It’s quite difficult to comprehend that Trackhouse Racing, in the midst of its third season of competing at NASCAR’s top level, has never scored a pole position before. Now, thanks to a stellar lap by Ross Chastain, that isn’t the case anymore.
Chastain, driving the No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Camaro, put down a blistering lap in the final round of qualifying on Saturday, winning the pole by more than two-tenths of a second, with his lap of 29.797 seconds (160.687mph).
The pole position isn’t just the first in the NASCAR Cup Series for Trackhouse Racing, but is also the first career pole at NASCAR’s top-level for Chastain, who is scheduled to make his 168th start in the series in Sunday’s Ally 400.
Tyler Reddick, who paced the series’ practice session on Friday, posted the second-fastest time in the second round of qualifying on Saturday, posting a lap just a tad slower than the 30-second mark.
Just three one-thousandths of a second behind Reddick, who will start alongside Chastain on Sunday, was Justin Haley, who recorded a career-high third-place starting spot in the No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing.
Joey Logano will start from fourth on Sunday, with William Byron rounding out the top five. Martin Truex, Jr., Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, and Daniel Suarez completed the top-10 qualifiers from Saturday.
Wallace, who will start ninth in his No. 23 Toyota Camry TRD, was making a stellar run in the final round of qualifying, trending ahead of Chastain, when his McDonald’s entry snapped loose exiting turn four, causing him to spin around.
The 23XI Racing driver wasn’t the only person to have issues – let alone in the final round of qualifying – as Daniel Suarez, teammate to pole winner Ross Chastain, crashed his No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro into the outside wall coming to the green.
Even though Suarez will be credited with a 10th-place starting spot, he’ll have to drop to the rear of the pack for Sunday’s Ally 400, as a result of either making significant repairs or unloading a backup car.
Similarly, Corey LaJoie will have to start at the rear of the pack for Sunday’s race, after breaking loose and spinning at the exit of turn four, crunching the rear-end of his Spire Motorsports entry while making a solid lap.
The session, similar to that of the NASCAR Xfinity Series about an hour earlier, featured a number of drivers snapping loose and nearly losing control of their entries, damaging the outcome of their laps.
Among the notable drivers to be starting outside the top-10 in Sunday’s 400-mile contest includes Kyle Busch (11th), Ryan Blaney (13th), Chase Elliott (14th), Alex Bowman (15th), Kevin Harvick (17th), Brad Keselowski (20th), Christopher Bell (22nd), and Austin Dillon (26th).
Despite the treacherous conditions for qualifying, Sunday’s event, which will take place under the lights, will have the cars handling in a totally different way, as the weather conditions and time of day will be completely different.
Qualifying Results / Starting Lineup – NASCAR Cup Series at Nashville:
2023 NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 at Nashville Qualifying Results
