The NASCAR Xfinity Series rookies have shown out dramatically this season, once again sweeping the front row, this time for Saturday’s BetMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Taylor Gray, driving the No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing, locked down his second career pole position with a strong qualifying lap, posting a time of 30.598 seconds (176.482mph).
Clocking in just behind Gray was 18-year-old rookie phenom Connor Zilisch, who returns to NASCAR Xfinity Series competition after spending the last couple of weeks on the mend from a back injury suffered at Talladega.
Zilisch, who is running double-duty this weekend with his second NASCAR Cup Series start being contested in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, trailed just behind the 20-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
“Starting on the front row always makes your day easier, for sure. I can’t thank everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing enough, they brought me a really fast Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra, I was maybe a tad concerned in practice, but I feel like we turned it around there at least for one solid lap there.”
STARTING LINEUP: 2025 NXS BetMGM 300 at Charlotte
NASCAR Xfinity Series veteran Austin Hill placed third in qualifying, with NASCAR Cup Series regular William Byron taking fourth place in the No. 17 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
Brandon Jones, winner earlier this season at Darlington, rounded out the top five in Saturday’s qualifying session from Charlotte, North Carolina.
William Sawalich will start on the third row, in sixth, with Ryan Sieg, Sheldon Creed, Chase Briscoe, and Justin Allgaier rounding out the top-10.
Other notable drivers starting Saturday’s 300-mile contest outside the top-10 include Sam Mayer (11th), Carson Kvapil (12th), Sammy Smith (13th), Christian Eckes (15th), Jesse Love (19th), Austin Dillon (20th), and Daniel Dye (24th).
With 40 drivers entered for Saturday’s home race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, two teams had to go home before the green flag this afternoon, those being Carson Ware (Joey Gase Motorsports) and Dawson Cram (Mike Harmon Racing).
The BetMGM 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway will take place Saturday, May 24 at 4:30 PM ET on The CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
