Ty Gibbs will begin his quest for a second BetMGM 300 victory from the perfect position on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Gibbs, the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, scored the pole for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the strength of a 30.475-second, 177.194-mile-per-hour lap in qualifying on Friday.
Gibbs won the BetMGM 300 in his first try in 2021 and finished second in 2022. With Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 also on the cards for the Charlotte native, he’s preparing for 900 miles of driving in two days – while going for his first career Cup win.
“I’m very thankful to run two races and I really have a good time out here,” Gibbs said. “Doing another race this weekend is fun. I always love racing, so I always look forward to doing stuff like this.”
Kyle Busch missed out on the pole by 0.123 seconds, but ensured the front row for Saturday’s race will be filled by NASCAR Cup Series drivers. Chandler Smith, Jesse Love and Jeb Burton completed the top five.
Chase Elliott, making a rare Xfinity Series appearance in the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, will roll off 30th in Saturday’s race (1 p.m., FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.)
TRICON GARAGE FINDS A GRAY AREA
In a repeat of last year, Tanner Gray claimed the pole for Friday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Charlotte.
Gray, the driver of the No. 15 Tricon Garage Toyota, posted a 30.296-second, 178.241-mile-per-hour lap to score his second career Truck Series pole and his second at Charlotte. Gray – who has seen success on Charlotte’s historic 1.5 mile superspeedway as well as in a dragster at nearby zMAX Dragway – will be joined on the front row by teammate Corey Heim in the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota.
Heim’s second-place result marks his fourth top-10 start of 2024 and his second in two races at Charlotte.
Ty Majeski, who sits in third place in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series standings, will take the green from third with Rajah Caruth fourth and Layne Riggs fifth.
Green flag for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 is set for Friday at 8:30 p.m. (FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Friday night’s festivities kick off with the ARCA Menards Series’ General Tire 150 at 6 p.m. (FS1, MRN, FOX Sports App), with Andres Perez starting from the pole.
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