Ty Gibbs Collects Second NASCAR Cup Series Pole at Pocono

Ty Gibbs is set to return to Pocono Raceway, the site of his last-minute NASCAR Cup Series debut two years ago. Now, he’s seeking his first career victory, aiming to secure it from a starting position in first place.

In Saturday’s qualifying session, the 21-year-old driver ousted William Byron to secure his second career pole in the NASCAR Cup Series. He recorded the weekend’s second lap in the 52-second bracket, clocking in at 52.929 seconds (170.039mph).

Byron, who was the second-fastest driver in the final round and the quickest from Group A, will start next to Gibbs on the front row at The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway this Sunday.

Martin Truex, Jr. and Denny Hamlin, teammates from Joe Gibbs Racing, will together occupy the second row, having both finished second-quickest in their respective groups. Josh Berry, the only driver from Stewart-Haas Racing to be in the first 12 rows of Sunday’s event starting lineup, will complete the top-five.

Bowman, who logged the quickest time in the first round of qualifying in the afternoon, could only manage to secure a sixth-place qualifying effort. Tyler Reddick, the leader of Saturday’s practice, came in seventh, followed by the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, Ryan Blaney, in eighth place.

For the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, Zane Smith advanced to the final round of qualifying, ending up in ninth place. It’s a career-best starting spot for the Spire Motorsports driver, beating out a 14th-place start in the 2024 Daytona 500. Joey Logano completed the top-10.

Several prominent racers, including former series champions Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, will start outside the top-10 as only the top five from each group will progress to the final qualifying round. Larson and Elliott, both racing for Hendrick Motorsports, will start 11th and 12th respectively.

Christopher Bell (13th), Brad Keselowski (14th), Daniel Suarez (16th), Chris Buescher (18th), Ross Chastain (19th), Kyle Busch (24th), Chase Briscoe (28th), and Bubba Wallace (29th) are among the notable competitors who failed to advance to the second round of qualifying.

Despite no one crashing during Saturday’s qualifying, various drivers had near misses resulting in them being assigned starting positions further back than anticipated. Bubba Wallace, who was a top-five car in practice, experienced difficulties at the second corner and will commence from the 29th spot.

Another driver who had problems during Saturday’s qualifying was Corey LaJoie. He scraped the wall while exiting the ‘Tunnel Turn’ in his No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro. Consequently, the Spire Motorsports driver will begin Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 from the 30th position.

A pair of winners this season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick, each found minor issues in Saturday’s practice session, with single-car spins in their respective groups. Neither driver sustained damage and both continued with no adverse effects.

Photo Credit: Gavin Baker, LAT Images for Toyota Racing