There was no shortage of excitement in Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series qualifying session from Darlington Raceway, as the results came down to the final truck to hit the racetrack.
Nick Sanchez, driving the No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado for REV Racing, posted the fastest time in Friday’s time trials, laying down a lap that clocked at 29.288 seconds (167.905mph), scoring his seventh NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole.
Despite being the fastest in qualifying, Sanchez will have to start at the rear of the field for an undisclosed reason.
Pole in Darlington. Going to start in the back though, going to be fun?? pic.twitter.com/HAVOXs2NSC
— Nicholas Sanchez (@Nicksanchez080) May 10, 2024
Corey Heim, the winner of the most recent NASCAR Truck Series event at Kansas Speedway, will start on the outside of the front row for Friday’s Buckle Up South Carolina 200, with TRICON Garage teammate Taylor Gray starting in third place in the No. 17 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.
Kyle Busch, running his final NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event of 2024, will start from fourth place with Spire Motorsports and Brian Pattie, while another TRICON Garage driver, Tanner Gray, will round out the top five.
NASCAR Cup Series regular Ross Chastain will start Friday’s 200-mile contest from sixth, while last year’s winner at Darlington, Christian Eckes, will start seventh. Layne Riggs, Grant Enfinger, and Daniel Dye will start from eighth, ninth, and 10th.
After a mid-week swap of crew chiefs, Ben Rhodes and Jake Garcia were the fastest of the five ThorSport Racing entries, posting times good enough for 12th and 14th. Ty Majeski (16th), Matt Crafton (20th), and Conner Jones (21st) all posted times good enough to sit outside the top-15.
Rajah Caruth, winner from Las Vegas earlier this season, will start Friday’s event from 26th after making some contact with the outside wall in the first set of corners, costing him quite a bit of time.
Thad Moffitt, driving the No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado for Faction46, was the slowest driver to take time on Friday, posting a lap that clocked in nearly three seconds off the pace. Moffitt will start from 32nd.
Starting Lineup: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Buckle Up South Carolina 200 at Darlington
