As Saturday’s single-car qualifying session from Pocono Raceway began to wrap up, it looked as though Joe Gibbs Racing had the session under control, with all three of its entries occupying spots inside the top four.
However, Justin Allgaier – the last driver to take time in the session — had something to say about that, as the JR Motorsports entry blasted to the top of the speed charts in Saturday’s session, posting a time of 53.359 seconds (168.669mph).
The Riverton, Illinois-native knocked Ty Gibbs off of the pole position for Saturday’s event at the last-possible moment, besting the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s lap time by over a tenth of a second.
Allgaier’s qualifying triumph marks his seventh career pole in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – his third for JR Motorsports — and his first since March 2018 at Phoenix.
Gibbs will start alongside Allgaier in Saturday’s Explore the Pocono Mountains 225, marking his fourth front row qualifying effort of the season.
Brandon Jones – a teammate to Ty Gibbs at Joe Gibbs Racing — will start from the third position in Saturday’s 225-mile event, the same position in which he finish Friday’s ARCA Menards Series event at the 2.5-mile facility.
AJ Allmendinger, who leads the series’ regular-season point standings entering Pocono, will start in fourth, with Sammy Smith – making his second career start in the second-tier series — rounding out the top-five.
Sheldon Creed posted a sixth-place qualifying effort, ensuring he’ll start near the front of the pack as he chases his first career victory and a berth into the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.
Josh Berry, Austin Hill, Noah Gragson, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr – returning to the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the first-time since 2016 — rounded out the top-10 starters.
Santino Ferrucci – returning to the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the first-time this season — will start the race in 11th-place for Sam Hunt Racing.
Qualifying Results: 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Explore the Pocono Mountains 225
