Austin Cindric sits in his car in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2022. Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
In a qualifying session that should have merited hazard pay for the 10 final-round drivers, Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric backed up his victory in the Great American Race with a pole-winning run on Saturday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
Cindric will start where he finished the 500 in Sunday’s Wise Power 400 NASCAR Cup Series event at the 2-mile track. The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford posted a lap in 41.226 seconds (174.647 mph) to score the first pole of his Cup career six days after claiming his first win.
The last driver to attempt a lap, Chase Elliott, tested the apron in turn 3 and spun in turn 4, posting no time. As a result, Erik Jones will start second after a lap in 41.342 seconds (174.157 mph).
In a session that featured two groups of 18 drivers each in Round 1, with the five fastest drivers from each group advancing to the final round, four-time Fontana winner Kyle Busch qualified third, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin.
“It’s such a challenging race track, and, obviously, a lot of newness for everybody,” Cindric said while waiting for Elliott to run his qualifying lap. “Overall, it’s been an awesome week for me, and I’m honestly real happy to get back to work and figuring out this process.
“I can’t tell you the last time I’ve had to talk myself into doing a lap like that for quite a while. There are so many unknowns. Everybody’s constantly learning. I think we’ll be halfway through the race until anyone knows what they really have.”
Elliott wasn’t the only casualty in the final round. Joey Logano, who was fastest in Group A in Round 1, also tried the apron and smacked the outside wall at the exit of turn 4. Brad Keselowski and William Byron also spun during their money laps but kept their cars off the wall.
Daniel Hemric and Ryan Blaney will occupy the third row for the start of Sunday’s race, with Logano, Elliott, Keselowski and Byron sixth through 10th on the grid, respectively.
Reigning series champion Kyle Larson starts 13th after failing to advance to the final round, and 2020 race winner Alex Bowman will take the green flag from 14th. There was no event at Auto Club Speedway in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Note: Bubba Wallace, Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch, Justin Haley, Kevin Harvick and Ross Chastain did not post qualifying times and will start from the bottom six positions in the 36-car field. Busch’s No. 45 Toyota failed inspection three times and was not allowed to qualify; Almirola spun on his Round 1 qualifying lap; and the other four drivers wrecked during practice.
NASCAR Cup Series
Auto Club Speedway – Fontana, CA
Wise Power 400 – February 26, 2022
Saturday’s Qualifying Results
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 2 Austin Cindric # Menards/Quaker State Ford 41.226 174.647
2. 43 Erik Jones FOCUSfactor Chevrolet 41.342 174.157
3. 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota 41.437 173.758
4. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 41.529 173.373
5. 16 Daniel Hemric(i) Poppy Bank Chevrolet 41.585 173.139
6. 12 Ryan Blaney Wurth Ford 41.588 173.127
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8. 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 41.177 174.855
9. 6 Brad Keselowski Violet Defense Ford 41.403 173.900
10. 24 William Byron, Jr. Axalta Chevrolet 41.478 173.586
11. 8 Tyler Reddick Lenovo Chevrolet 41.516 173.427
12. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota 41.517 173.423
13. 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 41.594 173.102
14. 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 41.634 172.936
15. 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 41.636 172.927
16. 3 Austin Dillon Dow Coatings Chevrolet 41.678 172.753
17. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Ralphs/Honey Nut Cheerios Chevrolet 41.688 172.712
18. 42 Ty Dillon Allegiant Chevrolet 41.777 172.344
19. 20 Christopher Bell Rheem Toyota 41.888 171.887
20. 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 41.888 171.887
21. 41 Cole Custer Production Alliance Group Ford 41.940 171.674
22. 21 Harrison Burton # DEX Imaging Ford 41.989 171.473
23. 34 Michael McDowell Stage Front Ford 42.056 171.200
24. 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 42.140 170.859
25. 7 Corey LaJoie General Formulatioins/Mutoh Chevrolet 42.188 170.665
26. 38 Todd Gilliland # Frontline Enterprises Inc. Ford 42.505 169.392
27. 51 Cody Ware Nurtec ODT Ford 42.634 168.879
28. 77 Josh Bilicki(i) Pacific Coast Termite Chevrolet 42.957 167.609
29. 15 Garrett Smithley Jacob Companies Ford 43.953 163.811
30. 78 B.J. McLeod Pala Casino Ford 44.103 163.254
31. 10 Aric Almirola Rush/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford 0.000 0.000
32. 4 Kevin Harvick Subway Ford 0.000 0.000
33. 1 Ross Chastain Casa Del Sol Tequila Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
34. 23 Bubba Wallace Wheaties Toyota 0.000 0.000
35. 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
36. 45 Kurt Busch Monster Energy Toyota 0.000 0.000
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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