Michael McDowell will start at the front of the field at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, marking the seventh pole of his career and his first with Spire Motorsports.
Last season, McDowell secured six pole positions, dominating on drafting tracks. His only pole at a non-drafting track came at World Wide Technology Raceway in Gateway, where he managed to outpace two Team Penske drivers for the top spot.
Reflecting on his qualifying run, McDowell said he felt confident in his car’s grip through Turns 1 and 2, which made him believe he hadn’t used up all of his speed. His 28.883-second lap narrowly edged out defending champion Joey Logano’s 28.898-second lap.
McDowell recognized the challenge of navigating the final corners without scrubbing off speed or losing control. He explained that he studied Christopher Bell’s approach from last year’s qualifying session and believed that following a similar line was the right call.
Austin Cindric secured third place for Team Penske with a 28.909-second lap, while Kyle Busch (28.933 sec.) and Erik Jones (28.934 sec.) rounded out the top five. Jones was the only Toyota driver in the top 10. Completing the top 10 starters were Alex Bowman, Josh Berry, William Byron, Zane Smith, and last year’s race winner, Kyle Larson.
Christopher Bell, who is aiming for his fourth career Cup Series victory, will begin the race from 13th place.
Among the rookies, Shane Van Gisbergen and Riley Herbst will start in 28th and 34th, respectively. Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney opted not to set a qualifying time after his No. 12 Team Penske car suffered a blown tire and crashed during practice.
Last year, a similar incident forced Blaney to switch to a backup car for the fall race. However, this time, according to his team has chosen to repair the primary car instead of using a backup.
