Gibbs Cruises To Xfinity Series Pole In The Queen City

Ty Gibbs celebrates his pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday. (John Harrelson/NKP photo)

CONCORD, N.C. – Ty Gibbs bested Kyle Busch in a battle of past NASCAR Xfinity Series champions to earn the pole for the BetMGM 300 Friday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Gibbs, the 2022 titlist, turned a lap of 30.475 seconds (177.194 mph) in the No. 20 He Gets Us Toyota GR Supra to earn his eighth career pole and first since Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l last August.

The 21-year-old grandson of NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Joe Gibbs is chasing his second Xfinity Series win at Charlotte in the last four years.

“I felt pretty good,” Gibbs said following qualifying. “This place is, honestly, sealer heaven. I’ve never seen so much pavement sealer on a racetrack, ever. It seems like every five feet, you’re running into a line of it … and it’s so rough. Like, you need a mouthpiece or a mouth guard when you’re out there.

“I’ve run dirt tracks that were smoother than this place!” he added, getting a chuckle from the assembled media. “That’s not a bad thing; this place just has its own character and its own technique that makes it a unique challenge to drive at. (Turns) three and four are really rough, but we got through well enough to get a pole and, hopefully, we can make it happen in the race as well.”

Busch, who won the Xfinity Series title in 2009 and is the all-time leader in wins with 102, will join Gibbs on the front row for Saturday’s race after a time of 30.598 seconds (176.482 mph) in the No. 33 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing.

It will mark the first time in 367 career Xfinity Series starts that Busch will drive a Childress-owned entry. He’s a nine-time winner at Charlotte in NASCAR’s second-tier division, most among all drivers.

Row two also features a JGR and RCR split, with Chandler Smith (30.639/176.246) and rookie Jesse Love (30.704/175.873) qualifying third and fourth, respectively.

Jeb Burton landed fifth on the grid for Jordan Anderson Racing, trailed by Cole Custer, Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier, and Brandon Jones.

Notables starting deeper in the field include A.J. Allmendinger (11th), Sam Mayer (13th), Sammy Smith (16th), Anthony Alfredo (17th), Riley Herbst (19th), Shane van Gisbergen (29th), and Chase Elliott (30th).

With 40 drivers in attendance for 38 starting spots, Jade Buford and Akinori Ogata failed to qualify.

Ogata was one of two drivers who spun in turn four during their respective time trial runs. J.J. Yeley also went around on his lap, but earned an owner point provisional and will line up 38th on the grid.

Broadcast coverage of the BetMGM 300 is slated for Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET, live on FS1, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.