AJ Allmendinger Continues Strong Playoff Momentum with Xfinity Pole at Las Vegas

After winning back-to-back races at Talladega and Charlotte’s ROVAL, the momentum in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs is building for AJ Allmendinger and Kaulig Racing.

Allmendinger, who will return to full-time competition in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023, captured his eighth career pole position in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, bringing his SRS Distribution Chevrolet around the 1.5-mile facility in 29.716 seconds (181.720mph).

The Los Gatos, California native narrowly beat out part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Trevor Bayne for the top spot in Friday’s qualifying session, winning the pole by only 13-thousandths of a second.

Bayne will start Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 302 from the runner-up spot, while his full-time teammate Ty Gibbs will start in third place, as he looks to secure himself a spot in the Round of 4.

JR Motorsports teammates Noah Gragson and Sam Mayer, both in contention for the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship, qualified in fourth and fifth place for Saturday’s contest.

Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones, Austin Hill, Sheldon Creed, and Justin Allgaier completed the top-10 in the late-night qualifying session from Las Vegas Motor Speedway, while fellow ‘Round of 8’ competitor Josh Berry will start in 12th.

Hailie Deegan, making her highly-anticipated NASCAR Xfinity Series debut for SS Green Light Racing in the No. 07 Ford Mustang, put up the 20th-quickest lap in time trials, after placing 16th in practice.

Riley Herbst, David Starr, and Kyle Sieg all failed to post a lap in the single-car qualifying session. Starr and Sieg because of mechanical issues, while Herbst had an incident while taking time, where his car spun off of turn two.

Qualifying Results: 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 302