{"id":45509,"date":"2024-04-13T15:15:04","date_gmt":"2024-04-13T20:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=45509"},"modified":"2024-04-13T18:19:01","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T23:19:01","slug":"larson-captures-pole-at-texas-motor-speedway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/13\/larson-captures-pole-at-texas-motor-speedway\/","title":{"rendered":"Larson captures pole at Texas Motor Speedway"},"content":{"rendered":"

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio<\/em><\/p>\n

FORT WORTH _ Kyle Larson added another \u201cfirst\u201d to his NASCAR Cup Series resume at Texas Motor Speedway, where he qualified on-pole for Sunday\u2019s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 13, 2024 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Larson toured TMS\u2019 high-banked\/1.5-mile oval Saturday morning in 28.366-seconds at 190.369 mph in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 fielded by Hendrick Motorsports. Larson\u2019s 19th pole in 340 Cup races was his third consecutive of the season and sixth top-10 start. Remarkably, it\u2019s Larson\u2019s first Busch Pole Award in 17 races at \u201cThe Great American Speedway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Larson\u2019s lap pipped Ty Gibbs\u2019 run of 28.401-seconds at 190.134 mph in the No. 54 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing. Gibbs secured his fifth top-10 start of 2024 and second in three Cup races at TMS.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it was a pretty intense qualifying session,\u201d said Larson, the 2021 Cup champion who is paired with crew chief Cliff Daniels. \u201cI felt like the track was really slick in practice, and then having to kind of talk to yourself before you make your lap, knowing that you have to commit even more than you did in practice to go fast is difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then yeah, just the lap itself _ the first round and second round both _ there were moments where you have grip and then moments where you\u2019re like, \u2018Man, I\u2019m going to crash!\u2019 It\u2019s pretty intense from behind the wheel, but always great when you can accomplish a pole and feel like you beat your confidence a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The pole is Chevrolet\u2019s 16th all-time in Cup at Texas Motor Speedway, and the manufacturer\u2019s 747th all-time in NASCAR\u2019s premier series _ both records. Larson\u2019s lap also marked another milestone for Hendrick Motorsports, which delivered the Chevrolet organization its 250th all-time Cup pole during its 40th<\/sup> Anniversary season.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it\u2019s pretty neat,\u201d said Larson, 31, addressing HMS\u2019 myriad accomplishments. \u201cWhenever you can kind of be \u2018the guy\u2019 I guess _ to know that your name is going to be next to that milestone number _ it\u2019s pretty special. You know, like when I was able to be a part of win 269, like you feel the excitement; the happiness from (team-owner) Rick Hendrick and everybody that\u2019s been a part of the organization for a long time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then, even being out there on the opposite side of things _ with William (Byron) winning 300 last year here at Texas _ I was obviously super-bummed because I was dominating the race and lost but at the same point I was really happy for the team. Even last week, I\u2019m obviously bummed I didn\u2019t win but super, super-happy for the team. Especially this year, being the 40th Anniversary season for Hendrick Motorsports, there\u2019s these milestones that are all kind of coming up right now. It\u2019s just cool to get the 250th Cup Series pole, and I feel like I\u2019m contributing to the record books at Hendrick Motorsports.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. (Photo by Christian Petersen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Starting on-pole also earned Larson his choice of pit stalls for Sunday\u2019s event, scheduled for 267 laps\/400.5-miles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I think in the Next Gen stuff, qualifying is very important because of just track position and it being much harder to pass than it used to be,\u201d Larson said. \u201cAs far as pit stalls and stuff, this is one of the easier pit roads, I feel like. It\u2019s wide and the stalls are not too small so it\u2019s not too bad, as long you as you don\u2019t get stuck. Like say you qualified bad and you have to pick a stall in between two good cars and you\u2019re also a good car\u2026like Kyle Busch will probably have a rough day on pit road tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Busch, a two-time Cup champion, will start 35th<\/sup> after crashing his No. 8 zone Chevrolet fielded by Richard Childress Racing during the morning practice. Busch spun at the exit of Turn 2 and slammed the outside wall with the rear end. \u201cThese (expletive) cars suck,\u201d a disgusted Busch said over his radio. The winner of Friday night\u2019s Craftsman Truck Series race here, Busch will compete in his backup Camaro on Sunday.<\/p>\n

