Led by Byron, Hendrick sweeps front row at Road America
Despite some chaotic moments in qualifying, Hendrick Motorsports swept the front row for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Road America.
William Byron ended up winning the pole with an average lap speed of 110.359 mph, just edging his Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson (110.205 mph). A.J. Allmendinger ended up third (109.844 mph).
The pole is the first for Byron this season and the sixth of his career.
“We struggled a little bit off the truck but we had some good changes in mind,” said Byron, who was 11th fastest in practice on Saturday. “The car was really fast in qualifying.
“It was fast in race trim the last run and I feel like we just kind of went back to the basics on the road courses. We’ve struggled this year on road courses and we kind of got back to a basic set-up and put it all together today.
“Thanks to Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) and all the guys for working really hard. Great to see Hendrick 1-2 on the front row.”
Rounding out the top-five in the final 10-minunte round were Tyler Reddick, who spun after completing his hot lap, and reigning Xfinity Series champion Austin Cindric.
Completing the top-12 starters are Denny Hamlin, Matt DiBenedetto, Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez and Chris Buescher.
Round 1
Cindric, running a partial Cup schedule this season, topped the first 25-minute qualifying session with an average lap speed of 111.132 mph.
Allmendinger ended up second (110.573 mph) and William Byron (110.542 mph) was third. Larson and Chastain rounded out the top-five.
Also advancing to the final round were Hamlin, Reddick, Suarez, Truex, DiBenedetto, Bowman and Buescher.
Early in the first round, Brad Keselowski went off the track and through the dirt, which appeared to do some damage to the nose of his No. 2 Ford.
About 14 minutes into the first round, the No. 78 of Kyle Tilley came to a stop near Turn 3, which brought out a red flag. Tilley had to be towed back to pit road.
With just over two minutes remaining, Bubba Wallace suddenly slowed during his qualifying lap and ended up stopping on the track near Turn 11, which brought out a red flag. Wallace also required a push back to pit road.
The late-race red flag prevented any more teams to from starting a qualifying lap before time expired so Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Chase Briscoe, Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon were never able to complete a lap at speed.
Kyle Busch, who moved to a backup car after a wreck in Saturday’s practice, also did not take a lap and will begin Sunday’s race without a single on-track lap with his No. 18 Toyota.
| Cla | # | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Mph | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 |  William Byron | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'12.049 | 110.359 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'12.233 | 0.184 | 0.184 | 110.205 | |
| 3 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'12.668 | 0.619 | 0.435 | 109.844 | |
| 4 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'12.711 | 0.662 | 0.043 | 109.809 | |
| 5 | 33 | Austin Cindric | Ford | 1 | 2'12.760 | 0.711 | 0.049 | 109.768 | |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 1 | 2'12.849 | 0.800 | 0.089 | 109.694 | |
| 7 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Ford | 1 | 2'12.887 | 0.838 | 0.038 | 109.663 | |
| 8 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'13.389 | 1.340 | 0.502 | 109.250 | |
| 9 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 1 | 2'13.602 | 1.553 | 0.213 | 109.076 | |
| 10 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'13.701 | 1.652 | 0.099 | 108.995 | |
| 11 | 99 |  Daniel Suarez | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'13.736 | 1.687 | 0.035 | 108.967 | |
| 12 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Ford | 1 | 2'14.151 | 2.102 | 0.415 | 108.630 |
| 13 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Toyota | 1 | 2'12.964 | 1.834 | 0.135 | 109.600 | |
| 14 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 1 | 2'12.967 | 1.837 | 0.003 | 109.597 | |
| 15 | 41 | Cole Custer | Ford | 3 | 2'12.986 | 1.856 | 0.019 | 109.581 | |
| 16 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 2 | 2'13.363 | 2.233 | 0.377 | 109.272 | |
| 17 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 1 | 2'13.561 | 2.431 | 0.198 | 109.110 | |
| 18 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 1 | 2'13.580 | 2.450 | 0.019 | 109.094 | |
| 19 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 2 | 2'13.607 | 2.477 | 0.027 | 109.072 | |
| 20 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 1 | 2'13.786 | 2.656 | 0.179 | 108.926 | |
| 21 | 43 | Erik Jones | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'13.840 | 2.710 | 0.054 | 108.882 | |
| 22 | 77 | Justin Haley | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'14.026 | 2.896 | 0.186 | 108.731 | |
