CONCORD, N.C. – Chase Briscoe will begin his pursuit of a second-straight victory on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL from the pole on Saturday afternoon.
Briscoe, wheeling the No. 98 Ford Mustang, earned the first pole of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career at the same track where he earned his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory one year ago.
The 24-year-old Indiana native circulated the 2.28-mile, 17-turn course in 83.232 seconds for a speed of 100.346 mph to earn the right to lead the field to the green flag during the Drive for the Cure 250.
“This is a really good way to start off trying to go back to back,” said Briscoe, who sits seventh in the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff standings. “The problem is now, we can’t go any further forward, so we have to try to stay up there and protect.
“Last year, our strategy was a bit different with me not being in the playoffs, but now we have the best track position and we’ll try to hold it. I’m really proud of all our guys and if we could win again today, it would be pretty special.”
Tyler Reddick qualified second in his No. 2 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, followed by Briscoe’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Cole Custer in fourth. A.J. Allmendinger, making his final start of the season for Kaulig Racing, completed the top-five in qualifying.
Playoff drivers make up the first four starting positions in Saturday’s race.
Canadian Alex Labbe, making his eighth start of the season, qualified an impressive sixth in the No. 90 Chevrolet. Playoff driver Justin Allgaier, Jeremy Clements, playoff driver Justin Haley and Will Rodgers.
Christopher Bell missed one of the chicanes during the last qualifying session and was unable to set a competitive time, forcing him to start 11th.
Noah Gragson advanced to the final round of qualifying, but chose not to turn a lap in the final session because he was in a backup car and would be forced to start the race from the rear regardless of where he qualified.
Drive for the Cure 250 Starting Lineup
1. Chase Briscoe
2. Tyler Reddick
3. Austin Cindric
4. Cole Custer
5. A.J. Allmendinger
6. Alex Labbe
7. Justin Allgaier
8. Jeremy Clements
9. Justin Haley
10. Will Rodgers
11. Christopher Bell
12. Noah Gragson
13. Ryan Truex
14. John Hunter Nemechek
15. Brandon Jones
16. Preston Pardus
17. Gray Gaulding
18. Tommy Joe Martins
19. Lawson Aschenbach
20. Josh Williams
21. Timmy Hill
22. Harrison Burton
23. Michael Annett
24. Ray Black Jr.
25. Ryan Sieg
26. Stephen Leicht
27. Garrett Smithley
28. Josh Bilicki
29. J.J. Yeley
30. Joe Nemechek
31. David Starr
32. Cody Ware
33. Joey Gase
34. B.J. McLeod
35. Brandon Brown
36. Vinnie Miller
37. Chad Finchum
38. Bayley Currey