JGR\u2019s Christopher Bell, a native of Oklahoma City, will start third after lapping at 28.417-seconds and 190.027 mph in the No. 20 Rheem Toyota. Bell posted his second top-10 start at Texas Motor Speedway and fourth in nine races this season.<\/p>\n

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Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, (L) and crew chief Cliff Daniels. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Bell will be joined in Row 2 by Tyler Reddick after his lap of 28.450-seconds and 189.807 mph in the No. 45 The Beast Unleashed Toyota fielded by 23XI Racing.<\/p>\n

Reigning series champion Ryan Blaney will start seventh after lapping at 28.480-seconds and 189.607 mph in the No. 12 Menards\/Knauf Insulation Ford Mustang fielded by Team Penske.<\/p>\n

Former Prosper resident Chris Buescher qualified 19th<\/sup> in the 38-car field at 28.522-seconds and 189.328 mph in the No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford fielded by Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.<\/p>\n

Carson Hocevar (16th) was the fastest qualifying rookie at 28.572-seconds and 188.996 mph in the No. 77 Premier Security Chevy fielded by Spire Motorsports.<\/p>\n

Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson will start 37th<\/sup> after crashing his No 84 AdventHealth Toyota during practice and failing to record a speed. Johnson\u2019s car tagged the outside wall between Turns 1 and 2 after a slide. A co-owner of Legacy Motor Club, Johnson will spring for overtime pay to have his crew repair the car\u2019s banged-up body and right rear corner overnight.<\/p>\n

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Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Johnson will make his second start of the season here as teammate to Cup regulars Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek. Johnson raced in the season-opening Daytona 500, starting 23rd and finishing 28th. Johnson\u2019s part-time schedule for 2024 includes TMS, Dover Motor Speedway (April 28), Kansas Speedway (May 5 and Sept. 29), Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 21), Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 26), Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Oct. 20) and Phoenix Raceway (Nov. 10).<\/p>\n

In addition to his record-tying seven Cup titles, Johnson excelled at TMS while wheeling various Chevrolets fielded by Hendrick Motorsports.  Johnson leads all Cup Series drivers here via his seven victories (2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 sweep and 2017) in 35 starts _ a winning figure of 20 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a bit different _ there is no doubt,\u201d said Johnson, referring to the feel of his Next Gen Toyota. \u201cI felt like we did a nice job trying to get me ready in the simulator. Unfortunately, I just got a little loose in Turn 1 _ I caught it _ but it\u2019s such a narrow lane that once I caught the car I was in the wall, and I was kind of along with the ride then.\u201d<\/p>\n

FOX Sports 1 will broadcast the event starting at 2 p.m. (CDT). Live coverage also will be available on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.<\/p>\n

Media Center Interview<\/h3>\n

NCS Pole Winner Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) –<\/p>\n

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio FORT WORTH _ Kyle Larson added another \u201cfirst\u201d to his NASCAR Cup Series resume at Texas Motor Speedway, where he qualified on-pole for Sunday\u2019s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400. Larson toured TMS\u2019 high-banked\/1.5-mile oval Saturday morning in 28.366-seconds at 190.369 mph in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 fielded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":678,"featured_media":45524,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,13],"tags":[919,225,16,21],"class_list":["post-45509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","category-texas-motor-speedway","tag-autotrader-echopark-automotive-400","tag-kyle-larson","tag-nascar","tag-texas-motor-speedway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-2148525997-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1667","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-bQ1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45509"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45536,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45509\/revisions\/45536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}