In February 2021, the last time NASCAR’s top-three divisions visited Homestead-Miami Speedway, William Byron was leading the field to the checkered flag, capturing his second victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.
However, this time, with a potential ‘Championship Four’ berth on the line, Byron will once again be leading the field, albeit to the green flag, rather than the checkered flag.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver – who enters the penultimate event of the ‘Round of 8’ six points below the cutline – was able to put down a lap time of 32.454 seconds (166.389mph) to secure his first pole of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.
After posting the second-fastest lap in Group B of Saturday’s qualifying session, Byron was able to post the fastest lap in the final round of qualifying, keeping Christopher Bell – a four-time pole winner this season – in the runner-up spot by half a tenth of a second.
Bell, who likely sits in a must-win situation after a crash at Las Vegas, will start alongside Byron in Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 at the 1.5-mile facility.
Chase Elliott, Byron’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, will start in third place, while John Hunter Nemechek – subbing for a suspended Bubba Wallace – will start the race from fourth place. Despite being the fastest in Group B, Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.
Ty Gibbs posted a career-best qualifying effort of sixth place, with Tyler Reddick in seventh, and RFK Racing teammates Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski posting the eighth and ninth-best times of the final round. AJ Allmendinger completed the top-10.
Of the eight drivers remaining in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, five of them qualified outside the top-10. Ryan Blaney will start the race from 13th, Denny Hamlin 14th, Joey Logano 17th, Chase Briscoe 19th, and Ross Chastain in 20th.
No drivers involved in the 36-car field suffered any issues or incidents throughout Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions, with every car entered making a lap in qualifying, rounded out by Cody Ware in 36th.
Full Qualifying Results:
