DOVER, Del. – Brett Moffitt made sure there was no doubt who the fastest driver in NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series qualifying was Friday afternoon at Dover Int’l Speedway.
Moffitt rocketed around the one-mile, high-banked concrete oval in 22.303 seconds (161.413 mph) with the No. 24 ISM Connect Chevrolet Silverado to earn his first pole in his 42nd career Truck Series start.
Not only was Friday Moffitt’s first time topping qualifying in the Truck Series, it was his first pole in any of NASCAR’s three national divisions – something the Iowa native was particularly proud to get off his back.
“It feels good to get this; it’s been a long time coming,” said Moffitt, who was two tenths of a second fastest than his nearest competitor in time trials. “Qualifying was actually our weak point in practice on Thursday, because we were really loose, but Jerry (Baxter, crew chief) and everyone at GMS did a great job of getting this thing tuned up for us.”
Friday’s Truck Series qualifying session also marked the return of single-vehicle qualifying in all three of NASCAR’s national series, a format that the defending Truck Series champion said he already enjoys.
“I love this new style of qualifying, because it really puts a lot of pressure on the teams and drivers to go out and hit it right the first time,” Moffitt noted. “We’ve proven that we’ve had really fast race trucks all year long, but now it’s time to go out and deliver.”
Joining Moffitt on the front row for Friday evening’s JEGS 200 will be former GMS Racing Johnny Sauter, who has won the last two Dover Truck Series races and is back with Sandusky, Ohio-based ThorSport Racing this season.
Sauter was fastest in practice on Thursday and lapped the one-mile Dover oval in 22.511 seconds (159.922 mph) with the No. 13 Tenda Heal Ford F-150 on his qualifying run.
Sheldon Creed and series point leader Stewart Friesen will share the second row of the grid, with ThorSport teammates Matt Crafton and Grant Enfinger following in fifth and sixth.
Canadian rookie Raphael Lessard, Brennan Poole, Harrison Burton and Tyler Ankrum made up the balance of the top 10 in qualifying.
Of note, Crafton will drop to the rear for the start of Friday’s race due to an engine change.
The JEGS 200 is scheduled to take the green flag at 5 p.m. ET.