{"id":50765,"date":"2025-04-05T18:55:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T23:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=50765"},"modified":"2025-04-05T19:10:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-06T00:10:37","slug":"byron-sets-blazing-pace-to-win-the-pole-for-darlington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/05\/byron-sets-blazing-pace-to-win-the-pole-for-darlington\/","title":{"rendered":"Byron sets blazing pace to win the pole for Darlington"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

DARLINGTON, S.C. \u2013 Hendrick Motorsports\u2019 William Byron won pole position for Sunday\u2019s Goodyear 400 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) \u2013 yet another supreme performance for his NASCAR Cup Series championship-leading No. 24 team.<\/p>\n

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William Byron, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, poses for photos after winning the pole award during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on April 05, 2025 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Byron\u2019s lap of 170.904 mph around the iconic 1.366-mile oval set fast lap early in  Busch Light Pole Qualifying Saturday afternoon and set up a front row that will also include Ryan Preece in the No. 60 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford \u2013 Preece\u2019s best start since winning his only career pole position at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in Spring, 2023.<\/p>\n

It’s the 15th pole position of the 27-year old Byron\u2019s eight-year career \u2013 second of the season (also Phoenix in March) and second at the notoriously tough Darlington track.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt good about it today, felt like we had a good plan going into practice and that we are always strong here,\u2019\u2019 said this year\u2019s Daytona 500 winner Byron, who won at Darlington in 2023 and said it may well be his \u201cbest track.\u201d<\/p>\n

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William Byron, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on April 05, 2025 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cTried to find a decent balance there, worked on it and got better and finished practice pretty strong so I felt like I had some confidence going into practice. Was just nervous going early. Having an earlier draw was not ideal, but it seemed like the track temp was going up so it wasn\u2019t the worst thing. \u2026 Proud of our team, we had a really good week of prep.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Although Chevy and Ford split the front row. Toyotas filled out the rest of the top-five on the grid. Last week\u2019s Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin \u2013 Darlington\u2019s winningest active driver (four wins) \u2013 was third fastest in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. His teammate, Daytona 500 polesitter Chase Briscoe was fourth quickest in the No. 19 JGR Toyota followed by 23XI Racing\u2019s Bubba Wallace, who will roll off fifth in the No. 23 Toyota that Hamlin co-owns.<\/p>\n

Austin Cindric will start sixth in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford, followed by 23XI Racing\u2019s Tyler Reddick (Toyota), Richard Childress Racing\u2019s Kyle Busch (Chevrolet), Penske\u2019s Ryan Blaney (Ford) and Spire Motorsports\u2019 Michael McDowell (Chevrolet).<\/p>\n

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Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on April 05, 2025 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Although the Hendrick team is ranked first, second (Kyle Larson), third (Chase Elliott) and fifth (Alex Bowman) in the championship points, his teammates did not fare as well in Saturday\u2019s time trials. Elliott will start 19th. Larson, who won at Darlington in 2023 will start 19th and Bowman will roll off 33rd.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may be tricky strategy-wise and you can get stuck back there, so [qualifying] matters maybe just a tick more than other places,” Byron said, noting of his teammates, \u201cThese cars are really finicky so hitting the balance and just hitting the lap the way you want it to be can be really difficult. So I\u2019m not surprised because there\u2019s a lot of parity in the Next Gen era and especially in qualifying so you can be just that little bit off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like our team has really good notes from qualifying though and that will really help.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Defending race winner Brad Keselowski, co-owner and driver of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing\u2019s No. 6 Ford will start 20th.<\/p>\n

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NOTEBOOK<\/b><\/p>\n

NASCAR HOLDS COMPETITION MEETING WITH XFINITY SERIES DRIVERS<\/b><\/p>\n

*NASCAR officials met with the entire field of Xfinity Series drivers early Friday morning before any track activity at Darlington Raceway \u2013 a meeting triggered by an especially aggressive showing for the series at the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway short track a week ago \u2013 a race so chaotic that Chase Elliott \u2013 a former Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series champ – called it \u201cembarrassing\u201d for the sport.<\/p>\n

Although aggressive moves characterized much of the second half of the race, a big wreck on the final lap started up front with then leaders \u2013 Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Taylor Gray and JR Motorsports\u2019 Sammy Smith \u2013 precipitated some angry confrontations post-race. Gray (off track) and Smith (on track) were both penalized for their actions.<\/p>\n

Veteran Austin Hill was the big beneficiary of the on-track situation between the two, driving through the melee up front to claim his second win of the year \u2013 credited with only leading that last lap. Hill shared that the meeting went well and that he expects his fellow drivers to be more mindful of the way they race going forward, calling NASCAR very \u201cfirm\u201d in its morning message.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s going to calm down a lot more than you think today,” Hill said of Saturday afternoon\u2019s Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington. \u201cWe\u2019ll have to wait and see but I think we\u2019re all going to still be aggressive and trying to win the race but it\u2019s going to be a very respectful race.\u201d<\/p>\n

The series\u2019 next trip to Martinsville in late October determines which four Playoff drivers advance to the Championship 4 with a shot to win the 2025 title.<\/p>\n

