Kyle Busch raced to pole position at World Wide Technology Raceway (Ill.), where he’ll lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300.
Busch, aboard the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, nipped last week’s Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway winner Ryan Blaney by 0.008 seconds to earn the top spot.
“Our car has had pretty good speed in it all day, really from practice. It carried over good speed to qualifying,” Blaney said. “Overall, I’m proud of the effort of the No. 12 group and our fast Ford Mustang. It would have been nice to get the pole, but it’s still a good place to start. We’ll see what happens.”
Behind the front two, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin qualified third, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick in fourth and Martin Truex Jr. in fifth.
“I think we have a little bit of work to do on our car in race trim, but a lot of it is just getting into a rhythm I think – more than anything. Qualifying: We were just a little bit tight through turns one and two, and the car was good in three and four,” Harvick said. “So, we have to have a better balance, and that’s what probably cost us a little bit of speed to get the pole. But, still a good day and a good starting spot.”
Last year’s Gateway winner Joey Logano slotted in sixth, with a pair of Chevrolet’s in William Byron and Ross Chastain following suit.
23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric rounded out the top 10.
Filling in for a suspended Chase Elliott this weekend, Corey LaJoie qualified the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30th.