For the first time in his career, Bubba Wallace took the pole position for the NASCAR Cup Series as he led a Toyota sweep of the top three spots in qualifying.
With an aggregate lap pace of 190.703 mph, Wallace, the final of the ten cars to qualify in the championship round, convincingly defeated Christopher Bell.
On the top row for the beginning of the race on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway will be Wallace and Bell (189.898 mph).
Wallace’s career-first pole position also marks a first for 23XI Racing, a team that Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan jointly own.
“That was tough – it took me five years to get my first pole,” Wallace said. “It’s a testament to everyone at 23XI, everybody on this No. 23 team, they’ve been doing a tremendous job all year long. We just haven’t had the finishes we deserve.
“I’m proud of everybody sticking through it, a lot of adversity on this team. We keep showing up ready to battle and that means a lot. For us to come out here and get this pole, we knew we had speed from the (tire) test. That’s good when things are lining up.
“Now the real job is tomorrow, right? We know that’s a totally different ball game. Good starting spot for us but we kind of reset and get ready for tomorrow.”
The best driver in Saturday’s practise, Kyle Busch, a teammate of Bell’s at Joe Gibbs Racing, finished third (189.868 mph). Austin Cindric and Joey Logano completed the top five.
Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Hamlin, and Erik Jones round out the top-10 starting lineup.
Overall, five of the top 10 starting places were held by Toyota racers.
Cla | # | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Mph | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Toyota | 1 | 37.755 | 190.703 | |||
2 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Toyota | 1 | 37.915 | 0.160 | 0.160 | 189.898 | |
3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 1 | 37.921 | 0.166 | 0.006 | 189.868 | |
4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 1 | 37.993 | 0.238 | 0.072 | 189.509 | |
5 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Ford | 1 | 38.005 | 0.250 | 0.012 | 189.449 | |
6 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Chevrolet | 1 | 38.090 | 0.335 | 0.085 | 189.026 | |
7 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 1 | 38.151 | 0.396 | 0.061 | 188.724 | |
8 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 1 | 38.175 | 0.420 | 0.024 | 188.605 | |
9 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 1 | 38.209 | 0.454 | 0.034 | 188.437 | |
10 | 43 | Erik Jones | Chevrolet | 1 | 38.366 | 0.611 | 0.157 | 187.666 |
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