AVONDALE, Ariz. — Daytona 500 winner William Byron climbed out of his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on Phoenix Raceway pit road with a huge smile after claiming his first pole position in nearly a year — the last car to turn a qualifying lap.
The 27-year-old North Carolinian conceded he wasn‘t expecting his chart-topping lap of 133.680 mph but is ready to seize the strong start for Sunday‘s Shriners Children‘s 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“I did not hit my marks, I was sideways and carried a ton of entry speed, missed the middle of the corner, and coming off the dogleg I was so loose,‘‘ Byron said of his fast lap on the 1-mile Phoenix oval, the 14th pole of his career. “I was just going to try to commit to the exits and see how much I could get out, even though I missed the center [of the turn].
“Just a fast car,‘‘ added Byron, who leads the NASCAR Cup Series standings and has a pair of top-two finishes in the season‘s first three races. “Thanks to my whole team. They‘ve been bringing fast cars and we‘ve been doing a really good job of executing. So definitely want to go out there and have a great day tomorrow.‘‘
RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos: Phoenix
Team Penske‘s Joey Logano will start alongside Byron, marking his third front-row start in four races this year. The three-time and reigning series champion turned a lap of 133.195 mph in his No. 22 Ford Mustang in Saturday‘s single-round Cup Series qualifying session.
“I don‘t like William Byron anymore,‘‘ Logano said with a laugh. “Man, that stinks. I just got through telling [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe] that it would really suck if the last car beat us.
“That was going to be Penske‘s 700th pole across all motorsports, so we‘ll have to go try and do that next week. But overall, proud of the effort.‘‘
Spire Motorsports‘ Carson Hocevar will start his No. 77 Chevrolet third, leading an impressive weekend for the Spire team. For the first time ever, all three of its cars will start among the top eight on the grid. Michael McDowell (No. 71) and Justin Haley (No. 7) will start seventh and eighth, respectively.
Wood Brothers Racing‘s Josh Berry was fourth quickest in the No. 21 Ford, followed by Legacy Motor Club‘s Erik Jones in the No. 43 Toyota.
Defending Phoenix spring race winner Christopher Bell, who brings a two-race winning streak into Phoenix, was 11th quickest Saturday afternoon.
Katherine Legge, making her Cup Series debut this weekend, qualified last among the 37 cars. However, she improved her practice speed in the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet by more than 2 mph in qualifying — a strong sign of progress for the sports car and open-wheel driver.
WATCH: Katherine Legge talks expectations ahead of Cup debut
Logano, who won the last Cup Series race at Phoenix in November, is the last driver to win a race from the pole at the desert one-miler, claiming that win in fall 2022. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kyle Larson (2021) and Chase Elliott (2020) are the only other active drivers with a Phoenix victory from the pole.
Hocevar fastest in practice
Two drivers from Spire Motorsports topped the leaderboard in Saturday’s 45-minute practice session as Carson Hocevar set the quickest time at 132.533 mph. His teammate Michael McDowell was second fastest at 132.523 mph in the No. 71 Chevrolet.
Tyler Reddick (132.499 mph), Austin Cindric (132.489 mph) and Chris Buescher (132.329 mph) rounded out the top five.
William Byron (132.120 mph), Denny Hamlin (131.984 mph), Erik Jones (131.878 mph), Christopher Bell (131.854 mph) and John Hunter Nemechek (131.839 mph) completed the top 10.
MORE: Practice results
Teams collected data on the option tire during the extended practice session. It was first utilized in last year’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro and the Richmond summer race.
If the option tire performs well this weekend, it will become the only tire compound used in November for the championship race at Phoenix, according to a NASCAR spokesperson.
Race conditions are expected to differ on Sunday, with temperatures forecasted to be at least 10 degrees warmer. Every team will have two sets of the option tire and seven of the Goodyear primary sets. One of the primary sets is rolled over from qualifying.
“I don‘t know, but it‘s definitely a much faster tire and pretty strong as well,‘‘ Kyle Larson said of running practice laps on the option tire. “It‘s going to be interesting.‘‘
Contributing: Staff reports