| 23 | 7 | Corey Lajoie | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'14.171 | 3.041 | 0.145 | 108.614 | |
| 24 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo | Ford | 1 | 2'14.773 | 3.643 | 0.602 | 108.128 | |
| 25 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Ford | 1 | 2'14.800 | 3.670 | 0.027 | 108.107 | |
| 26 | 15 |  James Davison | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'14.870 | 3.740 | 0.070 | 108.051 | |
| 27 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Ford | 1 | 2'15.098 | 3.968 | 0.228 | 107.868 | |
| 28 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Ford | 3 | 2'15.693 | 4.563 | 0.595 | 107.395 | |
| 29 | 51 | Cody Ware | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'16.182 | 5.052 | 0.489 | 107.010 | |
| 30 | 78 |  Kyle Tilley | Ford | 2 | 2'16.801 | 5.671 | 0.619 | 106.526 | |
| 31 | 53 | Ryan Eversley | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'16.816 | 5.686 | 0.015 | 106.514 | |
| 32 | 37 | Ryan Preece | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'18.531 | 7.401 | 1.715 | 105.195 | |
| 33 | 00 | Quin Houff | Chevrolet | 1 | 2'20.213 | 9.083 | 1.682 | 103.933 | |
| 34 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 2 | 9'55.698 | 7'44.568 | 7'35.485 | 24.463 | |
| 35 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Ford | 2 | 10'43.099 | 8'31.969 | 47.401 | 22.660 | |
| 36 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Toyota | 1 | 15'33.694 | 13'22.564 | 4'50.595 | 15.608 | |
| 37 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 1 | 17'01.040 | 14'49.910 | 1'27.346 | 14.273 | |
| 38 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Chevrolet | 1 | 18'38.206 | 16'27.076 | 1'37.166 | 13.032 | |
| 39 | 96 | Ty Dillon | Toyota | 1 | 19'51.940 | 17'40.810 | 1'13.734 | 12.226 | |
| 40 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota |
Related video
Previous article
Kurt Busch tops Cup practice at Road America, Kyle Busch wrecks
Next article
Ernie Francis Jr. wins first SRX race at Lucas Oil Raceway
From the archive: Dale Earnhardt’s final Autosport interview
The death of Dale Earnhardt in the 2001 Daytona 500 shocked NASCAR to the core. At the Daytona 24 Hours, two weeks before his fatal accident, ‘The Intimidator’ shared his expectations of challenging for an eighth Cup title with JONATHAN INGRAM, in an article first published in the 15 February 2001 issue of Autosport magazine. Little did we know then what tragedy would unfold…
The lasting NASCAR legacy after Dale Earnhardt’s death
On February 18, 2001, seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Dale Earnhardt – the fearless ‘Intimidator’ – was in his element at Daytona International Speedway. While his own DEI team’s cars ran 1-2 towards the finish line, his famed #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo was playing rear gunner to block any late runs from the chasing pack. As the cars tore through Turns 3 and 4 on that fateful final lap, Earnhardt maintained the strongarm tactics that encapsulated his persona… but his actions in those moments sadly proved to be his last.
Inspired by Pitbull, the “revolution” sweeping through NASCAR
The NASCAR Cup Series is changing. Whether it be the gradual morphing out the seasoned drivers of yesterday as the next generation step up, a radical calendar shake-up featuring more road courses than ever before and the prospect of an all-new car on the horizon, stock car racing’s highest level is nearing the end of a huge facelift.
The NASCAR storylines to watch out for in 2021
This weekend's Daytona 500 kickstarts a NASCAR Cup season that promises plenty of intrigue courtesy of new owners and a refreshed calendar. Here's what you need to know ahead of the new season…
Why Kyle Larson can't blow his big shot at redemption
From a disgraced NASCAR exile, Kyle Larson has been given a chance of redemption by the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports squad. Effectively replacing seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson is no easy billing, but Larson has every intention of repaying the team's faith...
Why Roger Penske is an American motorsport icon
In this exclusive one-on-one interview, Roger Penske reveals the inner drive that has made him not only a hugely successful team owner and businessman but also the owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar. He spoke to David Malsher-Lopez.
Why NASCAR's latest second-generation champion is just getting started
Chase Elliott's late charge to the 2020 NASCAR Cup title defied predictions that it would be a Kevin Harvick versus Denny Hamlin showdown. While the two veterans are showing no signs of slowing down, Elliott's triumph was a window into NASCAR's future…
Why Kyle Larson deserves his second chance in a cancel culture
“You can’t hear me? Hey n*****” Those fateful words uttered by Kyle Larson, spoken into his esports headset on April 12, were directed at his sim racing spotter – but instead they quickly became amplified around the world via social media, including his own Twitch stream.
