Looking for a win to make his way into the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase, John Wes Townley will lead the field to green later this afternoon after taking the Keystone Light Pole Award at Michigan International Speedway.
Townley topped the field in both rounds of qualifying to claim the pole for Saturday’s Careers for Veterans 200, his second-career NCWTS pole. The Georgian took the top spot in the final run of the single-truck session, passing Matt Crafton with a 39.195-second lap around the two mile oval.
Townley was surprised by his pace after the session.
“I had no idea we had this kind of straight-line speed yesterday. We didn’t do any mock qualifying runs,” Townley said. “The guys did a great job. I didn’t know what to expect here, but we’ve got a great truck. The Jive (No. 05) is on point. I just hope we can keep it up front today.”
Townley, who missed two races earlier in the season with concussion-like symptoms after a crash and subsequent fight with Spencer Gallagher, will likely need a victory to rise from 20th in the standings into the eight-team Chase grid come Loudon. The Athenian Motorsports driver was granted a waiver from NASCAR upon returning to the series at Pocono Raceway in July.
Crafton followed in second with a 39.234-second circuit. William Byron, Timothy Peters and Christopher Bell rounded out the top five, with Brett Moffitt, Johnny Sauter, Tyler Reddick, Grant Enfinger and Cody Coughlin completing the top 10.
31 trucks completed a qualifying run in the session, meaning that each will make the race later this afternoon.
Coverage for the Careers for Veterans 200 will begin at 1 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.
About the author
A graduate of Ball State, Aaron rejoins Frontstretch for his second season in 2016 following a successful year that included covering seven races and starting the popular "Two-Headed Monster" column in 2015. Now in his third year of covering motorsports, Aaron serves as an Assistant Editor for Frontstretch while also contributing to other popular sites including Speed51 and The Apex. He encourages you to come say hi when you see him at the track.
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