Kyle Larson Rockets to Phoenix Pole, Chase Elliott Second in Championship Race

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Kyle Larson Pole Phoenix — Kyle Larson will begin his quest for his first NASCAR Cup Series championship on Sunday from the pole. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Hendrick Motorsports took a distinct advantage in qualifying for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway as Kyle Larson will start from the pole and Chase Elliott will start second.

The Hendrick duo, who make up half of the Championship 4 field, looked strong on Saturday.

Larson turned a lap of 26.116 sec., which equated to 137.847 mph. Larson’s lap was nearly an entire mile-per-hour faster than Elliott’s best lap.

The other two Championship 4 contenders, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. will start from sixth and 12th.

The highest Championship 4 finisher in Sunday’s race will be the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion.

William Byron, who has had an incredible run of finishes lately, will start third on Sunday. Ryan Blaney, who has had three wins this season will start fourth and Kurt Busch will start from fifth in Chip Ganassi Racing’s final NASCAR Cup Series race.

Hamlin, Cole Custer, Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano will round out the top-10 starters for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race.

Toby Christie

Toby is the Founder of TobyChristie.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. Toby is also the co-host of The Final Lap Weekly Podcast. Additionally, he is an award-winning writer, and has followed the sport as a fan since 1993.