For the first time this season, Kyle Busch will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to green, posting a fast lap in the final round of qualifying to win the pole for Sunday’s Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway.
After barely making it through to the final round of qualifying, Busch hit the racetrack first in the final round, laying down a lap of 22.196 seconds (162.191mph), a time that held up against some heavy-hitters identified from both practice and the first round of time trials.
The last time the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion scored a pole position in the NASCAR Cup Series? Last season’s event at WWT Raceway, where he and Richard Childress Racing drove the No. 8 Chevrolet to Victory Lane in a dominant performance.
Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney posted the fastest overall time in the first round at 22.068 seconds (163.125mph), but will start on the outside of the front row after coming up just short in the final round.
After pacing NASCAR Cup Series practice, William Byron qualified in third place, with Tyler Reddick, last weekend’s winner from Talladega Superspeedway, starting alongside him in fourth place.
Rounding out the top five is Noah Gragson, who driving the No. 10 for Stewart-Haas Racing, earned his first top-five start in the NASCAR Cup Series. In 49 previous starts, Gragson had a career-best start of seventh, twice.
Denny Hamlin will start in sixth on Sunday, with Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell, Alex Bowman, and AJ Allmendinger rounding out the top-10.
The 10th-place start for the Los Gatos, California-native is the best starting spot in a NASCAR Cup Series event for Kaulig Racing since Allmendinger placed the No. 16 Chevrolet sixth last October at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL.
Josh Berry missed out on advancing to the final round of time trials on Saturday by 0.012 seconds in Group A, which will leave the Stewart-Haas Racing driver starting from the outside of the sixth row for Sunday’s Würth 400. Austin Cindric will start 11th, after being the first driver out in Group B.
In 14th place, Daniel Hemric recorded a season-best qualifying effort for himself and the No. 31 Kaulig Racing team. There appears to be some speed present within the Kaulig Racing camp this weekend, as his teammate AJ Allmendinger advanced to the final round.
Other notable drivers starting outside the top-10 include Bubba Wallace (16th), Ross Chastain (22nd), and Brad Keselowski (24th).
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular Corey Heim will start Sunday’s Würth 400 from 32nd in the No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota Camry XSE. Heim is serving as the interim driver for Erik Jones, who suffered a compression fracture in a lower vertebrae at Talladega.
After being involved in incidents during Saturday’s on-track activity from Dover Motor Speedway, Kaz Grala, Zane Smith, and Christopher Bell will be starting outside the top-30, due to not posting a time in qualifying.
Zane Smith, piloting the No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro for Spire Motorsports, crashed early in the second group of NASCAR Cup Series practice at Dover, when his Focused Health Chevrolet impacted the Turn 2 wall, creating extensive damage.
At the end of that session, Kaz Grala had the most serious incident of the afternoon at the one-mile oval, after his No. 15 Ford Mustang Dark Horse snapped loose and overcorrected into the outside wall with incredible force. Grala was able to climb from his car but mentioned he was unsure of the backup car situation for Rick Ware Racing.
Christopher Bell also ran into issues on Saturday, albeit during time trials, when his No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE snapped loose and spun around entering the third corner. Bell made contact with the outside wall, but sustained minimum damage.
Bell, Grala, and Smith will start 33rd, 35th, and 37th, respectively in Sunday’s race.
.@CBellRacing goes for a big slide but only brushes the wall! pic.twitter.com/qGN7bMIiwi
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 27, 2024
Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Dover Motor Speedway will take place Sunday at 3:30 PM ET on FOX Sports 1, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Starting Lineup: NASCAR Cup Series Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway
