William Byron turned the fastest lap in pole qualifying from Darlington Raceway at a speed of 170.904 mph Saturday (April 5), earning the right to lead the field to green for Sunday’s Goodyear 400.
It is Byron’s second pole at Darlington and the 15th of his career.
Alongside Byron on the front row will be Ryan Preece who turned in his best qualifying effort of the season to start second.
The second row boasts two Southern 500 winners with Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe starting third and fourth in their Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas. Bubba Wallace rounds out the top-five starters.
Austin Cindric will start to Wallace’s outside in sixth. Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch will occupy row No. 4, while Ryan Blaney and Michael McDowell round out the top-10 starters.
There were no major incidents in practice and qualifying. However, Daniel Suarez hit the wall in turn 3 during his qualifying lap. He was able to continue and will start 30th.
During practice, Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek spun his No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota. He did not hit anything and ultimately qualified 27th.
NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 Lineup
The NASCAR Cup Series takes the green flag for the Goodyear 400 from Darlington Raceway Sunday, April 6 with coverage on FS1 starting at 3:00 p.m. ET.
