JGR Pack Remains At The Top

With three rounds of qualifying completed, the grid for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway has just been set. We are now almost an hour away from turning 40 NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers loose on the 1.5-mile Fort Worth asphalt.
 
The three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez, will once again lead the field to green. This is Busch’s third pole of the NXS season. 

Jones led the first qualifying round with a lap of 28.587 and a speed of 188.897 MPH. Then the driver of the No. 20 Great Clips/Turtle Beach Toyota ran second in round two with a 28.750, 188.673 MPH. Jones got faster in round three with a 28.651, 188.055. Jones, also the fastest qualifying rookie, will make his sixth top-10 start of 2016 and his third of three races at Texas.

 
Both rounds two and three were led by Busch. The No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota driver is looking for his fourth Xfinity race win. So far this season, he has victories in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Busch posted a time and speed in the first round of 28.720, 188.022 MPH. In round two, he improved his lap time to 28.621, 188.673 MPH. In the five-minute-dash, round three, Busch took pole honors with a time of 28.651, 188.475 MPH.
 
Xfinity Series points leader Daniel Suarez will take the green flag in the third slot behind his teammates. The No. 19 Toyota has Juniper Networks on the hood for this evening’s race. The Mexico native finished 16th in round one with a lap and speed of 29.086, 185.656 MPH. He moved up to third in round two with a 28.777, 187.650 MPH and in round three, 28.755 and 187.793 MPH were the numbers.
 
Top 10 Starters
 
  1. Kyle Busch
  2. Erik Jones
  3. Daniel Suarez
  4. Kyle Larson
  5. Brennan Poole
  6. Ty Dillon
  7. Austin Dillon
  8. Brad Keselowski
  9. Brandon Jones
  10. Ryan Reed
 
TV/Radio (CT)
 
7:00 PM – Race (FS1, PRN, Sirius XM 90)
Katie Williams
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