New track, same old success for Kyle Larson.
Last week’s winner at Sonoma Raceway won the pole for the Iowa Corn 350 Presented by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway. Larson aced the first ever qualifying session for the Cup Series at this track with a speed of 136.458 mph.
The 2021 Cup champion was the final driver to put down a time after the track was washed out earlier Saturday (June 15) in a single-round qualifying session. Larson earned his fourth pole of the season and 20th of his Cup Series career.
Ryan Blaney will share front row honors with with Larson after clocking in at 136.311 mph. The driver of the Team Penske No. 12 has won at Iowa previously in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, doing so in 2012 with Brad Keselowski Racing. He then repeated the feat in the NASCAR Xfinity Series three years later, running for Team Penske, and hopes to complete the trifecta tomorrow night.
Josh Berry qualified third, his second top-five starting position in 29 Cup Series career starts. William Byron will slot in fourth, outside of Berry, while Brad Keselowski completed the top-five starters.
Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell rounded out the top 10. Bell will start at the rear after damaging his primary car in practice and switching to a backup.
Austin Cindric, who qualified 21st, will join Bell at the rear of the field. Cindric also switched to his backup car after a flat tire caused a crash in yesterday’s practice.
Instead of the typical two-round setup, NASCAR implemented one round of qualifying to save time because of a delay in Iowa track drying. The top-five times from group A and B counted as the top 10 by fastest lap while positions 11-36 were determined normally with the sixth-fastest in each group making up row six. Qualifiers outside the top 10 from group B made up the inside lane while drivers from group A comprised the outside lane.
Only the 36 chartered entries qualified for the inaugural race at Iowa. Therefore, all 36 teams will race tomorrow with four spots on the 40-car grid left open.
Cup Iowa Qualifying Results
The Cup Series will see the green flag at Iowa for the first time Sunday, June 16 at 7 p.m. ET. Television coverage will be provided by USA Network.
Wyatt Watson has followed motorsports closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretch as a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt is one of Frontstretch's primary IndyCar correspondents, providing exclusive video content on site. He hosts Frontstretch's Through the Gears podcast and occasionally The Pit Straight.You can find Wyatt's written work in columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monsteras well as exclusive IndyCar features. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media team, posting unique and engaging content for Frontstretch.
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