While it feels weird calling a Jesse Love pole in the ARCA Menards Series a surprise, Friday’s pole-winning run for the driver of the No. 20 Venturini Motorsports Toyota felt like that.
Taylor Gray and Andres Perez de Lara led the way in the lone practice session of the day for the series, and it looked like one of those two drivers would have the steam needed to score the pole position for the General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
However, in qualifying, Love cranked out a lap time of 29.993 sec., which equates to a blistering 180.042 mph average speed around the 1.5-mile oval in Concord, North Carolina.
By turning the fastest lap, Love secured his sixth-career ARCA Menards Series pole position, and it’s his second-consecutive pole in the series.
Perez de Lara had speed, but just not quite enough to top Love for the pole, as he turned a lap that was 0.010 sec. slower than Love, and will start second in Friday’s race.
Gray would rank third in the qualifying session, while Dean Thompson and Connor Mosack rounded out the top-five fastest in ARCA Menards Series qualifying.
ARCA Menards Series General Tire 150 Qualifying Results
| Row | Pos | No. | Driver | Make | Lap time | Diff | Speed | Laps | B. Lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROW 1 | 1 | 20 | Jesse Love | Toyota | 29.993 | -- | 180.042 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | Andres Perez de Lara | Chevrolet | 30.003 | 0.010 | 179.982 | 2 | 2 | |
| ROW 2 | 3 | 17 | Taylor Gray | Toyota | 30.104 | 0.111 | 179.378 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | 15 | Dean Thompson | Toyota | 30.184 | 0.191 | 178.902 | 2 | 2 | |
| ROW 3 | 5 | 18 | Connor Mosack | Toyota | 30.188 | 0.195 | 178.879 | 2 | 1 |
| 6 | 25 | Gus Dean | Toyota | 30.288 | 0.295 | 178.288 | 2 | 2 | |
| ROW 4 | 7 | 6 | Jack Wood | Chevrolet | 30.449 | 0.456 | 177.345 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | 73 | Andy Jankowiak | Toyota | 30.745 | 0.752 | 175.638 | 3 | 3 | |
| ROW 5 | 9 | 35 | Greg Van Alst | Ford | 30.781 | 0.788 | 175.432 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | 30 | Frankie Muniz | Ford | 30.989 | 0.996 | 174.255 | 2 | 2 | |
| ROW 6 | 11 | 55 | Toni Breidinger | Toyota | 31.366 | 1.373 | 172.160 | 2 | 2 |
| 12 | 45 | Tony Cosentino | Chevrolet | 31.385 | 1.392 | 172.056 | 1 | 1 | |
| ROW 7 | 13 | 32 | Christian Rose | Ford | 31.676 | 1.683 | 170.476 | 2 | 2 |
| 14 | 66 | Jon Garrett | Chevrolet | 32.062 | 2.069 | 168.423 | 2 | 2 | |
| ROW 8 | 15 | 69 | Scott Melton | Toyota | 32.081 | 2.088 | 168.323 | 2 | 2 |
| 16 | 93 | Caleb Costner | Chevrolet | 33.396 | 3.403 | 161.696 | 2 | 1 | |
| ROW 9 | 17 | 11 | Stephanie Moyer | Toyota | 33.803 | 3.810 | 159.749 | 5 | 5 |
| 18 | 10 | Ed Pompa | Toyota | 34.116 | 4.123 | 158.283 | 2 | 2 | |
| ROW 10 | 19 | 12 | Brayton Laster | Ford | 34.350 | 4.357 | 157.205 | 2 | 2 |
| 20 | 75 | Bryan Dauzat | Chevrolet | 35.242 | 5.249 | 153.226 | 2 | 1 | |
| ROW 11 | 21 | 03 | Alex Clubb | Ford | 36.086 | 6.093 | 149.642 | 2 | 2 |
| 22 | 31 | Stephen Leicht | Chevrolet | 39.801 | 9.808 | 135.674 | 1 | 1 | |
| ROW 12 | 23 | 48 | Brad Smith | Chevrolet | 42.638 | 12.645 | 126.647 | 1 | 1 |
| 24 | 06 | A.J. Moyer | Ford | 48.026 | 18.033 | 112.439 | 1 | 1 | |
| ROW 13 | 25 | 8 | Sean Corr | Chevrolet | 0.000 | -- | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | 97 | Grant Enfinger | Chevrolet | 0.000 | -- | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | |
| ROW 14 | 27 | 01 | CJ McLaughlin | Chevrolet | 0.000 | -- | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | 72 | Cody Coughlin | Ford | 0.000 | -- | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
