It was a different driver, but a similar result for the No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota at Talladega Superspeedway.
Rookie Matt Tifft outpaced teammate Daniel Suarez to headline a 1-2-4 result for Joe Gibbs Racing in qualifying for Saturday’s Sparks Energy 300. Tifft’s 52.857-second lap averaged 181.168 mph around the 2.66-mile Alabama oval to take his first-career NASCAR XFINITY Series pole.
Austin Dillon slotted in third to lead the way for Chevrolet, with Erik Jones and Ty Dillon rounding out the top five. Brendan Gaughan, Ryan Reed, Joey Logano, Elliott Sadler and JJ Yeley finished out the top 10.
Josh Reaume (No. 93), Derrike Cope (N0. 70) and Mike Harmon (No. 74) failed to qualify for Saturday’s race.
Aaron Bearden is a Frontstretch alumnus who’s come back home as the site’s Short Track Editor. When he isn’t working with our grassroots writers, he can be found talking about racing on his Morning Warmup newsletter, pestering his wife/dog or convincing himself the Indiana Pacers can win an NBA title.