Tyler Reddick (P) completed the NASCAR Cup Series sweep of Saturday activity at Homestead-Miami Speedway by claiming the pole for the Straight Talk Wireless 400.
Reddick’s pole-winning lap was 167.452 mph (32.248 seconds) in the final round of qualifying. It is Reddick’s ninth career pole in the Cup Series and first at Homestead-Miami.
“It’s a huge deal for us (to start on the pole),” Reddick said. “This Beast Camry is really, really fast, and it was nice to be able to capitalize on qualifying. All things considered with how last week ended, we’re picking up right where we left off to be honest. I’m excited for tomorrow. This is my kind of place and we know what we need to do tomorrow.”
The 23XI Racing driver goes into Sunday’s race sitting outside of a transfer spot into the championship race. Reddick, who won the regular season championship, is at a 30-point deficit after earning a DNF in the opening race of the Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. On lap 89, Reddick made contact with the wall and Chase Elliott of Turn 4, and his car rolled over on the frontstretch.
Kyle Larson (P) qualified second at 167.053 mph. Christopher Bell (P), the defending race winner, qualified third at 166.826 mph.
Denny Hamlin (P) will start Sunday’s race in fourth at 166.523 mph, ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in fifth at 165.629 mph. Martin Truex Jr. qualified sixth at 166.312 mph.
Chase Elliott (P) qualified seventh at 165.173 mph with Bubba Wallace eighth at 166.128 mph. Daniel Hemric qualified ninth at 163.344 mph and Justin Haley completed the top 10 at 165.664 mph.
There were three playoff drivers who qualified outside the top 10.
Ryan Blaney qualified 20th. The reigning series champion clocked in at 166.272 mph.
William Byron qualified 25th at 165.741 mph and Joey Logano qualified 26th at 165.837 mph. Logano’s team is working through a potential power steering issue that needs to be addressed before Sunday’s race.
*P denotes playoff driver.