Larson Scores Texas Pole, as Busch and Johnson Find Trouble in Practice – Motorsports Tribune

By David Morgan, Associate Editor

FORT WORTH, Texas – Kyle Larson has been the master of qualifying lately in the NASCAR Cup Series and Texas Motor Speedway was no different as he claimed his third straight pole.

Larson hustled his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet around the 1.5-mile quad-oval in 28.366 seconds, 190.369 mph to rocket to the top of the scoring pylon to score the pole position for Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400.

“It was a pretty intense qualifying session,” Larson said. “I felt like the track was really slick in practice and you’re having to kind of talk to yourself before you make your lap knowing you have to commit even more than you did in practice to go fast is difficult.

“Then the lap itself both first round and second round, there were moments where you had grip and moments where you’re like, I’m going to crash. It’s pretty intense from behind the wheel, but it’s great when you can accomplish a pole and feed your confidence a little bit.”

Ty Gibbs, who was fastest in practice to start the day, will join Larson on the front row as he has his sights set on his first Cup Series victory.

Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick will roll off from third and fourth, followed by Chase Briscoe and defending race winner William Byron in fifth and sixth. The remainder of the top-10 starters include Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Martin Truex, Jr., and Bubba Wallace.

More Turmoil at Texas for Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch started off the weekend at Texas Motor Speedway on a high note, winning Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, but when Saturday morning rolled around, things quickly turned sour.

Entering the race weekend with DNF’s in the last two races at this facility, Busch found himself in the wall in practice, relegating him to a backup car for Sunday. If he is to turn his bad luck around on Sunday, he’ll have to do it from the back of the pack in a backup car.

Replays showed that Busch lost control of his car in Turns 1 and 2 during his practice run, spinning around and backing his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet into the outside wall. Though he was able to limp his way back to the garage, the damage was just too much to be able to repair in time for qualifying or the race, forcing the team to have to break out the backup.