William Byron did effectively to honor Jeff Gordon in No. 24 “fiery” throwback scheme by rocketing to the highest of the charts in qualifying on Saturday. Simply over a tenth of a second separated the drivers between second and tenth on the time sheets, however second to first was almost the identical margin as Byron put down a brand new Darlington report for the present Gen-7 race automobile.
Byron lapped the historic observe in 28.774s, beating RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece by 0.084s. That is Preece’s finest qualifying effort at Darlington and simply the fourth entrance row begin of his complete profession.
For Byron, that is his fifteenth profession pole and his second of the 2025 season. And regardless of besting the sphere by a transparent margin, the HMS driver claims it may have been even higher.
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Picture by: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Photographs
“The lap — I felt like (Turns) 1 and a couple of have been actually good,” mentioned Byron. “I felt like I gave up slightly bit in (Flip) 4. You’ll be able to type of see that on the tracker, which was ok to get by means of there. By means of the center of (Turns) 3 and 4 was additionally fairly respectable. Simply pleased with that. To get a pole right here is nice … we often run very well, so we simply acquired to place it collectively tomorrow.”
Denny Hamlin, who received final weekend in dominant trend at Martinsville, certified third on the grid and led the best way for the Toyotas. Fellow Toyota drivers Chase Briscoe and Bubba Wallace certified fourth and fifth, respectively. Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, and Michael McDowell rounded out the highest ten.
Large names deep within the area
The session was clear, regardless of just a few drivers amassing their ‘Darlington stripes’ after getting up towards the skin wall. Of be aware, each Daniel Suarez and Alex Bowman noticed their lap occasions fall away after getting a bit too excessive within the nook. Each will begin deep within the area with Suarez thirtieth and Bowman thirty third.
They aren’t alone in relation to notable names with some work to do on Sunday. Whereas Byron earned pole place, his highest-qualifying teammate was Chase Elliott in fifteenth whereas Kyle Larson was nineteenth.
Christopher Bell, who some thought can be a risk for pole, solely managed seventeenth whereas reigning Cup Collection champion Joey Logano was 18th.
Brad Keselowski received this race one yr in the past however clocked in twentieth after his run. Then there’s Ross Chastain who was the very best of the three Trackhouse drivers, however nonetheless solely twenty fifth on the grid.
Pictures from Darlington – Follow & Qualifying
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