CONCORD, N.C. — Story and audio by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — NASCAR photo —
It’s deja vu all over again following Saturday afternoon’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying session for the NASCAR XFINITY Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Austin Dillon, who scored the pole at CMS in May and led 163 laps en route to the victory that day, is off to a fast start once again after he toured the 1.5-mile track in 29.424 seconds (183.524 mph) to top the final round of knockout qualifications for the Drive for the Cure 300 presented by Blue Cross / Blue Shield of North Carolina (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM).
The pole is the sixth of the year for the third-generation driver and his 16th career XFINITY pole.
“This is further proof that things are still going well this year,” Dillon said after qualifying. “I enjoy Charlotte. This is a place where I came and watched many a lap turned over the years with my grandfather [Richard Childress], up in a condo in turn one. I listened to him talk to me about how to get around this place and I watched Jimmie Johnson win a bunch of races here, so I feel like I have a pretty good handle on it.”
“For me it’s a rhythm track. It’s got a lot of character, and I really like places like that, so hopefully that means we’ll be able to keep our Rheem Chevrolet up front tonight.”
Alongside Dillon will be a fellow Sprint Cup regular and Chevrolet stablemate, Kasey Kahne, in the JR Motorsports No. 88 machine. Kahne’s best lap of 29.484 seconds (183.150 mph) was enough for a front row starting spot, and the veteran will be looking to add an XFINITY victory at CMS to a resume that includes a Truck win for JRM back in May.
Joe Gibbs Racing young gun Erik Jones (29.491/183.107), who led the opening round; championship leader Chris Buescher (29.527/182.883), who led round two; and eight-time CMS XFINITY winner Kyle Busch (29.653/182.106) rounded out the fast five.
Brian Scott will grid sixth ahead of Daniel Suarez, Ty Dillon, Darrell Wallace Jr., Elliott Sadler, Ryan Reed and Dover winner Regan Smith among the drivers who advanced through all three knockout rounds.
In a stunning turn of events, former XFINITY and Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski was bumped from the top 12 in the final 30 seconds of the second round, and ultimately missed the cut by one one-thousandth (0.001) of a second to Ty Dillon. He will roll off 13th and looks to keep the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford on top of the NXS owner’s standings at the conclusion of the night.
Other notables who missed the cut to transfer to the final round included Brendan Gaughan (15th), reigning series champion Chase Elliott (17th) and HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi driver Brennan Poole (22nd), who Race Chaser Online caught up with earlier in the afternoon.
Jimmy Weller was the first non-transfer from round one, just ahead of Las Vegas NASCAR Camping World Truck Series winner John Wes Townley. The duo will start 25th and 26th, respectively, on the starting grid.
The only major incident of the session was a minute and 19 seconds into round one, when Cale Conley’s IAVA Toyota broke loose off the exit of turn two and nosed into the inside wall, doing minor damage to the machine. Conley did not take time in the session and will roll off 40th as a result.
Since only 40 cars attempted to qualify, no drivers missed the field for tonight’s race.
The Drive for the Cure 300 takes the green flag at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Audio with third-place qualifier Erik Jones:
Audio with 11th-place qualifier Ryan Reed:
RESULTS: NASCAR XFINITY Series; Coors Light Pole Qualifying; Charlotte Motor Speedway; October 9, 2015
- Austin Dillon
- Kasey Kahne
- Erik Jones
- Chris Buescher
- Kyle Busch
- Brian Scott
- Daniel Suarez
- Ty Dillon
- Darrell Wallace Jr.
- Elliott Sadler
- Ryan Reed
- Regan Smith
- Brad Keselowski
- Ryan Sieg
- Brendan Gaughan
- Ryan Truex
- Chase Elliott
- Dakoda Armstrong
- Ross Chastain
- Landon Cassill
- J.J. Yeley
- Brennan Poole
- Jeremy Clements
- Blake Koch
- Jimmy Weller
- John Wes Townley
- David Starr
- Ryan Ellis
- Jeff Green
- T.J. Bell
- Joey Gase
- Eric McClure
- Morgan Shepherd
- Derrike Cope
- B.J. McLeod
- Timmy Hill
- Josh Reaume
- Mike Harmon
- Harrison Rhodes
- Cale Conley (NT)
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network. Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 21-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for both the United Sprint Car Series and the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: speed77radio@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Follow Race Chaser Online: @RaceChaserNews
