The top two NASCAR Cup Series points leaders are starting from the front at Pocono Raceway.
The current series leader with four wins, William Byron qualified Saturday with a hot lap of 170.235 mph, edging Martin Truex Jr. by 0.122 seconds, earning the pole position for Sunday’s HighPoint.com 400. Truex, the 2017 points champion and current leader will begin on the outside of the front row of the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
Byron trails Truex by 17 points in the Cup standings.
“Big thanks to all the guys back at the shop for working hard and getting our cars close, I’m proud of this one,” Byron said, as reported by NASCAR.com “Definitely tomorrow’s a long day so re-hydrate and re-group. I’ve had a long week of racing so hopefully tomorrow is a good result for us. It would be nice to get a win.”
Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Kyle Larson, and Kevin Harvick will open from the second row, followed by Christopher Bell and defending series champion Joey Logano in the third row.
Chase Elliott, another Hendrick Motorsports driver who captured the 2022 Pocono summer race, needs a win to qualify for the playoffs, but spun out along Turn 2 of the during his opening-round qualifying laps and will start from the rear.
Six regular-season races remain.
Third #BuschLightPole of the season.
Fifth front-row start of 2023.
Ninth top-five start this year. @WilliamByron is … FAST! pic.twitter.com/n0u3iVw61M
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 22, 2023
NASCAR Officials To Drivers: Clean Up Restarts
Clean ‘em up.
That was the message NASCAR officials delivered to Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series drivers. Or as Elton Sawyer, the senior vice president of competition, described it: a “stern communication.”
With sloppy, wreck-filled restarts becoming a disturbing trend, Sawyer cited the Lap 71, Xfinity crash at New Hampshire last Saturday during his interview on SiriusXM Radio.
“If you think about that, there are two long lines the front row has established,” Sawyer said. “So, if you’re the second row, third row, fourth row, you’re looking through the windshield of your car and through the back glass and windshield of the car in front of you. Therefore, there is a lot going on just with that dynamic.
“I will preface this with I don’t think either race – the Cup race or the Xfinity – that our guys did a very good job on restarts. We’ll start there. As we unfolded and looked through the SMT data and just the optics, it felt like it happened maybe in the second or third row where cars were laying back.
“So, as we get into Pocono this weekend, there will be a very stern communication line to our drivers in all three series that laying back is not going to be acceptable as we go into the final stages of our regular season and as we go into the playoffs.”
With the drivers listen?
NASCAR’s Elton Sawyer didn’t think “either race – the Cup race or the Xfinity – that our guys did a very good job on restarts.” As a result, NASCAR is going to issue “stern communication” this week to all series about cleaning things up:https://t.co/V2yq5pDibD
— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) July 18, 2023
Lineup for NASCAR Cup Series’ HighPoint.com 400
Here is a look at the lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ HighPoint.com 400 at Pocono Raceway:
Starting Position, Driver, Car No., Team
- 1, William Byron, 24, Hendrick Motorsports
- 2, Martin Truex Jr., 19, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 3, Kyle Larson, 5, Hendrick Motorsports
- 4, Kevin Harvick, 4, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 5, Christopher Bell, 20, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 6, Joey Logano, 22, Team Penske
- 7, Tyler Reddick, 45, 23XI Racing
- 8, Denny Hamlin, 11, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 9, Austin Cindric, 2, Team Penske
- 10, Bubba Wallace, 23, 23XI Racing
- 11, Ty Gibbs, 54, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 12, Corey LaJoie, 7, Spire Motorsports
- 13, Brad Keselowski, 6, RFK Racing
- 14, Ryan Blaney, 12, Team Penske
- 15, Michael McDowell, 34, Front Row Motorsports
- 16, AJ Allmendinger, 16, Kaulig Racing
- 17, Daniel Suarez, 99, Trackhouse Racing
- 18, Chris Buescher, 17, RFK Racing
- 19, Justin Haley, 31, Kaulig Racing
- 20, Alex Bowman, 48, Hendrick Motorsports
- 21, Ross Chastain, 1, Trackhouse Racing
- 22, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 47, JTG Daugherty Racing
- 23, Austin Dillon, 3, Richard Childress Racing
- 24, Erik Jones, 43, Legacy Motor Club
- 25, Kyle Busch, 8, Richard Childress Racing
- 26, Harrison Burton, 21, Wood Brothers Racing
- 27, Aric Almirola, 10, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 28, JJ Yeley, 15, Rick Ware Racing
- 29, Chase Briscoe, 14, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 30, BJ McLeod, 78, Live Fast Motorsports
- 31, Cole Custer, 51, Rick Ware Racing
- 32, Noah Gragson, 42, Legacy Motor Club
- 33, Ty Dillon, 77, Spire Motorsports
- 34, Ryan Preece, 41, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 35, Chase Elliott, 9, Hendrick Motorsports
- 36, Todd Gilliland, 38, Front Row Motorsports
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