LONG POND, Pa. — William Byron secured his third pole of the season ahead of Sunday’s HighPoint.com 400 at Pocono Raceway.
Byron laid down a fastest speed of 170.629 mph aboard his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
The four-time winner this season was 0.122 seconds faster than second-place starter Martin Truex Jr.
“Big thanks to all the guys back at the shop for working hard and getting our cars close, I’m proud of this one,’’ said Byron.
“Definitely tomorrow’s a long day so re-hydrate and re-group. I’ve had a long week of racing so hopefully tomorrow is a good result for us. It would be nice to get a win.”
Behind the front two, Byron’s teammate Kyle Larson secured third with Kevin Harvick completing the second row. It’ll be Harvick’s 44th and final Cup Series start at the 2.5-mile triangle-shaped track.
“It was good,” Harvick said. “We had a good practice and a good qualifying session and a good starting spot, so we’re off to a good start.”
Christopher Bell rounded out the top-five qualifiers aboard the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano slotted his No. 22 in sixth, followed by Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin and Austin Cindric.
Bubba Wallace slapped the outside wall on the exit of turn one in his final run in qualifying. The 23XI Racing driver was unable to complete a lap in his final run, placing him 10th on the grid. Wallace was among the drivers to make it to the final round, though will likely start at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments for fixing the damage.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott will start deep in the field in 35th after suffering a flat left rear tire in turn two in Group B qualifying. Elliott currently sits 23rd on the playoff grid, 60 points below the cutline.