In a wild final round of qualifying on Friday, William Byron took the pole for Sunday’s Bank of America 400 on the infield road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
On a slick track, Byron posted a lap speed of 103.198 mph. Teammate Alex Bowman will start on the front row with Byron, with Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer rounding out the top five.
Byron’s pole-winning run was his fifth of the season and his second-straight at Charlotte Motor Speedway after winning the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 earlier in May.
Kevin Harvick will start sixth on Sunday, Kyle Larson seventh and Martin Truex, Jr. eighth. Defending race winner Ryan Blaney, Paul Menard, Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher filled the top 12.
Both Bowyer and Larson missed the backstretch chicane on their first runs of the final round and had to make a second run. Larson had been on pace to win the pole before his mishap.
Byron finished on top in the first round as well, joined in the top five in that session by Larson, Johnson, Bowyer and Keselowski.
Notable drivers not making the top 12 included Erik Jones (15th), Kyle Busch (18th), Chase Elliott (19th), Kurt Busch (23rd), Ryan Newman (24th), and Denny Hamlin (28th in a backup car). Both Kurt Busch and Jones are currently below the cut line for making the second round of the playoffs.
Final practice for the Bank of America 400 is scheduled for Saturday at 2:00 pm.
Bryon enters this weekend’s event 12th in points and just two points ahead of his teammate Alex Bowman for the final spot to advance to the next round of the Cup Series playoffs.
“The guys did a great job with this car and it really takes every corner around this race track to get a pole,” Byron said after his run. “I knew we could qualify top 5, but I really wanted the pole and really kind of went out there and got it. So, I’m really proud of this UniFirst team, it’s going to be great to start up front.”
WDUN will carry live PRN Radio coverage of the NASCAR race weekend from Charlotte Motor Speedway. It begins with Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Drive For The Cure 250 at 3 o’clock on 102.9 FM and streaming live on AccessWDUN. Coverage continues on Sunday with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America 400 at 1:30 pm on 102.9 FM and streaming live on AccessWDUN.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course – Concord, NC
Bank of America 400 – September 27, 2019
Friday’s Qualifying Results
1. (24) William Byron (P), Chevrolet, 103.198 mph.
2. (88) Alex Bowman (P), Chevrolet, 103.078 mph.
3. (22) Joey Logano (P), Ford, 103.037 mph.
4. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 102.893 mph.
5. (14) Clint Bowyer (P), Ford, 102.838 mph.
6. (4) Kevin Harvick (P), Ford, 102.383 mph.
7. (42) Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, 102.359 mph.
8. (19) Martin Truex, Jr. (P), Toyota, 101.769 mph.
9. (12) Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 101.737 mph.
10. (21) Paul Menard, Ford, 101.587 mph.
11. (2) Brad Keselowski (P), Ford, 101.486 mph.
12. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 101.449 mph.
13. (41) Daniel Suarez, Ford, 101.953 mph.
14. (47) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 101.943 mph.
15. (20) Erik Jones (P), Toyota, 101.887 mph.
16. (10) Aric Almirola (P), Ford, 101.881 mph.
17. (18) Kyle Busch (P), Toyota, 101.871 mph.
18. (95) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 101.862 mph.
19. (9) Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, 101.732 mph.
20. (8) Daniel Hemric #, Chevrolet, 101.696 mph.
21. (17) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 101.566 mph.
22. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 101.542 mph.
23. (1) Kurt Busch (P), Chevrolet, 101.461 mph.
24. (6) Ryan Newman (P), Ford, 101.148 mph.
25. (43) Darrell Wallace, Jr., Chevrolet, 101.136 mph.
26. (32) Corey LaJoie, Ford, 101.077 mph.
27. (38) David Ragan, Ford, 100.520 mph.
28. (11) Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, 100.507 mph.
29. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 100.480 mph.
30. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 100.346 mph.
31. (51) Cody Ware(i), Chevrolet, 99.169 mph.
32. (00) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 98.618 mph.
33. (66) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 97.896 mph.
34. (53) Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 97.602 mph.
35. (52) Garrett Smithley(i), Ford, 97.363 mph.
36. (36) Matt Tifft #, Ford, 0.000 mph.
37. (15) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
38. (77) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
39. (27) Joe Nemechek(i), Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
40. (96) Parker Kligerman(i), Toyota, 0.000 mph.
