It’s been over a decade since Chase Elliott last secured a pole in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but at Pocono on Saturday, the NASCAR Cup Series champion broke that streak.
The Dawsonville, Georgia-native didn’t have this weekend’s Xfinity Series event at Pocono on the calendar until a last-minute addition by Hendrick Motorsports had the No. 17 traveling to Pennsylvania.
As the third driver to hit the racetrack in qualifying on Saturday, Elliott’s lap time of 54.209 seconds (166.024mph) wasn’t expected to hold for the pole position, but as the track continued to get warmer, it ultimately did.
“Honestly, I didn’t think it was going to be good enough to hold up when I ran the lap,” Elliott told The CW. “I had a really good [Turn 3] and an okay [Turn 1] and [Tunnel Turn], so I definitely think going out early was a good thing, it’s been getting warmer as we’ve gone along.”
The last time that Elliott — who has now won championships in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series — won a pole in the second-tier division was at the tail-end of his rookie campaign at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October.
Brandon Jones, a regular in the NASCAR Xfnity Series, will start on the outside of the front row for Saturday’s Explore The Pocono Mountains 250 at Pocono Raceway, after posting a lap time more than a tenth and a half slower than polesitter Elliott.
STARTING LINEUP: Explore The Pocono Mountains 250 at Pocono Raceway
Making up the second row for Saturday’s 250-mile contest at Pocono Raceway will be a pair of NASCAR Xfinity Series rookies, with Nick Sanchez qualifying his Big Machine Racing entry in third, and William Sawalich in fourth.
Despite having to make two attempts at qualifying (after Leland Honeyman spun during his qualifying attempt), Ryan Sieg completed the top five in NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying at Pocono Raceway.
Sam Mayer qualified sixth for Saturday’s 100-lap contest, with Taylor Gray, Justin Allgaier, Connor Zilisch, and Jesse Love rounding out the top-10.
Other notables starting outside the top-10 in Saturday’s Xfinity Series event include Sheldon Creed (12th), Sammy Smith (13th), Austin Hill (14th), Christian Eckes (15th), and Carson Kvapil (22nd).-
After suffering some kind of damage in practice, Logan Bearden and Kyle Sieg both failed to make a lap in NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying from Pocono Raceway.
Leland Honeyman will start from 36th place, after spinning during his qualifying lap. Luckily, the No. 70 Cope Family Racing Chevrolet didn’t suffer any major damage.
The Explore The Pocono Mountains 250 will take place on Saturday, June 21 at 3:30 PM ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
