Chase Briscoe Secures Brickyard 400 Pole at Indianapolis

Sure, it’s just qualifying, but this pole, his fifth of the season, means a lot of Chase Briscoe.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver grew up about 70 miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in Mitchell, Indiana, and spent his childhood dreaming about competing on the iconic 2.5-mile speedway that has turned many racecar drivers into legends.

Now, not only does he get the opportunity to compete in the Brickyard 400, but he will also get the opportunity to lead a field of 39 world-class drivers to the green flag in one of the biggest NASCAR Cup Series events of the season.

“Just being from really 70 miles down the road and coming here as a kid, I mean I got my first uniform in racing, as you drive out the tunnel in [Turns 1 and 2] there’s a brick building, that’s where I got my first ever uniform,” said Briscoe. “Just dreaming about coming to this place and sitting in the same grandstands all the fans are. I mean, I was dreaming about being on the other side of the fence and now to be able to do that is unbelievable.”

It's a fifth pole for Briscoe this season, his first year driving the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing, but it’s his third pole that has come in a crown jewel event, after winning the pole for the DAYTONA 500 and Coca-Cola 600.

STARTING LINEUP: 2025 Brickyard 400 at IMS

Bubba Wallace will roll from second on Sunday, as the 23XI Racing driver looks to continue padding his advantage to Ryan Preece in the fight to make the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Erik Jones will start just behind in third, looking for a victory to earn a berth in the post-season.

Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs will round out the top-five starters. Gibbs is in the battle against Ty Dillon for the $1 million prize in the In-Season Tournament. Dillon will start 26th.

William Byron will start sixth as he attempts to return to the spot he’s held the majority of the season as the regular-season points leader. Chase Elliott, his teammate and biggest rival in that battle, will start from 30th after a disappointing qualifying run.

Chris Buescher will start from seventh, with Carson Hocevar, AJ Allmendinger, and Austin Cindric rounding out the top-10. In 11th, Shane Van Gisbergen (who earned a top-five in last years’ NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Indianapolis) earned a personal-best oval qualifying result.

Denny Hamlin was the fastest car in NASCAR Cup Series practice, and looked to be on an incredible pole run against teammate Chase Briscoe, when the driver of the No. 11 Progressive Insurance Toyota Camry XSE smacked the outside wall in Turn 2.

Hamlin slid down the racetrack and had another significant impact on the inside wall, destroying his primary racecar and forcing the team to migrate to a backup car for Sunday’s Brickyard 400. The Chesterfield, Virginia-native’s quest for the final jewel in the crown jewel hunt will get rather difficult on Sunday, starting from 39th.

Coverage of the Brickyard 400 will take place on Sunday, July 27, at 2:00 pm ET on TNT Sports, IMS Radio Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.