CONCORD, N.C. — For the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, young Ty Gibbs is on the pole.
The 21-year-old laid down a lap of 29.355 seconds (183.955 mph) in Saturday’s final round, besting Daytona 500 champion William Byron to start from the top of the Coca-Cola 600 grid at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“It is really cool to be able to get the pole here for the first time at the Coca-Cola 600,” Gibbs said after his run. “For me, the biggest thing is winning a race. The pole is great, and it helps us out a lot, but it doesn’t win us a race at all.
“I felt like it was a really easy, clean lap. My car was handling really well. I just had to be really disciplined in (turns) three and four in getting to the bottom and making sure my exit was good.”
Two of Gibbs’ Joe Gibs Racing teammates, Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr., make up the second row by starting third and fourth respectively. Chase Elliott, Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series winner, will start fifth while teammate Alex Bowman starts next to him in sixth. Ross Chastain qualified seventh.
Tyler Reddick got hit with penalties before on-track activity. After his No. 45 team passed inspection, it made an unapproved adjustment to the underwing. He will forfeit pit stall selection for Sunday’s race, drop to the rear and serve a pass-through penalty at pit road speed. Additionally, car chief Michael Hobson got ejected.
NASCAR allowed Reddick to post a qualifying time to receive a set of scuffed tires for the race. He placed eighth.
Michael McDowell led Ford with a ninth-place effort, bouncing back after placing 33rd in practice.
“I’m really proud of everybody. We made a great effort there because we missed it unloading in practice,” McDowell said. “A top 10 starting spot though for 600 miles, it still matters. There’s a lot of racing for sure, but track position matters and I’m glad that we were able to get a Ford Mustang in the top 10 and we’ll make the most of the track position and pit selection as well.”
Kyle Larson will start 10th, but Justin Allgaier will remain on standby if Larson cannot return from the Indianapolis 500 in time. The No. 5 team would start from the rear if a driver change is necessary, but both Larson and Hendrick Motorsports said the Coca-Cola 600 is the priority. He hopes to become the second driver to complete all 1,100 miles of the double.
Chris Buescher blew a tire and crashed during Group B practice. He did not post a qualifying time and will start 39th after going to a backup.
“We lost the left rear,” Buescher said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. Our team will hustle and they’ll get this done. They’re the best out there, so I’ve got confidence in them. I know we’ll be able to get right back going on track tomorrow and be able to put good laps like that down again.”
Ryan Blaney is the defending winner and will start 16th.