Josh Berry, the last driver to make a run in qualifying, claimed the pole for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
It is the first career pole for the 31-year-old driver
Driving his No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, Berry posted a top speed of 127.163 mph around the 1-mile track.
Berry bested Daniel Hemric (126.93 mph) for the pole. He did so even after he fishtailed and scraped the wall exiting Turn 2 on his lap.
“It felt really good. I just kind of overcommitted off Turn 2 I guess, well, obviously,” Berry told NBC Sports afterwards. “Qualifying has been a little bit of a struggle for me and trying to just find the limit a little bit more and pushed a little bit too much there, I guess.”
Click here for the Xfinity Series starting lineup.
Berry’s previous best starting spot this year was second, four times.
“I feel like we have really good car,” Berry said. “Feel like the long-run speed was good in practice. Obviously, we got some qualified speed, too.”
For Hemric, it’s his third start within the top five since he started from the pole at Daytona International Speedway to begin the season.
The top five was completed by Justin Allgaier, Ty Gibbs and Landon Cassill.
Julia Landauer, making her NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in the No. 45 owned by Alpha Prime Racing, was 32nd fastest on the chart out of 38 cars that made a run.
“I’m so giddy!”@julialandauer makes the field and will compete in her first @NASCAR_Xfinity Series race Saturday on @USA_Network.@OnHerTurf // @TeamAlphaPrime pic.twitter.com/HlgRzzkpbg
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 15, 2022
Practice
A 20 minute practice session was held prior to qualifying.
Gibbs posted the top speed at 126.261 mph.
He was followed by Trevor Bayne, William Byron, Jeb Burton and Joe Graf Jr.
Berry was 14th on the chart, while Hemric was 11th fastest.
Click here for the practice report.