For the first time in his NASCAR Xfinity Series career, Sheldon Creed will lead the field to the green, winning the pole for Saturday’s Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Speedway.
Creed, driving the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro, posted a quick time of 74.111 seconds (95.684mph) in the final round of Saturday’s qualifying session to secure the pole at the 1.967-mile road course.
Cole Custer, who finished runner-up in Friday’s ARCA Menards Series West event at Portland, will start from the outside of the front row for Saturday’s event.
Josh Berry earned a third-place starting spot for Saturday’s event, while John Hunter Nemechek and Justin Allgaier will complete the race’s top-five starters.
Jordan Taylor, making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut, will start from sixth place, while Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, Myatt Snider, and Daniel Hemric will start inside the top-10.
Starting 11th, Connor Mosck – driving for Sam Hunt Racing – was the fastest of the drivers to not advance to the second round. Riley Herbst was in 12th place and also failed to advance to the top-10.
Parker Kligerman, who was quickest in Saturday’s 20-minute practice session, will start 14th, driving for Big Machine Racing as he attempts to win his way into the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.
Sammy Smith had an incident in the second-to-last corner of the track during qualifying and recorded a 16th-place qualifying effort. Parker Retzlaff, Justin Allgaier, Stefan Parsons, Parker Kligerman, and several others also ran into issues.
Sam Mayer, Brandon Jones, and Stefan Parsons failed to post a lap in qualifying, meaning those drivers will start from 36th, 37th, and 38th.
With only 38 drivers entering, every car that came to Portland International Raceway will take the green flag in Saturday’s Pacific Office Automation 147.
Qualifying Results: 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Pacific Office 147 at Portland
