Pulling double duty, in part, to get extra road course experience, NASCAR Cup Series regular Kyle Larson entered the Xfinity Series event and earned the pole position for Saturday’s Focused Health 250 at Circuit of The Americas.
Larson established a track record with a hot lap of 92.946 mph. It was Larson’s seventh career Xfinity pole and first since last season’s outing at Sonoma.
It may have been a record qualifying spin, but Larson told Fox Sports he wasn’t comfortable with the partially repaved 20-turn, 3.426-mile road course.
“I expected Xfinity cars to have more grip,” Larson said. “It was a handful, for sure.”
Larson will qualify for the Cup Series’ EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET, before participating in the Xfinity race at 5 p.m.
Shane van Gisbergen, the three-time Supercars titleholder won last year’s Cup debut on the Chicago streets and placed second in qualifying, 0.423 seconds behind Larson.
Cup regular Daniel Hemric qualified P9 for Josh Williams, who was excused Friday as he anticipated the birth of his child. Williams is slated to compete in the Focused Health 250.
Fast Lap Larson. 🛞💨 #FocusedHealth250 #YALLIN | #NASCARatCOTA pic.twitter.com/PivOhbffYf
— NASCAR at COTA (@NASCARatCOTA) March 22, 2024
Xfinity Road Course Race Loaded With Cup Pilots
Saturday’s Focused Health 250 will be loaded with top talent.
Not only will Larson, the 2021 Cup champion, pace the opening Xfinity field Saturday, but the Cup circuit points leader will be joined by Ty Gibbs, the second-year pilot who sits P3 in the points standings.
Gibbs will start on the inside of the second row Saturday after turning in a Friday qualifying lap of 92.65 mph.
Other Focused Health 250 drivers with multiple Cup starts include Anthony Alfredo, AJ Allmendinger and Cole Custer.
First laps around @COTA are complete for @Lelandhoneymnjr 🤠 He’ll roll off from P34 in tomorrow’s #FocusedHealth250 pic.twitter.com/pYAdBaAevr
— Young’s Motorsports (@youngsmtrsports) March 22, 2024
Starting Lineup for NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Focused Health 250
Here is a look at the lineup for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Focused Health 250 at COTA:
Starting Position, Driver, Car No., Team
- 1, Kyle Larson, 17, Hendrick Motorsports
- 2, Shane van Gisbergen, 97, Kaulig Racing
- 3, Ty Gibbs, 19, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 4, Chandler Smith, 81, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 5, AJ Allmendinger, 16, Kaulig Racing
- 6, Sage Karem, 26, Sam Hunt Racing
- 7, Sheldon Creed, 18, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 8, Cole Custer, 00, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 9, Josh Williams, 11, Kaulig Racing
- 10, Sam Mayer, 1, JR Motorsports
- 11, Austin Hill, 21, Richard Childress Racing
- 12, Parker Kligerman, 48, Big Machine Racing
- 13, Sammy Smith, 8, JR Motorsports
- 14, Jesse Love, 2, Richard Childress Racing
- 15, Justin Allgaier, 7, JR Motorsports
- 16, Ed Jones, 24, Sam Hunt Racing
- 17, Parker Retzlaff, 31, Jordan Anderson Racing
- 18, Brandon Jones, 9, JR Motorsports
- 19, Riley Herbst, 98, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 20, John Hunter Nemechek, 20, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 21, Jeb Burton, 27, Jordan Anderson Racing
- 22, Danil Kvyat, 07, SS GreenLight Racing
- 23, Josh Bilicki, 92, DGM Racing
- 24, Jeremy Clements, 51, Jeremy Clements Racing
- 25, Austin Green, 32, Jordan Anderson Racing
- 26, Alex Labbe, 35, Joey Gase Motorsports
- 27, Ryan Seig, 39, RSS Racing
- 28, Ty Dillon, 6, JD Motorsports
- 29, Brennan Poole, 44, Alpha Prime Racing
- 30, Anthony Alfredo, 5, Our Motorsports
- 31, Brad Perez, 45, Alpha Prime Racing
- 32, Kyle Weatherman, 91, DGM Racing
- 33, Patrick Gallagher, 4, JD Motorsports
- 34, Leland Honeyman, 42, Young’s Motorsports
- 35, Hailie Deegan, 15, AM Racing
- 36, Blaine Perkins, 29, RSS Racing
- 37, RC Enerson, 14, SS GreenLight Racing
- 38, Ryan Ellis, 43, Alpha Prime Racing
We’re incredibly excited to see @KyleWeatherman hit the track tomorrow for the NASCAR Xfinity #FocusedHealth250!
To celebrate this awesome partnership, we’re making a contribution to @canineorg for National Puppy Day!
After receiving 10,000 downloads during the weekend, we’ll… pic.twitter.com/H6aGrH0iSk
— MyRadar Weather (@MyRadarWX) March 22, 2024
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