William Byron stunned the crowd at Phoenix Raceway with a breathtaking pole lap during the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session, solidifying his spot at the front of the pack for the upcoming race. Byron’s impressive performance marked his 14th career pole but his first at Phoenix Raceway, breaking a pole drought that had persisted since 2024.
As the final driver to make a qualifying attempt, Byron left spectators in awe as he navigated the track with finesse, clocking in at 133.680mph in just 26.930 seconds. Despite his remarkable achievement, Byron humbly admitted, “I did not hit my marks… I was sideways.” Reflecting on his lap, he added, “Still shaking. That did not feel like a good lap, but I just committed to it, and the grip was there.”
Byron’s stellar performance bumped Joey Logano from the pole position, with Logano settling for a second-place start alongside Byron on the front row. The rest of the top 10 qualifiers included Carson Hocevar in third, Josh Berry in fourth, Erik Jones in fifth, Chase Elliott in sixth, Michael McDowell in seventh, Justin Haley in eighth, and Tyler Reddick in ninth. Denny Hamlin rounded out the top 10 qualifiers with a solid performance.
Notably, Spire Motorsports had a standout day with all three of their drivers, Hocevar, McDowell, and Haley, securing spots in the top 10 following strong showings in practice. Christopher Bell will begin his race from the 11th starting position, while Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric, and Kyle Busch secured the 12th to 15th positions, respectively.
The middle of the pack featured notable names such as Kyle Larson in 17th, Bubba Wallace in 19th, and Brad Keselowski in 20th. Further back, Ross Chastain qualified 24th, Todd Gilliland 27th, Shane van Gisbergen 29th, and Chase Briscoe 30th. Bringing up the rear were Daniel Suarez in 31st, Alex Bowman in 32nd, Ty Gibbs in 34th, and Katherine Legge in 37th, making her Cup Series debut.
As the anticipation builds for the upcoming Shriners Children’s 500 at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, fans are eager to see how the top qualifiers will fare in the main event. Stay tuned for what promises to be an action-packed race filled with thrilling moments and fierce competition.
