Hoosier Homecoming: Briscoe Lands Brickyard 400 Pole

Chase Briscoe with the Busch Pole Award at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Rusty Jones/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Indiana native Chase Briscoe provided a career moment for himself and a highlight moment for his home-state fans during qualifying for the 29th Brickyard 400 on Saturday.

Briscoe sped to the Busch Light Pole Award at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, piloting the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE to a lap of 49.136 seconds (183.165 mph) for his NASCAR Cup Series-leading fifth pole of the season.

It’s his third pole in as many Crown Jewel races in 2025, with Briscoe becoming the first driver in history to qualify first in the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, and Brickyard 400 in the same year.

Of the trio, however, topping time trials at the Racing Capital of the World means the most to Briscoe when considering he grew up just 90 minutes south of the 2.5-mile oval in Mitchell, Ind.

“I thought I was going to lose it a couple times, but I was able to hold onto it,” Briscoe said after a qualifying lap that was on the edge of control. “I’m holding back tears. This is such a special moment for me. Even hearing the crowd as I got the pole was just super cool.

“Hopefully, I can keep it up there (Sunday). That’s the one that we want to win. … Being from literally 70 miles down the road (in Mitchell) and coming here as a kid … just dreaming of being able to come to this place, it’s special. Sitting in the same grandstands as the fans are, I dreamed of being on the other side of the fence, and now to do what we did today is just unbelievable.”

23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace joins Briscoe on the front row for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 after posting a time of 49.149 seconds (183.117 mph) in the No. 23 Chumba Casino Toyota.

Wallace’s lap came just minutes before Briscoe made his run, but still marked the Mobile, Ala., native’s best-ever qualifying effort at Indianapolis. He’s finished top 10 in each of the last three Brickyard 400s.

Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones rolls off third alongside Wallace’s teammate Tyler Reddick, with a second JGR entry in Ty Gibbs – who is racing for the $1 million In-Season Tournament bonus against Ty Dillon – filling out the top five qualifiers.

William Byron starts sixth in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and Chris Buescher lines up seventh in an RFK Racing-prepared Ford Mustang Dark Horse.

Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar, Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger, and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric were the balance of the top 10. Eight different organizations are represented in the first five rows of the grid.

Notables starting deeper in the field include Shane van Gisbergen (11th), who earned his best-ever starting spot on an oval in the Cup Series; defending Brickyard 400 winner Kyle Larson (13th); three-time and defending Cup Series champion Joey Logano (15th); Alex Bowman (21st); Dillon (26th); and perennial fan favorite Chase Elliott (30th).

As the last car to make a qualifying attempt, Denny Hamlin was two tenths of a second up on Briscoe and on his way to the Brickyard 400 pole, when he slapped the outside wall exiting turn two and his No. 11 Progressive Toyota shot across the racetrack.

Hamlin’s car slammed the inside SAFER Barrier nose first, causing terminal damage and forcing the 58-time Cup Series race winner to a backup car for Sunday’s race. He’s seeking his first Brickyard 400 win.

Broadcast coverage of the 29th Brickyard 400 presented by PPG is slated for 2 p.m. ET Sunday, live on TNT, the IMS Radio Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.