The first two rows are locked up by Chevys, and Kyle Larson in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevy is on the pole. Larson came up short in the NASCAR Truck Series race last night, P2. This afternoon, he hopes to win his first Xfinity Series race of the season.
Kyle Larson just beat out Connor Zilisch for the pole award. A young prodigy taken down by the veteran Cup champion. Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier qualified behind their JR Motorsports teammate to lock up those front two rows. Sammy Smith qualified P8 in the No. 8.
If you’re 18-year-old Zilisch, it’s hard to be mad when Larson beats you for the pole. The fact that Zilisch has been qualifying so well on these ovals is a revelation.
Is this going to be another dominant Xfinity Series race for the 17 car? Will he be shoved out of the way on the final restart again?
This is a place that Toyota has dominated in recent years, as far as qualifying goes. This time around, it was Chevy and especially those JRM Chevys. Full lineup below.
“It was smooth, the first lap. So, it’s either going to be good or not good,” Larson said to Kim Coon after winning the pole. “That’s why I got loose my second lap, I just, the first lap felt so smooth that I was like, ‘Well, I must be slow.’ So, I pushed a little bit more and then he said we had the pole down the back so I kind of just bailed from there.”
Everyone wants to know what the Cup Series race is going to be like. Kyle Larson still isn’t sure what to expect.
“I don’t know. I thought watching Group A in Xfinity they weren’t really laying much rubber down, so I was like ‘Ugh.’ You know, maybe for the Cup car, it’s going to be kind of like it was in the Spring,” he explained. “But then when Group B went out, we were able to move around, and the track really rubbered in. So, I don’t know if we’ll pick all that up here in practice or not, but we’ll see. The Cup cars are just so different- tires, cars, everything. So, it’s hard to get a good read, but either way I think our car will be fast in the Cup Series as well as Xfinity. Looking forward to the rest of the day.”
Kyle Larson is ready for the rest of the day. He will jump in his Cup Series car to practice and qualify and then back to the Xfinity Series car for the race this evening.
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