CONCORD, N.C. – Riley Herbst will lead the NASCAR Xfinity Series to the green flag for the first time on Saturday afternoon during the Alsco Uniforms 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Herbst, driving the No. 98 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, claimed his first series pole with a 29.350-second lap at 183.986 mph Friday morning. He was .377 seconds ahead of Chase Briscoe, who is making his first start of the season in a joint effort between B.J. McLeod Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing.
LINEUP: NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 Starting Lineup
“It’s no surprise that we’ve been kind of struggling a little bit, but I can’t thank all those guys, everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for continuing to work hard. Hopefully we’re getting this ship in the right direction here,” Herbst said.
Daniel Hemric, from nearby Kannapolis, N.C., will start third in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Austin Cindric and A.J. Allmendinger will start fourth and fifth, respectively.
Jeremy Clements, Myatt Snider, Ty Gibbs, Jeb Burton and Ty Dillon completed the top-10 in Xfinity Series qualifying Saturday morning.
Dillon Bassett, David Starr, Kyle Weatherman, Joe Graf Jr., Gray Gaulding, Bayley Currey and B.J. McLeod failed to qualify for the 36-car field.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 will begin shortly after 1 p.m., with television coverage on FS1.