtime before delivering three more in the tiebreaker.
It was the Blues' first win in overtime or a shootout this season. They had been 0-8.
The Blues took 2-0 lead late in the first period with goals just 30 seconds apart.
Jake Neighbors got the first with 2:57 to play in the period and Nick Bjugstad scored when he was left alone in the slot with 2:27 left.
Tampa Bay tied it with a pair of power-play goals 62 seconds apart in the second.
Kucherov scored at 9:59 when the Lightning had a two-man advantage. He then assisted on Oliver Bjorkstrand’s goal 1:02 later. Darren Raddysh assisted on both goals.
Vasilevskiy made 19 saves.
Tampa Bay was trying for a team-record 12th consecutive win. The Lightning had not lost since a 2-1 setback to Los Angeles on Dec. 18. The last time they won 11 in a row was from Jan. 29 to Feb. 17, 2020. They went on to win the Stanley Cup that season.
Lightning: Visit the Dallas Stars on Sunday.
Blues: At the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Tampa Bay Lightning's Charle-Edouard D'Astous (51) passes the puck while under pressure from St. Louis Blues' Nathan Walker, left, during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Connor Hamilton)
St. Louis Blues' Alexey Toropchenko (13) watches as Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov (86) handles the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Connor Hamilton)
St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer (30) blocks a shot during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Connor Hamilton)
Tampa Bay Lightning's Anthony Cirelli, left, defends as St. Louis Blues' Jordan Kyrou (25) shoots during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Connor Hamilton)
St. Louis Blues' Jordan Kyrou, left, scores the winning goal past Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, right, in a shootout during an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Connor Hamilton)
