Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger unseated Cole Custer late in NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying on Saturday (Feb. 26) to take the pole for the Production Alliance Group 300 at Auto Club Speedway.
Custer was the 10th car to lay down a lap and led most of the session. The NASCAR Cup Series regular posted the fast lap in the No. 07 for SS Green Light Racing. It’s Custer’s first of four races for the team as part of an alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing.
It seemed like Custer would win the pole until the second-to-last car out, Allmendinger, laid down a lap of 179.829 miles per hour to grab the top spot.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Brandon Jones and Trevor Bayne will start in row 2. The race will mark Bayne’s first with JGR. Daniel Hemric rounded out the top five.
Forty-one cars were entered for 38 spots, meaning three cars were sent home: Joe Graf Jr., Will Rodgers and Brennan Poole. Graf will replace Timmy Hill in the No. 38 RSS Racing entry, which successfully qualified for the event.
Production Alliance Group 300 Starting Lineup
FS1 will have TV coverage of the Production Alliance Group 300 on Saturday, Feb. 26, starting at 5 p.m. ET.