For the first time in his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career, Tanner Gray will lead the field to the green, winning the pole for Friday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Gray, piloting the No. 15 Black’s Tire Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for TRICON Garage, posted a time of 29.936 seconds (180.385mph) in Friday’s single-truck qualifying session at Charlotte, marking the third consecutive pole position for the five-truck operation.
Ty Majeski, the polesitter for last year’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Charlotte, will start on the outside of the front row, after coming up three-hundredths of a second short of the Artesia, New Mexico native’s quick time.
Starting from third place in Friday’s 200-mile contest will be Corey Heim, Gray’s teammate at TRICON Garage, who has scored the pole in the series’ last two events at Kansas Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Rajah Caruth held the provisional pole for most of qualifying, but was knocked to fourth place by the end of the 36-truck qualifying session, but still recorded a career-high qualifying effort.
Stewart Friesen rounded out the top-five starters for Friday’s event. Christian Eckes, Dean Thompson, Bayley Currey, David Gilliland, and Jack Wood completed the top-10 in the qualifying session.
Grant Enfinger (11th), Carson Hocevar (12th), Chase Purdy (13th), Zane Smith (14th), Ben Rhodes (19th), Hailie Deegan (21st), and Matt Crafton (24th) are among the notable drivers to start outside the top-10 in Friday’s event.
Ryan Vargas, Tyler Ankrum, and Nick Sanchez will start from 34th, 35th, and 36th, after failing to post a time in Friday’s qualifying session, due to various mechanical issues and unapproved adjustments.
Starting Lineup – NC Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte:
Qualifying Results: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series NC Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte
