Austin Dillon will lead the field to green in Sunday afternoon’s AAA Texas 500. Posting a 192.301 mph lap in the final round of qualifying, Dillon scored the first pole for Richard Childress Racing at Texas Motor Speedway.
“It felt like a win, man. They do a really good job here at Texas of making you feel good when you accomplish something,” Dillon said. “I don’t know about the lap; I changed my line a little bit. I thought I hurt myself because I changed my line. I was watching (Kevin) Harvick, and I changed my line to mimic his and we went faster. I’m just glad we get to start on the pole and get the number one pit stall.”
Joey Logano will start second after missing the pole by 0.006 seconds. He also started second in the spring race at Texas.
“I got done with that last run, and honestly, I didn’t think it would be anywhere close to the pole,” Logano said after his run. “I didn’t have a very good run in (turn) 2 at all; I missed the bottom. And then realizing how close you were to the pole afterward is the most frustrating part of it, especially after last week.
“But that’s the name of the game; it’s how close the competition is out there. I guess if we’re mad about second, that’s when you know your team’s in a good spot.”
Kevin Harvick, who led the lone practice session earlier today, will start third. Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson rounded out the top 5. Paul Menard will start sixth, followed by Matt Kenseth and Ryan Blaney. Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch round out the top 10.
Cup drivers will take to the track Saturday for a pair of practice sessions at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. ahead of Sunday’s race.
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