Tyler Reddick drives during practice for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Photo: James Gilbert/Getty Images
After running what he termed “one of the dirtiest laps I’ve ever had in practice,” Tyler Reddick got just what he needed in Saturday’s subsequent qualifying session at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course.
Turning a lap in 81.214 seconds (102.839 mph) in the final round of time trials, Reddick earned the pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup series race, the Round of 12 elimination race in the series Playoffs.
Reddick edged fellow Toyota driver Christopher Bell (102.695 mph) by .124 seconds to secure his second pole of the season, his first at the 2.32-mile, 17-turn circuit and the sixth of his career.
The driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Camry chose an opportune time to snag the top spot on the grid. Reddick enters the race ninth in the standings, two points behind Brad Keselowski for the final spot in the Round of 8. Keselowski will start 19th on Sunday.
“I got lucky,” said Reddick, who was fastest in Group A in the opening round of qualifying at 103.207 mph. “I had one of my dirtiest laps I’ve ever had in practice. But this is exactly where we need to be on Saturday.
“I knew I had to go out and qualify here to give us some options.”
Since the debut of NASCAR’s Next Gen car last season, Reddick is the only driver with more than one road course victory. He triumphed at Road America and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course last year and won at Circuit of the Americas in March.
Two other Playoff drivers below the cut line for the Round of 8 had promising qualifying runs. Bubba Wallace, nine points behind Keselowski, earned the fourth starting position with a lap at 102.569 mph. Kyle Busch, 26 points in arrears, will start fifth after a lap at 102.494 mph.
Non-Playoff drivers Daniel Suarez, A.J. Allmendinger, Joey Logano, and Ty Gibbs will start third, sixth, seventh and 10th, respectively. Allmendinger led Group B with the fastest lap of the day at 103.295 mph.
Dawsonville, Georgia’s Chase Elliott qualified eighth. Denny Hamlin jumped the curb and spun in the backstretch chicane and failed to complete a lap in the final round. Hamlin’s miscue forced NASCAR to red flag the session and prevented Gibbs, who was running behind Hamlin, from posting a lap.
Playoff driver Kyle Larson didn’t make a qualifying attempt in the first round after hitting the turn 8 wall in practice and going to a backup car for Sunday’s race. Fifteen points ahead of Reddick, Larson will start from the rear.
“I don’t think you can go for stage points from 40th (actually 37th),” Larson said of his race strategy. “The silver lining may be that you can short the stages (by pitting early) and get your track position that way to be up front at the end of the race. I think that would be the plan, I guess, going forward.”
NASCAR Cup Series
Charlotte Motor Speedway – Concord, NC
Bank of America ROVAL 400 – October 7, 2023
Saturday’s Qualifying Results
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 45 Tyler Reddick (P) Jordan Brand Toyota 81.214 102.839
2. 20 Christopher Bell (P) DEWALT Plumbing Solutions Toyota 81.328 102.695
3. 99 Daniel Suarez Aguas Frescas Chevrolet 81.401 102.603
4. 23 Bubba Wallace (P) Leidos Toyota 81.428 102.569
5. 8 Kyle Busch (P) Lenovo Chevrolet 81.488 102.494
6. 16 A.J. Allmendinger Celsius Chevrolet 81.600 102.353
7. 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 81.720 102.203
8. 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 81.722 102.200
9. 11 Denny Hamlin (P) Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota 0.000 0.000
10. 54 Ty Gibbs # Interstate Batteries All Battery Center Toyota 0.000 0.000
11. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. (P) Bass Pro Shops Toyota 81.178 102.885
12. 1 Ross Chastain (P) Worldwide Express Chevrolet 81.221 102.831
13. 34 Michael McDowell Love’s Travel Stops Ford 81.399 102.606
14. 24 William Byron (P) HP Chevrolet 81.608 102.343
15. 3 Austin Dillon Huk Performance Fishing Chevrolet 81.611 102.339
16. 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 81.632 102.313
17. 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Discount Tire Ford 81.659 102.279
18. 41 Ryan Preece Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford 81.702 102.225
19. 6 Brad Keselowski (P) Castrol Edge Ford 81.707 102.219
20. 17 Chris Buescher (P) Fifth Third Bank Ford 81.790 102.115
21. 10 Aric Almirola IHOP Ford 81.800 102.103
22. 4 Kevin Harvick Rheem – Chasing a Cure Ford 81.801 102.101
23. 43 Erik Jones Allegiant Chevrolet 81.970 101.891
24. 7 Corey LaJoie Gainbridge Chevrolet 82.003 101.850
25. 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 82.024 101.824
26. 42 Mike Rockenfeller Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet 82.036 101.809
27. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Harris Teeter/Totino’s Chevrolet 82.048 101.794
28. 78 Josh Bilicki(i) Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet 82.086 101.747
29. 2 Austin Cindric Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford 82.103 101.726
30. 14 Chase Briscoe Ford Performance Racing School Ford 82.156 101.660
31. 21 Harrison Burton Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 82.184 101.626
32. 51 Todd Gilliland Ruedebusch Development & Construction 82.357 101.412
33. 62 Austin Hill(i) United Rentals/Beard Oil Chevrolet 82.529 101.201
34. 38. Zane Smith(i) Ambetter Health Ford 82.578 101.141
35. 15 Andy Lally(i) Camping World Ford 82.859 100.798
36. 5 Kyle Larson (P) Valvoline/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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