3 days Ago
Martin Truex Jr. will start first at Phoenix Raceway in his final start as a full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series. The 2017 champion captured his second consecutive pole position, topping Championship 4 driver Joey Logano for the top spot in qualifying.
It’s the 25th career pole for Truex, who also started first last week at Martinsville Speedway. RESULTS : Click here for qualifying speeds at Phoenix Raceway l Notes STARTING LINEUP : By row l By car number “Good job today by all my guys,” said the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who is trying to avoid going winless in his last full-time season. “Feels good to be starting at the front, hopefully we can finish there.
” Nate Ryan , Nate Ryan , Logano qualified second as three of the four championship contenders made the final round in qualifying for Sunday’s season finale. William Byron will start seventh, followed by Tyler Reddick. The surprise was Ryan Blaney, whose No.
12 Ford was considered a favorite for the pole position after turning the fastest lap in practice Friday . But the defending series champion qualified 17th after skidding through Turn 1. “I just got loose and kind of gave all the time up,” Blaney, who won last year’s championship after starting 15th, told NBC Sports’ Dave Burns.
“I thought I got in there OK, but it stepped out, and there was no getting back after that. I think we’ll be fine tomorrow. We’ll see if got a car that can drive toward the front with the pace we’ve shown.
We just didn’t get a really good lap. Look forward to a long race tomorrow. “I work really hard on moving on quick.
We’ll just move on and just focus on the race tomorrow. This group does that really well. When things might not go your way, you just move on from them and look forward to the next task.
Luckily, we’ve got another shot at it tomorrow.”.
