Martin Truex, Jr. Edges Bubba Wallace For Darlington Pole

Martin Truex, Jr. poses on the track during qualifying at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2023. Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Undeterred by any supposed disadvantage facing Group B qualifiers in Saturday’s final round, Martin Truex, Jr. put down an enviable lap in winning the pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway.

Truex covered the 1.366-mile distance in 29.028 seconds (169.409 mph) to edge fellow Toyota driver Bubba Wallace for the top starting spot. Wallace was .012 seconds behind Truex at 169.339 mph.

In theory, the top five qualifiers in Group A, which included Wallace, had an edge over the top five in Group B, which ran later on a hotter track. But Truex overcame the disadvantage to earn his first pole of the season, his first at Darlington and the 21st of his career.

Truex said his crew made adjustments to his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota that improved the car for the final round.

“We just made the balance really good,” said Truex, who scored a pole on his 15th different race track. “We felt good about our car in Round 1, and I knew one specific thing, if we could get it better, we’d have a shot at it. It’s been a long time, I guess, since we’ve had a pole (last year at New Hampshire Motor Speedway).

“Last year, we never really qualified all that great. We’ve been working on that a lot and really getting a lot better on that here lately.”

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (168.752 mph) qualified third, followed by William Byron (168.342 mph) and series leader Ross Chastain (168.094 mph), who will start on the inside of the third row next to teammate Daniel Suarez (167.836 mph).

“Just got me,” Wallace said after Truex knocked him out of the top spot late in the round. “But all in all, a solid start to our weekend on the Cup side. I had some fun last night in the Truck Series. I forgot how crazy those guys are — guys and gals, I’m sorry.

“I learned a little bit. We were just on the tight side last night. Definitely not tight this go-around on the Cup side. All in all, our Camry is fast. Martin’s really good here, obviously… It’s good to start up front. I’ve just got to maintain it all race. That’s going to be a big task for me.”

For Stenhouse, the qualifying effort was his second best of the year, after a second-place start at Auto Club Speedway in February.

“I felt like I nailed it in (turns) 1 and 2,” Stenhouse said. (Turns) 3 and 4 have been our trouble spot over the years, and I was probably too conservative (at that end).”

Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski will start from positions seven through 10 on the grid, respectively. Driving the only Ford in the final round, Keselowski attacked the final two corners aggressively but had to back out of the throttle as his car approached the outside wall.

Dawsonville, Georgia’s Chase Elliott did not show as much speed in qualifying. He will roll off from the 21st starting spot on Sunday.

NASCAR Cup Series
Darlington Raceway – Darlington, SC
Goodyear 400 – May 13, 2023

Saturday’s Qualifying Results

Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota 29.028 169.409
2. 23 Bubba Wallace Dr Pepper Toyota 29.040 169.339
3. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Kroger/Country Crock Chevrolet 29.141 168.752
4. 24 William Byron Axalta Throwback Chevrolet 29.212 168.342
5. 1 Ross Chastain Worldwide Express/UPS Chevrolet 29.255 168.094
6. 99 Daniel Suarez Quaker State Chevrolet 29.300 167.836
7. 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Throwback Chevrolet 29.348 167.562
8. 11 Denny Hamlin Federal Express Toyota 29.365 167.465
9. 45 Tyler Reddick Forward Together Toyota 29.392 167.311
10. 6 Brad Keselowski Castrol GTX Ford 29.572 166.292
11. 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Dutch Boy Ford 29.059 169.228
12. 8 Kyle Busch Lucas Oil Chevrolet 29.107 168.949
13. 54 Ty Gibbs # Shriners Children’s Toyota 29.114 168.908
14. 21 Harrison Burton DEX Imaging Ford 29.117 168.891
15. 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 29.139 168.764
16. 20 Christopher Bell DeWalt Toyota 29.238 168.192
17. 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 29.271 168.002
18. 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 29.291 167.888
19. 34 Michael McDowell StageFront.VIP Ford 29.324 167.699
20. 4 Kevin Harvick SunnyD Ford 29.348 167.562
21. 9 Chase Elliott LLumar Throwback Chevrolet 29.354 167.527
22. 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 29.386 167.345
23. 48 Josh Berry(i) Ally Throwback Chevrolet 29.399 167.271
24. 38 Todd Gilliland Serial1.com E-Bikes Ford 29.413 167.191
25. 2 Austin Cindric Freightliner Ford 29.428 167.106
26. 51 Ryan Newman Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford 29.440 167.038
27. 17 Chris Buescher Fifth Third Bank Ford 29.456 166.947
28. 43 Erik Jones Allegiant Chevrolet 29.463 166.908
29. 42 Noah Gragson # Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet 29.477 166.828
30. 16 A.J. Allmendinger BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors Chevrolet 29.501 166.693
31. 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 29.684 165.665
32. 41 Ryan Preece United Rentals Ford 29.762 165.231
33. 77 Ty Dillon Honest Charley Speed Shop Chevrolet 29.961 164.133
34.. 7 Corey LaJoie NationsGuard Chevrolet 30.066 163.560
35. 78 B.J. McLeod The Daily Down Force Chevrolet 30.577 160.827
36. 15 Brennan Poole(i) Macc Door Systems Ford 30.684 160.266