Two years after making his last-minute NASCAR Cup Series debut at Pocono Raceway, Ty Gibbs returns to the racetrack hoping to score the first win of his career, which he will aim for from a starting position.
The 21-year-old driver dethroned William Byron late in Saturday’s qualifying round to secure the second pole of his NASCAR Cup Series career, setting a time of 52.929 seconds (273.61 km/h) for the weekend’s second lap in the 52-second class.
As the second-fastest driver on the final lap and fastest in Group A, Byron will start alongside Gibbs on the front row of Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex, Jr. and Denny Hamlin will share the second row. Both drivers were second fastest in their respective groups. Josh Berry will round out the top five as he is the only Stewart-Haas Racing driver to be on the first 12 rows of the grid for Sunday’s race.
After setting the fastest time all afternoon in the first round of qualifying, Bowman was only able to finish sixth. Tyler Reddick, who led Saturday’s practice, finished seventh, while reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney was eighth.
For the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, Zane Smith made it to the final round of qualifying and finished ninth. This is the best starting position of his career for the Spire Motorsports driver after starting 14th at the 2024 Daytona 500. Joey Logano rounded out the top 10.
