NASCAR Cup Series driver Daniel Suarez on Saturday claimed the pole position for Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard.
Piloting the No. 99 Chevrolet, Suarez turned a hot lap of 99.814 mph at Motor Speedway Road Course.
Tyler Reddick will start on the outside of the front row after navigating the 14-turn 2.439-mile track at 99.649 mph.
Chase Elliott (99.399 mph) begins third, next to Michael McDowell (99.288). Kyle Busch (99.218) rounded out the top five. Chicago Road Course winner Shane van Gisbergen (99.164) opens P8.
Road coarse aces making their Cup debuts, Brodie Kostecki will start 11th and Kami Kobayashi 28th.
Daniel Suarez took the pole for Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard with a lap of 1:27.968. Tyler Reddick starts 2nd. pic.twitter.com/LYjC8YsQqR
— Rich Nye (@RichNye13) August 12, 2023
Boss Wants Bubba Wallace To Emerge From Crowd
Ranked No. 14 in the Cup Series points standings, 23XI Racing pilot Bubba Wallace is not impressing his boss and competitor, Denny Hamlin.
As a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing and co-owner of 23XI racing, Hamlin criticized Wallace’s performance during last Monday’s P18 during the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Winless since capturing the checkered flag at Kansas Speedway last season, Wallace remains on the edge of the playoff chase.
Hamlin, who has compiled 50 Cup wins, believes Wallace has more to give to the garage.
“In Bubba’s instance, he finished P18. He certainly should’ve finished better than P18,” Hamlin said, as reported by NASCAR.com. “He should’ve been able to come through the field better than that. But it looked like, I read his debrief this morning, he was super loose, and obviously when he got in traffic he couldn’t go anywhere late in the race.”
Hamlin said Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota was stronger than the most in the field and should have powered his way through the pack.
“That’s what befuddled me, when I saw the finishing position of the No. 23, I was like, ‘Wait a minute, their car was way faster than that,’ “ Hamlin said. “I don’t know, just lost the handle I guess. But you know, they faded.”
Wallace, who is 58 points above the postseason cutoff, has recorded one top-10 finish in his past nine outings after collecting four consecutive top-fives from May 7-29 at Kansas, Darlington Raceway, North Wilkesboro Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Denny Hamlin says Bubba Wallace ‘faded’ in disappointing P18 finish at Michigan #NASCAR https://t.co/mLUVcZMuBf pic.twitter.com/lKjzaOT01T
— Flyin18T Motorsports (@Flyin18T) August 10, 2023
Starting Lineup for NASCAR Cup Series’ Verizon 200
Here is a look at the lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at IMS Road Course:
Starting Position, Driver, Car No., Team
- 1, Daniel Suarez, 99, Trackhouse Racing
- 2, Tyler Reddick, 45, 23XI Racing
- 3, Chase Elliott, 9, Hendrick Motorsports
- 4, Michael McDowell, 34, Front Row Motorsports
- 5, Kyle Busch, 8, Richard Childress Racing
- 6, Kyle Larson, 5, Hendrick Motorsports
- 7, Christopher Bell, 20, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 8, Shane van Gisbergen, 91, Trackhouse Racing
- 9, Alex Bowman, 48, Hendrick Motorsports
- 10, Ty Gibbs, 54, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 11, Brodie Kostecki, 33, Richard Childress Racing
- 12, Martin Truex Jr., 19, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 13, Chase Briscoe, 14, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 14, Corey LaJoie, 7, Spire Motorsports
- 15, Justin Haley, 31, Kaulig Racing
- 16, Ryan Blaney, 12, Team Penske
- 17, Chris Buescher, 17, RFK Racing
- 18, Joey Logano, 22, Team Penske
- 19, Bubba Wallace, 23, 23XI Racing
- 20, Austin Cindric, 2, Team Penske
- 21, Ross Chastain, 1, Trackhouse Racing
- 22, Brad Keselowski, 6, RFK Racing
- 23, Todd Gilliland, 38, Front Row Motorsports
- 24, Harrison Burton, 21, Wood Brothers Racing
- 25, Denny Hamlin, 11, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 26, AJ Allmendinger, 16, Kaulig Racing
- 27, Austin Dillon, 3, Richard Childress Racing
- 28, Kamui Kobayashi, 67, 23XI Racing
- 29, Andy Lally, 51, Rick Ware Racing
- 30, Ryan Preece, 41, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 31, Jenson Button, 15, Rick Ware Racing
- 32, Josh Bilicki, 78, Live Fast Motorsports
- 33, Aric Almirola, 10, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 34, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 47, JTG Daugherty Racing
- 35, Ty Dillon, 77, Spire Motorsports
- 36, Eric Jones, 43, Legacy Motor Club
- 37, Mike Rockenfeller, 42, Legacy Motor Club
- 38, Kevin Harvick, 4, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 39, William Byron, 24, Hendrick Motorsports
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