Martin Truex Jr. will start first at Phoenix Raceway in his final start as a full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The 2017 champion captured his second consecutive pole position, edging Championship 4 driver Joey Logano for the top spot in qualifying.
It’s the 25th career pole in the 693rd start for Truex, who also started first last week at Martinsville Speedway.
RESULTS: Click here for qualifying speeds at Phoenix Raceway l Notes
STARTING LINEUP: By row l By car number
“Good job today by all my guys,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who is trying to avoid going winless in his last full-time season, told NBC Sports’ Dave Burns. “Feels good to be starting at the front, hopefully we can finish there.”
Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Tyler Reddick will face off for the 2024 title.
Logano will start second as three of the four championship contenders made the final round in qualifying for Sunday’s season finale. William Byron will start eighth, followed by Tyler Reddick in 10th.
The surprise was Ryan Blaney, whose No. 12 Ford was considered a favorite for the pole position after turning the fastest lap in practice Friday. But the defending series champion qualified 17th after skidding through Turn 1.
“I just got loose and kind of gave all the time up,” Blaney, who won last year’s championship after starting 15th, told Burns. “I thought I got in there OK, but it stepped out, and there was no getting back after that. I think we’ll be fine tomorrow. We’ll see if got a car that can drive toward the front with the pace we’ve shown. We just didn’t get a really good lap. Look forward to a long race tomorrow.
“I work really hard on moving on quick. We’ll just move on and just focus on the race tomorrow. This group does that really well. When things might not go your way, you just move on from them and look forward to the next task. Luckily, we’ve got another shot at it tomorrow.”
Here’s the NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup for Sunday at Phoenix Raceway:
ROW 1
1. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Toyota, 26.718 seconds, 134.741 mph
2. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, 26.728, 134.690
ROW 2
3. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet, 26.812, 134.268
4. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet, 26.804, 134.308
ROW 3
5. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet, 26.820, 134.228
6. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota, 26.811, 134.273
ROW 4
7. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota, 26.992, 133.373
8. William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet, 26.822, 134.218
ROW 5
9. Harrison Burton, No. 21 Ford, 27.234, 132.188
10. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota, 26.842, 134.118
ROW 6
11. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford, 26.748, 134.590
12. Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Ford, 26.739, 134.635
ROW 7
13. Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet, 26.755, 134.554
14. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, 26.745, 134.605
ROW 8
15. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet, 26.788, 134.389
16. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet, 26.790, 134.378
ROW 9
17. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford, 26.813, 134.263
18. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota, 26.850, 134.078
ROW 10
19. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota, 26.899, 133.834
20. Corey LaJoie, No. 51 Ford, 26.852, 134.068
ROW 11
21. Noah Gragson, No. 10 Ford, 26.928, 133.690
22. Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Chevrolet, 26.884, 133.909
ROW 12
23. Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Toyota, 26.960, 133.531
24. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford, 26.918, 133.740
ROW 13
25. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet, 26.968, 133.492
26. Derek Kraus, No. 16 Chevrolet, 26.945, 133.605
ROW 14
27. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford, 27.029, 133.190
28. Zane Smith, No. 71 Chevrolet, 26.960, 133.531
ROW 15
29. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota, 27.131, 132.690
30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet, 27.035, 133.161
ROW 16
31. Kaz Grala, No. 15 Ford, 27.152, 132.587
32. Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, 27.221, 132.251
ROW 17
33. Ryan Preece, No. 41 Ford, 27.164, 132.528
34. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet, 27.313, 131.805
ROW 18
35. Michael McDowell, No. 34 Ford, 27.255, 132.086
36. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, 27.568, 130.586
ROW 19
37. JJ Yeley, No. 44 Chevrolet, 27.772, 129.627
38. Chad Finchum, No. 66 Ford, 28.148, 127.895
ROW 20
39. Josh Berry, No. 4 Ford, no time
40. Jeb Burton, No. 50 Chevrolet, no time
