William Byron on Pole at Pocono; Martin Truex Jr. to Line Up Alongside
The top-two drivers in NASCAR Cup Series points -- William Byron and Martin Truex Jr. -- will start Sunday's race at Pocono from the front. Here's the full qualifying recap and starting lineup.
William Byron and Martin Truex Jr. have been locked into a battle for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship, as both drivers have swapped the point lead multiple times over the last few races. They'll keep the battle going from the front row of Sunday's HighPoint.com 400 at Pocono Raceway.
The 25-year-old Byron, who drives the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, scored his third pole of the 2023 season on Saturday. Despite his young age, Byron has already amassed 11 poles in his NASCAR Cup Series career.
Byron's Round 2 qualifying lap time was 52.746 seconds around the 2.5-mile triangular oval, which equates to a 170.629 mph average speed.
It was a blistering lap time, and the circuit around Pocono Raceway was more than a tenth of a second faster than the competition.
Truex, who pilots the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry, secured the second starting spot for Sunday's race, and his lap was 0.122 sec. slower than Byron's.
Kyle Larson will roll from the starting grid from the third position, while Kevin Harvick will start from fourth in his final trip to Pocono as a driver.
Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Austin Cindric, and Bubba Wallace will be credited with starting positions inside the top-10.
For Wallace, he was expected to compete for the pole in the second round of qualifying, however, on his Round 2 lap, Wallace slipped off of Turn 1 and slapped the outside wall. As a result, Wallace shut his car off and aborted his run.
He'll more than likely have to drop to the rear due to unapproved adjustments from the wall slap.
In Round 1, Chase Elliott and Todd Gilliland found trouble in separate incidents. Both drivers spun out and were unable to lock in a qualifying time. As a result, Elliott will start from the 35th starting spot, and Gilliland will roll from the grid in the 36th and final starting spot.
Here is a video of Elliott's spin:
NASCAR Cup Series HighPoint.com 400 at Pocono Starting Lineup
| Row | Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Make | Lap time | Diff | Speed | Round |
| ROW 1 | 1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 52.746 | -- | 170.629 | 2 |
| 2 | 19 | Martin Truex, Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 52.868 | 0.122 | 170.235 | 2 | |
| ROW 2 | 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 52.918 | 0.172 | 170.074 | 2 |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 53.019 | 0.273 | 169.750 | 2 | |
| ROW 3 | 5 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 53.052 | 0.306 | 169.645 | 2 |
| 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 53.106 | 0.360 | 169.472 | 2 | |
| ROW 4 | 7 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 53.141 | 0.395 | 169.361 | 2 |
| 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 53.193 | 0.447 | 169.195 | 2 | |
| ROW 5 | 9 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 53.410 | 0.664 | 168.508 | 2 |
| 10 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 0.000 | -- | 0.000 | 2 | |
| ROW 6 | 11 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 53.150 | -- | 169.332 | 1 |
| 12 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.197 | 0.047 | 169.182 | 1 | |
| ROW 7 | 13 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 53.410 | 0.260 | 168.508 | 1 |
| 14 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 53.425 | 0.275 | 168.460 | 1 | |
| ROW 8 | 15 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 53.524 | 0.374 | 168.149 | 1 |
| 16 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 53.527 | 0.377 | 168.139 | 1 | |
| ROW 9 | 17 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 53.588 | 0.438 | 167.948 | 1 |
| 18 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 53.691 | 0.541 | 167.626 | 1 | |
| ROW 10 | 19 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 53.699 | 0.549 | 167.601 | 1 |
| 20 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 53.718 | 0.568 | 167.542 | 1 | |
| ROW 11 | 21 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 53.754 | 0.604 | 167.429 | 1 |
| 22 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 53.777 | 0.627 | 167.358 | 1 | |
| ROW 12 | 23 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 53.823 | 0.673 | 167.215 | 1 |
| 24 | 43 | Erik Jones | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB | Chevrolet | 53.864 | 0.714 | 167.087 | 1 | |
| ROW 13 | 25 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 53.873 | 0.723 | 167.060 | 1 |
| 26 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 53.886 | 0.736 | 167.019 | 1 | |
| ROW 14 | 27 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 53.920 | 0.770 | 166.914 | 1 |
| 28 | 15 | JJ Yeley | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 54.039 | 0.889 | 166.546 | 1 | |
| ROW 15 | 29 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 54.224 | 1.074 | 165.978 | 1 |
| 30 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Chevrolet | 54.315 | 1.165 | 165.700 | 1 | |
| ROW 16 | 31 | 51 | Cole Custer | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 54.324 | 1.174 | 165.673 | 1 |
| 32 | 42 | Noah Gragson | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB | Chevrolet | 54.358 | 1.208 | 165.569 | 1 | |
| ROW 17 | 33 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 54.563 | 1.413 | 164.947 | 1 |
| 34 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 54.586 | 1.436 | 164.877 | 1 | |
| ROW 18 | 35 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0.000 | -- | 0.000 | 1 |
| 36 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 0.000 | -- | 0.000 | 1 |
Photo Credit: Jonathan McCoy, TobyChristie.com