\u201cNASCAR made it very clear they don\u2019t want to be in the ball-and-strike business, they don\u2019t want to be making all these calls so they said for us to help them with that,\u2019\u2019 Hill said. \u201cThey [NASCAR] also said if they have to step in and start making calls and black-flagging people and parking people and all those things, they\u2019ll do it. I agree with where NASCAR stands with that but I also think we in the Xfinity Series need to do a better job going forward and not putting it in NASCAR\u2019s hands.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

KESELOWSKI OPTIMISTIC DESPITE CHALLENGING EARLY SEASON<\/b><\/p>\n

*The last Spring weekend Brad Keselowski spent in Darlington, S.C., he left South Carolina with a big trophy. It was the first victory the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion had earned as co-team owner at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. As importantly it marked a highlight in a challenging new role as owner and driver.<\/p>\n

Darlington, in particular, has been a recent highlight reel for Keselowski whose average finish (6.4) in the last five races in best in the field. He has plenty of reason to be optimistic about this Spring run of races \u2013 at Darlington, Bristol, Tenn. and Talladega, Ala. \u2013 venues where he is a multi-time winner.<\/p>\n

He comes to South Carolina without a single lap led and is still looking to claim his first top-10 of the eight-race season. His best showing in the No. 6 RFK Ford is 11th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He\u2019s finished 26th in the two races (at Homestead,Fla. and Martinsville, Va.) leading into Darlington.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we\u2019re doing all the right things and get to where we need to be, we just haven\u2019t gotten the results,\u2019\u2019 said Keselowski, who qualified 20th for Sunday\u2019s race, \u201cWe haven\u2019t qualified as well as we liked to have.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the race we haven\u2019t been able to put together for a number of reasons some of it in our control, a lot of it not in our control, so it\u2019s been frustrating. But kind of have the feeling we\u2019re getting the bad luck out of the way early in the season, that\u2019s kind of the overwhelming sentiment and if we stay the course, it will come back to us.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/KeselowskiDarlington.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

VETERANS HAVE THE DARLINGTON EDGE<\/b><\/p>\n

Darlington Raceway is known as the track \u201cToo Tough to Tame\u201d \u2013 and perhaps too that end, its long and distinguished list of winners includes a noticeable group of veterans. Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with four victories, another four runner-up finishes and also bests the grid in top-fives (13), top-10s (18) and overall average finish (8.2).<\/p>\n

NASCAR Hall of Famers such as Jimmie Johnson (three wins), Bill Elliott (five wins) Jeff Gordon (seven wins) and the late Dale Earnhardt (nine wins) were all so good at the 1.366-mile oblong oval.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis sport is so week-to-week it\u2019s hard to say [the track favors veterans] but you can\u2019t argue with results,\u2019\u2019 said Hamlin, who has led laps in the last 10 consecutive Darlington races \u2013 and has led more than 100 laps five different times in his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt lends itself to the best drivers and the best teams. I think it\u2019s a great combination of, you\u2019ve got to have everything. \u2026 the driver has to just be really good at his craft and know when to push and when not to.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be mentally taxing knowing you\u2019ve got to hit your marks just perfectly,\u2019\u2019 he continued. \u201cAnd just the mental side of it, with 35 other guys that aren\u2019t there to let you win. It\u2019s really hard to navigate that. .. it just takes its toll, it has for me on my body and mind every time I race here. As far as the veteran side of it, I think certainly it seems that those that have lots of experience on this track and more than likely the guys have been successful because they know that feel they need to be fast here and continue to replicate it.\u201d<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/HamlinDarlington.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/BriscoeDarlington.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ElliottDarlington.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

AN EVERYDAY EARNHARDT THROWBACK<\/b><\/p>\n

*There is no question that NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar is a huge fan of the late seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt. The driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet recently purchased online a Chevrolet pick-up truck with a paint scheme identical to one of Earnhardt\u2019s iconic No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolets. He says it\u2019s his \u201cdaily drive\u201d and actually drove the truck from his Charlotte-area home to Darlington for the race this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically I wanted something old-school car wise,\u2019\u2019 said Hocevar, who posted a photo of the truck parked at Darlington on his social media. \u201cI just thought it would be fun and interesting to have. So I got it.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

ZILISCH TO MAKE 2ND CUP START<\/b><\/p>\n

*On Thursday of this week, Trackhouse Racing announced that 18-year old driver Connor Zilisch will make his second NASCAR Cup Series start for the team in the sport\u2019s longest race, the May 25 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n

The North Carolinian Zilisch is in his first fulltime NASCAR Xfinity Series season driving the No. 88 Chevrolet as a development driver for JR Motorsports and has already won an Xfinity race this year \u2013 from the pole position \u2013 claiming the trophy at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) road course in March. He\u2019s currently sixth in the Xfinity Series championship standings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s awesome to have the opportunity to race in one of NASCAR\u2019s coolest events,\u201d said Zilisch, who has shown great talent competing in endurance races \u2013 winning in his class in both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring IMSA races last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Charlotte 600 is one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. It\u2019s going to be a physical and mental challenge because that race is so tough.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. \u2013 Hendrick Motorsports\u2019 William Byron won pole position for Sunday\u2019s Goodyear 400 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) \u2013 yet another supreme performance for his NASCAR Cup Series championship-leading No. 24 team. Byron\u2019s lap of 170.904 mph around the iconic 1.366-mile […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50776,"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],"tags":[651,16],"class_list":["post-50765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-darlington-raceway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2208690708-1-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-dcN","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50765"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50799,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50765\/revisions\/50799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}