FONTANA, Calif. — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Jonathan Moore/Getty Images for NASCAR photo —
For the fourth consecutive week in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, Joe Gibbs Racing swept the top three positions in Coors Light Pole Qualifying and wrote a new page in history by doing so.
However, it was a first-time 2016 pole winner that took down the top honors for the team on Saturday.
Mexico’s Daniel Suarez posted a lap of 40.010 seconds (179.955 mph) in the second and final round of knockout qualifying to earn his fourth career NXS pole and first of the season at the controls of the No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota.
“I knew it was a good lap, but I wasn’t sure if it was quite good enough to win the pole,” Suarez admitted after climbing from his car. “All of our cars (at Joe Gibbs Racing) right now are very fast and very close. I’m proud of all of our guys on the team; they did an amazing job getting this car set up today. I knew we had speed on the short run, but we spent most of the day yesterday working on speed to be stronger on the long run and I think we found some of that finally.”
“I think we have a good piece, so now it’s just time to go out and have some fun (in the race) this afternoon.”
His teammate Erik Jones will join him on the front row, starting either first or second for the fourth consecutive week in the No. 20 GameStop/Nyko Toyota. Jones’ lap of 40.107 seconds (179.520 mph) was second-fastest and poses the rookie driver as a legitimate threat heading into the TreatMyClot.com 300 (4 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).
Three-time season winner Kyle Busch led the opening round (39.965/39.965) but faded to third on his final run, only able to muster a lap of 40.138 seconds (179.381 mph) against the stellar runs of his teammates.
Busch is not worried, however, about the “lackluster” run affecting his chances at a fourth-consecutive XFINITY win.
“I’ve won three in a row a few times over the years, but I’ve never been able to string together four or five in a row like some of the greats have in this series,” the driver nicknamed ‘Rowdy’ said. “We’ll give it a whirl today and see what happens. I’m not worried about being able to perform from where we’re starting.”
“Obviously, qualifying third isn’t where we expected to be (with the No. 18 car). I expected to be better, but I messed up my line on the last run — got a little too high — and that just wasted too much distance. Good for our teammates to be up front, though. They can have that — I’ll go ahead and take them on later.”
Kyle Larson and Elliott Sadler rounded out the top five, followed by Austin Dillon, Jeb Burton, Blake Koch (eighth; career-best qualifying effort), Brennan Poole, Ryan Reed, Ryan Blaney and Ty Dillon as the balance of the dozen drivers who were chasing the pole in the final round.
Darrell Wallace Jr. was the first driver to miss the cut from round one, needing 23 thousandths (0.023) of a second to break into the top 12. He will roll off from the inside of row seven on Saturday afternoon after posting a lap of 40.624 seconds (177.235 mph) in his No. 6 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing.
Other notables who failed to escape the first round included Richard Childress Racing teammates Brandon Jones (14th) and Brendan Gaughan (15th); defending race winner Kevin Harvick (17th); championship contender Justin Allgaier (20th) and rookie Spencer Gallagher (26th).
With 42 cars vying for 40 starting spots, Carl Long and Morgan Shepherd were the two drivers who failed to qualify for Saturday afternoon’s event.
RESULTS: NASCAR XFINITY Series; Coors Light Pole Qualfying; Auto Club Speedway; March 19, 2016
- Daniel Suarez
- Erik Jones
- Kyle Busch
- Kyle Larson
- Elliott Sadler
- Austin Dillon
- Jeb Burton
- Blake Koch
- Brennan Poole
- Ryan Reed
- Ryan Blaney
- Ty Dillon
- Darrell Wallace Jr.
- Brandon Jones
- Brendan Gaughan
- Aric Almirola
- Kevin Harvick
- Jeremy Clements
- Ross Chastain
- Justin Allgaier
- Dakoda Armstrong
- Dylan Lupton
- Ryan Sieg
- Ryan Preece
- J.J. Yeley
- Spencer Gallagher
- Garrett Smithley
- Josh Wise
- David Starr
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Joey Gase
- Corey LaJoie
- Ray Black Jr.
- Derrike Cope
- Mario Gosselin
- Harrison Rhodes
- B.J. McLeod
- Mike Harmon
- Todd Peck
- Cody Ware
DNQ: Carl Long, Morgan Shepherd
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 22-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
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
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