By Michael Haag
AUSTIN, Texas — When NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron saw Tyler Reddick post a scorching time of 130.305 in the opening qualifying on Saturday, Byron figured he would have to claw his way into the top three, at best.
Byron (130.760) wound up besting Reddick (130.898) in the final round of qualifying to secure his first pole position of the year, as he will start out in front of the field for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas road course.
The 25-year-old topped Reddick by a mere .138 seconds on the 20-turn 3.41-mile road course, thanks to a sizzling lap at 93.882 mph. Byron, who drives the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, now becomes the first driver in NASCAR history to win pole positions at four different road course venues. The tracks include the Charlotte ROVAL (2019), Road America (2021), Indianapolis Road Course (2021) and now COTA (2022).
Additionally, this is the Charlotte, N.C., native’s ninth career pole position.
With all the road course success in terms of qualifying, the next step is getting that coveted win.
“I haven’t had the success in the races that I want to have,” Byron said. “So, just putting it together for an entire three to four hours, not making mistakes, not making the critical decisions that it takes to be successful (will be key). Qualifying (has) always been pretty good for me. I’m typically able to kind of get up on the wheel for that lap and make the most of it. I think (now) it’s just (about) doing that for three hours and managing the tires, managing the brakes and the kind of ebb and flow that it takes.”
Ironically, Byron qualified for the XFinity Series’ Pit Boss Grills 250, on Friday and was disqualified after officials deemed he exceeded track limits. Bryon can just chalk it up as a test run for the Cup Series qualifying that came 24 hours later.
“I definitely knew I was really close last night,” Byron said. “(The) track police got me there, but that was the right call … . (It) was good to make that mistake then and be able to clean it up for today.”
As someone who’s had success qualifying at road courses, Byron said “a little bit’s a lot” in terms of how he approaches a lap. The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year said he took the “S” curves a little differently on his final run and that it proved the difference in edging Riddick for the pole spot.
Bryon is looking to continue his hot start to the 2023 season, as he already has two wins on the year. He said “it’s just nice to see it all click” but he knows that “it’s a long season” ahead.
“We just gotta keep it up for however many weeks are left,” Byron said. “And, yeah, we’ve got a lot of things to still do and accomplish. So, it’s a grind, so just gotta strap in and get ready for it.”
Reddick will start on the outside pole while Austin Cindric qualified third. Jordan Taylor, an IMSA sports car star, will make his NCS debut in the fourth spot. Taylor is filling in for the injured Chase Elliot. In other news, two Formula One champions will race on Sunday, in the form of Kimi Raikkonen (22nd) and Jenson Button (24th).
Seven-time NCS champion Jimmie Johnson will also be making his first COTA start from the 31st position. The green flag will wave at 2:30 p.m. CT on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying Final Round Results – EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix
Circuit of The Americas
Austin, Texas
Saturday, March 25, 2023
- (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 93.882 mph.
- (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 93.783 mph.
- (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 93.459 mph.
- (9) Jordan Taylor, Chevrolet, 93.174 mph.
- (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 93.067 mph.
- (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 92.911 mph.
- (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 92.840 mph.
- (43) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 92.838 mph.
- (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 92.678 mph.
- (42) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, 92.188 mph.
- (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 0.000 mph.
- (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
- (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
- (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 0.000 mph.
- (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 0.000 mph.
- (21) Harrison Burton, Ford, 0.000 mph.
- (54) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 0.000 mph.
- (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
- (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 0.000 mph.
- (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 0.000 mph.
- (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 0.000 mph.
- (91) Kimi Raikkonen, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
- (31) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
- (15) Jenson Button, Ford, 0.000 mph.
- (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 0.000 mph.
- (41) Ryan Preece, Ford, 0.000 mph.
- (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
- (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
- (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 0.000 mph.
- (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 0.000 mph.
- (84) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
- (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 0.000 mph.
- (78) Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
- (77) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
- (50) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
- (38) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 0.000 mph.
- (51) Cody Ware, Ford, 0.000 mph.
- (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 0.000 mph.
- (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 0.000 mph.
