Kyle Larson wasn’t going to let anyone get in the way of him getting his third consecutive pole at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday afternoon (June 22).
The Elk Grove, Calif., native, won the pole for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 with a lap of 94.784 seconds, 95.712 miles per hour.
“I felt good in our mock run yesterday in practice, ran a good lap,” Larson told FOX Sports 1. “Both of these two rounds I ran good. I felt like I overdrove the first session.”
“Then the next session I was like, ‘Okay, I’m just going to calm down and not make any mistakes,’ and I probably under-drove just a little,” Larson continued. “I felt like through the Carousel and Turn 7, I probably under-drove some and gave up a little speed, but felt like I made up some time in other areas.”
Just call him 3-Time.@KyleLarsonRacin will be on the #BuschPole for the #TSM350 for the 3rd year in a row! pic.twitter.com/oO9C2WT5Fw
— Sonoma Raceway (@RaceSonoma) June 22, 2019
This was the first time since Kansas Speedway in May that the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ran group qualifying, as it changed the format to single-car qualifying to every track except for road courses after that race.
In round one, it was Larson who wasn’t letting go of the top spot, as he was fastest, followed by William Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Chris Buescher rounding out the top five.
Erik Jones found trouble as he got a left rear puncture and wasn’t able to make it out again due to not being able to change tires during qualifying.
The damage to @erik_jones’ car.#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/uJz84QYUGg
— Bryan Nolen (@TheBryanNolen) June 22, 2019
Among the notable names not advancing to round two were Kurt Busch, who was second fastest in final practice, and 2017 Sonoma winner Kevin Harvick. Busch will start 16th, and Harvick will start 23rd.
In round two, it was the Larson show once again, and he will lead the field from the start of the field as a result. Byron will start second, followed by Logano, Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez to round out the top five.
Two time Sonoma winner Kyle Busch will start in seventh, with defending winner Martin Truex Jr. starting eighth.
Catch all of the action on Sunday, June 23, at 3 p.m./ET (noon local time) on FOX Sports 1.
Bryan Nolen is the Operations Manager and Multimedia Director for Frontstretch.com. He also hosts the Bringing the Heat with Bryan Nolen Podcast and occasionally makes appearances on The Happy Hour Podcast. He has a Sportscasting degree from the Dan Patrick School of Sportscasting. He resides in Boise, Idaho, with his wife, his French Bulldog Archer and two rabbits.
Follow him on Twitter @TheBryanNolen