For the second straight day on NASCAR Championship Weekend, a non-championship contender has taken the pole at Phoenix.
Brandon Jones will lead the field for Saturday’s (Nov. 1) NASCAR Xfinity Series finale after laying down a speed of 130.957 mph. The 28-year-old Jones is looking to tie a career high with his third NXS win of 2025.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and Martinsville winner Taylor Gray rolls off second with Sheldon Creed and Connor Zilisch in row two. Zilisch qualified the best of all the cars fighting for the driver’s championship, leading a blanket of contenders that features Justin Allgaier and Jesse Love right behind the standout rookie.
Aric Almirola will start from the seventh spot as he looks to win an owner’s championship for JGR, with Nick Sanchez, Dean Thompson and Ryan Sieg, who is replacing the suspended Sam Mayer in the No. 41, rounding out the top 10.
The other Championship 4 driver, Carson Kvapil, has work to do from his 14th-place starting spot.
Xfinity Phoenix Starting Lineup
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race airs tonight on The CW at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Thomas is in his second year covering NASCAR at Frontstretch. A Bay Area NASCAR fan for over 15+ years, he found his love for the sport through Jeff Gordon. He helps manage the 2-Headed Monster Column.
Thomas has enjoyed several trips to Sonoma Raceway in his time and currently covers college athletics in the Bay Area, writing about the California Golden Bears and doing play by play broadcasting.