Sam Mayer clinches first Xfinity pole of 2025 at Indianapolis

“I knew that we were gonna be really good,” Mayer said on the CW Network. “I was really confident. This team did a really good job last year. Just super proud of these guys. The Audibel Ford Mustang was really good. Just super cool to get Ford another pole this year. We’re doing our job right, so let’s go finish the job.” 

Rookie Nick Sanchez will start alongside Mayer on the front row after he posted his best qualifying lap at 166.482 mph in 54.060 seconds. Sheldon Creed, Mayer’s teammate at Haas Factory Team, will start in third place with his best lap at 166.365 mph in 54.098 seconds. Jesse Love, who scraped the Turn 3 outside wall while posting his qualifying lap, managed to post the fourth-fastest qualifying lap at 166.346 mph in 54.104 seconds. Brandon Jones will start in fifth place with his best lap occurring at 166.306 mph in 54.117 seconds. 

Rounding out the top-10 starting spots are Aric Almirola, rookie Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, rookie William Sawalich and rookie Carson Kvapil. Zilisch, who was the fastest competitor during Friday’s practice session, is striving to notch his third consecutive Xfinity victory in recent weeks as he is coming off back-to-back victories at Sonoma Raceway and Dover Motor Speedway, respectively.

In addition to pursuing his first victory in his first start at Indianapolis, Zilisch is one of four JR Motorsports’ competitors who are striving to deliver the organization’s 100th victory in the series, a feat that is also in the minds of Allgaier, Kvapil and Sammy Smith.

*Notably, the following names that include Sammy Smith, Jeremy Clements, Austin Hill, rookie Taylor Gray, rookie Christian Eckes, Kyle Larson, Harrison Burton, Ryan Sieg, Jeb Burton and Katherine Legge qualified 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 23rd and 24th, respectively.

With 38 competitors vying for 38 starting spots, all of the entered competitors made the event. 

Qualifying position, best speed, best time: 

1. Sam Mayer, 166.623 mph, 54.014 seconds 

2. Nick Sanchez, 166.482 mph, 54.060 seconds 

3. Sheldon Creed, 166.365 mph, 54.098 seconds 

4. Jesse Love, 166.346 mph, 54.104 seconds 

5. Brandon Jones, 166.306 mph, 54.117 seconds 

6. Aric Almirola, 166.303 mph, 54.118 seconds 

7. Connor Zilisch, 166.064 mph, 54.196 seconds 

8. Justin Allgaier, 166.039 mph, 54.204 seconds 

9. William Sawalich, 165.789 mph, 54.286 seconds 

10. Carson Kvapil, 165.529 mph, 54.371 seconds 

11. Sammy Smith, 165.250 mph, 54.463 seconds 

12. Jeremy Clements, 165.229 mph, 54.470 seconds 

13. Austin Hill, 165.207 mph, 54.477 seconds 

14. Taylor Gray, 165.174 mph, 54.488 seconds 

15. Christian Eckes, 165.035 mph, 54.534 seconds 

16. Dean Thompson, 164.962 mph, 54.558 seconds 

17. Leland Honeyman, 164.929 mph, 54.569 seconds 

18. Daniel Dye, 164.711 mph, 54.641 seconds 

19. Kyle Larson, 164.711 mph, 54.641 seconds  

20. Harrison Burton, 164.600 mph, 54.678 seconds 

21. Ryan Sieg, 164.534 mph, 54.700 seconds 

22. Anthony Alfredo, 164.504 mph, 54.710 seconds 

23. Jeb Burton, 164.387 mph, 54.749 seconds  

24. Katherine Legge, 163.559 mph, 55.026 seconds 

25. Matt DiBenedetto, 163.485 mph, 55.051 seconds 

26. Parker Retzlaff, 163.440 mph, 55.066 seconds 

27. Brennan Poole, 163.135 mph, 55.169 seconds 

28. Kyle Sieg, 163.111 mph, 55.177 seconds 

29. Blaine Perkins, 162.561 mph, 55.364 seconds 

30. Josh Bilicki, 162.558 mph, 55.365 seconds 

31. Josh Williams, 162.540 mph, 55.371 seconds 

32. Garrett Smithley, 162.408 mph, 55.416 seconds 

33. Mason Massey, 161.342 mph, 55.782 seconds 

34. Ryan Ellis, 161.005 mph, 55.899 seconds 

35. Logan Bearden, 159.179 mph, 56.540 seconds 

36. Joey Gase, 158.543 mph, 56.767 seconds 

37. Dawson Cram, 157.558 mph, 57.122 seconds 

38. David Starr, 155.422 mph, 57.907 seconds 

The 2025 Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is set to occur on Saturday, July 26, and air at 4:30 p.m. on the CW Network.