Autotrader 400: Kyle Larson Beats Ty Gibbs to 3rd Straight Pole as Kyle Busch Crashes in Texas

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson has won the pole position for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 race at Texas Motor Speedway. The driver clocked the fastest lap time of 28.366 out of the 10 entries that made it into the final round. This was Larson’s 19th career pole and his third consecutive after Richmond and Martinsville. Joining him on the front row will be Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Ty Gibbs.

In the first qualifying round of Group A, Ty Reddick’s #45 Toyota car was the fastest of the bunch. However, Denny Hamlin for the first time this season couldn’t advance to the final round of qualifying. Moreover, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson couldn’t make it to qualifying after crashing their cars during the practice runs.

Kyle Larson reveals the trickery of running at Texas

The 1.5-mile race track in Texas is one of the most tricky surfaces for the NASAR drivers to deal with, and so was the case during the qualifiers. All it took was one bad corner while running the laps, and it hampered the overall timing of the run. However, the key to Larson’s pole win was his ability to commit right from Turn 1, a move very few drivers were able to pull off today.

Sharing his feelings after his pole win, the driver of the No. 5 HMS car said, “I sat on the radio after the first one, I was like about the most intense thing you could do or experience. It’s so on edge like, you know how much throttle time you have to have to like run fast and it’s just sketchy, so sketchy… Honestly, since we’ve gone in the NextGen car, this has been a place where I’ve really struggled with qualifying, like committing into turn one, I told myself I was going to commit today, and it paid off. “

This dominant performance by Larson also helped his racing organization reach another milestone, making it the 250th pole win for the HMS in the Cup Series. “Yeah, that was cool. 250th pole also for Hendrick Motorsports in the Cup Series, which is amazing, and glad I can contribute to some sort of numbers since Williams’ win stealing all the thunder lately. A great day and happy,” he further added.

The field is set for tomorrow’s final event, and here’s a look at where the other drivers inside the top 10 are starting after the final round of qualifying.

Drivers starting in the Top 10 starting positions at Texas Motor Speedway.

Trending

Despite 2023 Disaster, Chase Elliott Risks Angering Rick Hendrick by Choosing Alex Bowman’s HMS Banned Tactic

Kurt Busch Finally Breaking Radio Silence After Criminal Charges Forced 3-Month-Long Hiatus Has NASCAR Fans Breathing Easy

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Sister Recalls the Sacrifice Forced on Them by Tony Stewarts’ Stranded Mentee Before Their Big Moment

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Was Caught Off-Guard by Ken Schrader’s Boozy ‘Bargaining’ Tactic

Kyle Larson’s Efforts Reap Results as America’s Oldest Sprint Car Racing Makes Its Return After a Year of Hiatus

Kyle Larson was the final driver to run his timed lap, and following last weekend’s trend, he yet again topped a Toyota driver for the pole win. Joining the HMS driver on the front row will be Ty Gibbs, who also had a good qualifying session. In the second row, we have two more Toyota drivers, Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick, who make up the third and fourth starting spots, respectively.

Another consistent runner from last week, Chase Briscoe from SHR, had a decent qualifying round, placing him fifth. Joining the SHR driver, last weekend’s race winner, William Byron, secured himself a sixth place. Whereas, the likes of Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Martin Truex Jr, and Bubba Wallace completed the top 10 starting places.

Big names like Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and Denny Hamlin could not make the top 10 after a strong outing last weekend.