Larson, who was fastest in Saturday’s practice, went out early in the final round of Saturday’s qualifying and paced the session with an average lap speed of 120.332 mph.
Elliott, who went out last of the 10 cars, went second-fastest on his first of two laps (120.321 mph), but couldn’t gain any speed on his second lap leaving him sharing the front row with Larson.
The pole is Larson’s first of the season and 17th of his career and also comes in a race he won one year ago.
“That definitely helps for sure – the No. 1 pit stall means a lot,” Larson said. “Happening to be in Group A and the sun coming out a little bit helped also.
“Chase got real close there, so I was a little nervous. It’s good to be on the pole. We’ll see if it translates to tomorrow’s race.”
Ross Chastain ended up third fastest (120.059 mph), fellow HMS driver Alex Bowman was fourth and Bubba Wallace rounded out the top five.
Completing the top 10 starting lineup are Todd Gilliland, Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric and his Penske teammate Joey Logano.
| CLA | DRIVER | # | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | TIME | INTERVAL | MPH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K. LarsonHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 5 | Chevrolet | 2 |
22.438 |
120.332 | ||
| 2 | C. ElliottHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 9 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.002 22.440 |
0.002 | 120.321 | |
| 3 | R. ChastainTRACKHOUSE RACING | 1 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.051 22.489 |
0.049 | 120.059 | |
| 4 | A. BowmanHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 48 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.088 22.526 |
0.037 | 119.861 | |
| 5 | B. Wallace23XI RACING | 23 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.096 22.534 |
0.008 | 119.819 | |
| 6 | T. GillilandFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 38 | Ford | 2 |
+0.107 22.545 |
0.011 | 119.760 | |
| 7 | M. Truex JrJOE GIBBS RACING | 19 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.140 22.578 |
0.033 | 119.585 | |
| 8 |
T. GibbsJOE GIBBS RACING
|
54 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.153 22.591 |
0.013 | 119.517 | |
| 9 | A. CindricTEAM PENSKE | 2 | Ford | 2 |
+0.230 22.668 |
0.077 | 119.111 | |
| 10 | J. LoganoTEAM PENSKE | 22 | Ford | 2 |
+0.238 22.676 |
0.008 | 119.069 |
Round 1 / Group B
Elliott sent a blistering pace in the first round with an average lap speed of 122.095 mph – the fastest lap of the day at the time.
Wallace ended up second fastest (121.742 mph) and Cindric was third (121.704 mph).
Also moving on to the final round of qualifying from Group B were Gilliland and Truex.
Among those who failed to advance were Denny Hamlin, last weekend’s race winner William Byron and Kyle Busch.
| CLA | DRIVER | # | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | TIME | INTERVAL | MPH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C. ElliottHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 9 | Chevrolet | 2 |
22.114 |
122.095 | ||
| 2 | B. Wallace23XI RACING | 23 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.064 22.178 |
0.064 | 121.742 | |
| 3 | A. CindricTEAM PENSKE | 2 | Ford | 2 |
+0.071 22.185 |
0.007 | 121.704 | |
| 4 | T. GillilandFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 38 | Ford | 2 |
+0.088 22.202 |
0.017 | 121.611 | |
| 5 | M. Truex JrJOE GIBBS RACING | 19 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.114 22.228 |
0.026 | 121.468 | |
| 6 | D. HamlinJOE GIBBS RACING | 11 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.116 22.230 |
0.002 | 121.457 | |
| 7 | W. ByronHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 24 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.117 22.231 |
0.001 | 121.452 | |
| 8 | N. GragsonSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 10 | Ford | 2 |
+0.141 22.255 |
0.024 | 121.321 | |
| 9 | K. BuschRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 8 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.141 22.255 |
0.000 | 121.321 | |
| 10 | T. Reddick23XI RACING | 45 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.172 22.286 |
0.031 | 121.152 | |
| 11 | C. LajoieSPIRE MOTORSPORTS | 7 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.219 22.333 |
0.047 | 120.897 | |
| 12 | B. KeselowskiRFK RACING | 6 | Ford | 1 |
+0.221 22.335 |
0.002 | 120.887 | |
| 13 |
C. HocevarSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
77 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.253 22.367 |
0.032 | 120.714 | |
| 14 | E. JonesLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 43 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.261 22.375 |
0.008 | 120.670 | |
| 15 | C. BellJOE GIBBS RACING | 20 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.269 22.383 |
0.008 | 120.627 | |
| 16 | M. McDowellFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 34 | Ford | 2 |
+0.346 22.460 |
0.077 | 120.214 | |
| 17 | T. DillonKAULIG RACING | 16 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.381 22.495 |
0.035 | 120.027 | |
| 18 | K. GralaRICK WARE RACING | 15 | Ford | 2 |
+0.662 22.776 |
0.281 | 118.546 |
Round 1 / Group A
Logano led the way in the first group with an average lap speed of 120.897 mph.
Gibbs – the last car to go out – ended up second quick (120.795 mph) while Larson was third (120.762 mph).
Also advancing to the final round were Chastain and Bowman.
Among those who failed to move on were Chris Buescher, John Hunter Nemechek and reigning series champion Ryan Blaney.
| CLA | DRIVER | # | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | TIME | INTERVAL | MPH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J. LoganoTEAM PENSKE | 22 | Ford | 2 |
22.333 |
120.897 | ||
| 2 |
T. GibbsJOE GIBBS RACING
|
54 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.019 22.352 |
0.019 | 120.795 | |
| 3 | K. LarsonHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 5 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.025 22.358 |
0.006 | 120.762 | |
| 4 | R. ChastainTRACKHOUSE RACING | 1 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.074 22.407 |
0.049 | 120.498 | |
| 5 | A. BowmanHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 48 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.089 22.422 |
0.015 | 120.417 | |
| 6 | R. BlaneyTEAM PENSKE | 12 | Ford | 2 |
+0.115 22.448 |
0.026 | 120.278 | |
| 7 | C. BuescherRFK RACING | 17 | Ford | 2 |
+0.127 22.460 |
0.012 | 120.214 | |
| 8 | R. PreeceSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 41 | Ford | 2 |
+0.144 22.477 |
0.017 | 120.123 | |
| 9 | J. NemechekLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 42 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.154 22.487 |
0.010 | 120.069 | |
| 10 | D. SuarezTRACKHOUSE RACING | 99 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.185 22.518 |
0.031 | 119.904 | |
| 11 | A. DillonRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 3 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.193 22.526 |
0.008 | 119.861 | |
| 12 | R. Stenhouse JrJTG DAUGHERTY RACING | 47 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.203 22.536 |
0.010 | 119.808 | |
| 13 | H. BurtonWOOD BROTHERS RACING | 21 | Ford | 2 |
+0.220 22.553 |
0.017 | 119.718 | |
| 14 |
Z. SmithSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
71 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.231 22.564 |
0.011 | 119.660 | |
| 15 | J. BerrySTEWART-HAAS RACING | 4 | Ford | 2 |
+0.241 22.574 |
0.010 | 119.607 | |
| 16 | C. BriscoeSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 14 | Ford | 2 |
+0.280 22.613 |
0.039 | 119.400 | |
| 17 | D. HemricKAULIG RACING | 31 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.639 22.972 |
0.359 | 117.534 | |
| 18 | J. HaleyRICK WARE RACING | 51 | Ford | 2 |
+0.674 23.007 |
0.035 | 117.356 |
