Kyle Larson takes the pole in the Phoenix Cup Series championship race

Larson, who started 38th out of 39 cars, not only knocked his Hendrick Motorsports teammate and fellow title contender Chase Elliott off the pole, but he did so convincingly.

On a 1-mile circuit like Phoenix Raceway, Larson’s average lap speed of 137.847 mph was over a mile-and-hour faster than Elliott’s (136.939 mph).

“I was a little bit edgy into (Turn) 1. I got off (Turn) 2 really good and I got into (Turn) 3 as hard as I thought that I could,” Larson said. “I was blind – I’m sure all of us were – and probably carried a little bit too much speed and was a little loose off (Turn) 4.

“It’s really cool. A great start to the weekend. It will help with pit stall selection and we’ve been off to a good start on execution and hope to keep that going.”

Asked what the pole means for the race, Larson said: “I don’t know if it’s a championship-winning moment but either way, it’s great to get off to a good start. Hopefully, we can do a good job in the race and keep up with the track.”

Larson’s pole is his 10th in his Cup career and his second this season. This season, NASCAR only hosted qualifying sessions at seven events.

Larson led the series with nine wins this season and was the first driver to secure a spot in the Championship 4 with victories in the semifinal round at Texas and Kansas.

William Byron (136.846 mph) finished third, giving Hendrick a clean sweep of the top three starting places in the race.

Ryan Blaney (136.804 mph) was fourth and Kurt Busch (136.742 mph) rounded out the top-five.

Denny Hamlin (136.565 mph) and Martin Truex Jr. (135.880 mph), the other two Championship 4 contenders, will start sixth and 12th, respectively.

Larson, Truex, and Hamlin’s cars all failed inspection twice before qualifying, and their respective car chiefs were ejected for the rest of the weekend.

On the first try, Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet passed.

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