NASCAR at Richmond 2014 Results: Race Order, Final Times and Twitter Reaction

With just one race remaining before the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins, Brad Keselowski will start from the pole in the Federated Auto Parts 400 in Richmond, Va. Keselowski registered a time of 21.324 seconds and final speed of 126.618 mph to take pace the field.

Bleacher Report provides a look at the final result from Richmond:

In the midst of a dominant season already for Keselowski, the No. 2 machine secured a fourth pole. During the previous three poles for the Team Penske driver, he's third at Pheonix, second in Dover and won the race in Kentucky.

That is already a good omen for the three-time winner, but another driver saw the result coming. Jimmie Johnson predicted that Keselowski would be one of the drivers that could win in Richmond, per Jenna Fryer of The Associate Press:

Prior to the 2014 season, Keselowski had taken just three poles during his entire career. But with the new qualifying format, it has clearly benefited the Penske driver.

Keselowski referenced the changes during his press conference, per Jeff Gluck of USA Today:

"

I think this format certainly puts more strategy into play. But the root of all success at the NASCAR level is always having a great team and fast cars.

... I think with this format you have to be much more calculated, you have to think ahead a lot more and you're rewarded for that.

"

Just behind Keselowski were two other familiar faces in Jeff Gordon and Johnson. Though they weren't able to secure pole No. 200 for Hendrick Motorsports, both have great starting positions.

Kevin Harvick, who took the previous two poles, finished fourth in the No. 4 car. Joey Logano, Keselowski's teammate, rounded out the top five with another strong run of his own.

Here's a look at the qualifying order for the Federated Auto Parts 400:

Pos.	Driver	Best Speed	Best Time
1	Brad Keselowski	126.618	21.324
2	Jeff Gordon	126.039	21.422
3	Jimmie Johnson	125.898	21.446
4	Kevin Harvick	125.857	21.453
5	Joey Logano	125.663	21.486
6	Clint Bowyer	125.634	21.491
7	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	125.476	21.518
8	Kyle Larson	125.081	21.586
9	Kurt Busch	124.913	21.615
10	Carl Edwards	124.665	21.658
11	Denny Hamlin	124.562	21.676
12	Ryan Newman	124.464	21.693

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

While it's been known for weeks that many of the drivers already on the Chase Grid would likely make the field, Friday provided confirmation for the previous winners.

Names like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola didn't qualify well in Richmond but simply needed to hit the track to clinch a berth in the Chase. NASCAR Stats noted the news for the top 14 in the Chase standings:

Just a week after a win, Kasey Kahne already has a Chase spot secured. In fact, the entire Hendrick Motorsports team has a total of 10 wins this season with all four drivers making NASCAR's postseason.

While both Gordon and Johnson put themselves into good position, their teammates missed the first cut. The team's official Twitter account takes a look at the results following the opening round:

After the poor finish in qualifying, Earnhardt shared his thoughts on Twitter:

Hendrick drivers can still breath easy, but others have plenty of work to do to make the Chase.

Needing to secure a victory to clinch a spot, drivers such as Greg Biffle, Kyle Larson and Clint Bowyer were all seeking good starting positions. But after the first round was finished, Biffle had missed the cut and would start from 17th, as NASCAR Stats points out:

Following qualifying, Keselowski has a good chance to win his fourth race of the season. If he can win in Richmond, it would mark the first of his career and put him atop the Chase Grid heading into Chicagoland.

But with several hungry drivers in the field looking to secure a Chase spot, staying up front will be easier said than done. With several contenders on the bubble inside the top 10, the action on Saturday night is sure to be as enthralling as any race this season.

Follow @RCorySmith on Twitter.