Daniel Suarez set a blistering pace early in the final round of NASCAR Cup qualifying and held on to win a very timely pole for Sunday’s Indy Road Course.
Suarez, who has yet to secure a victory this season and is currently five points away from qualifying for the playoffs, achieved the highest average lap speed in the initial 10-minute round of Saturday’s qualifying session at a speed of 99.814 mph.
Nearly every car – including Suarez – went out in the final minute to make a second attempt but Reddick came up just short (99.649 mph) to knock Suarez off the pole.
Suarez, racing for Trackhouse Racing, secured his first pole position of the season in the No. 99 Chevrolet. This achievement marks his third career pole but his first since the 2019 season.
“I am extremely proud of everyone at Trackhouse Racing, and it feels great,” Suarez expressed. “Right from the start of practice, I had a feeling that we were onto something good. We just needed to fine-tune a few aspects, but I am eagerly looking forward to tomorrow.”
“We are aware of our velocity, and now we must put our plans into action. I am extremely pleased with our current position, and I am eagerly anticipating the opportunity to showcase our abilities tomorrow.”
Chase Elliott finished in third place with a speed of 99.399 mph, Michael McDowell came in fourth, and Kyle Busch will start in fifth position.
Completing the top-10 starting order for Sunday’s race are Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, Alex Bowman and Ty Gibbs.
Brodie Kostecki, a fellow Supercars star, will begin in the 11th position (although his car requires repairs). Kamui Kobayashi will start in 28th place, Jenson Button, the 2009 Formula 1 World Champion, will line up in 31st, and Mike Rockenfeller will start in 37th.
Round 1 / Group A
Reddick, who won this event last season, went out late in the first session and ripped off the fastest average lap speed at 99.721 mph.
Suarez achieved the second highest speed at 99.342 mph, with Elliott following closely in third place at 99.339 mph. Additionally, Bell and Busch also progressed to the final round of qualifying.
Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, and Chris Buescher, who emerged victorious in the previous two races of the series, were among the individuals who did not progress.
Buescher expressed confidence in our race car, stating that although there is some work to be done, we have a strong vehicle.
Round 1 / Group B
McDowell, who was fastest in Saturday’s practice, kept up the pace and was fastest in the first round of qualifying (99.881 mph).
Larson achieved the second fastest speed at 99.844 mph, while Bowman secured the third position with a speed of 99.826 mph. Additionally, Gibbs and van Gisbergen also progressed to the final round of qualifying.
Kostecki was sixth-fastest and trying to crack the top five on his final attempt when he got loose off Turn 11 and hit the wall, which did significant damage to his No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
“To be honest, I’m quite disappointed in myself,” expressed Kostecki. “I made the mistake of completing my lap with excessive speed as I exited the banking, resulting in damage to the car. Nevertheless, the car is still fast, and I believe we will be fine for the race.”
Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, and William Byron were among the individuals who did not progress to the final round from Group B. William Byron was disqualified from qualifying as his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet did not pass inspection on three occasions on Friday.
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