Returning to the NASCAR Xfinity Series for a second straight weekend, Ty Gibbs is destined to start Saturday’s Shriners Children’s 200 at Watkins Glen from the exact same position he finished last weekend’s event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Gibbs, a rookie in the NASCAR Cup Series, posted the quickest time in Saturday’s qualifying session from the 2.45-mile road course, clocking in at 70.549 seconds (125.019mph) to score his seventh career pole in the second-tier series.
Driving the No. 19 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing, the 20-year-old will be starting alongside fellow NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman, who posted a time of 70.718 seconds (124.721mph) in his No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro.
After posting the fastest time in Saturday’s 20-minute practice session from Watkins Glen, Justin Allgaier picked up a third-place starting spot, while Cole Custer and Sam Mayer rounded out the top five in the final round of time trials.
Daniel Hemric will start from the sixth position, with Josh Berry, Kyle Busch, Sammy Smith, and Riley Herbst completing the formation of the race’s first five rows, via their advancements to the final round of qualifying.
Austin Hill and John Hunter Nemechek, the two drivers battling for the regular-season championship in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, both barely missed advancing to the final round of qualifying, and will start 11th and 12th.
Sheldon Creed and Parker Kligerman – the two drivers sitting on either side of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff bubble – will start in the seventh row. Other notables include Ross Chastain in 16th, Chandler Smith in 18th, and Brandon Jones in 24th.
Patrick Emerling for Emerling-Gase Motorsports and Casey Carden, attempting to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut for CHK Racing, were the two drivers that failed to qualify for Saturday’s event from Watkins Glen, New York.
Qualifying Results – 2023 Shriners Children’s 200 at Watkins Glen
Qualifying Results: 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Shriners Children’s 200 at The Glen
