Mosack Speeds To First Truck Pole In Atlanta Qualifying

Connor Mosack celebrates his maiden NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole position Friday afternoon at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Jacob Seelman/Race Face Digital photo)

HAMPTON, Ga. – Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Connor Mosack rebounded from a disappointing season opener with his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole Friday afternoon at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Driving the No. 81 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Chevrolet Silverado RST, Mosack toured the 1.54-mile quad-oval in 31.969 seconds (173.418 mph) during the second and final round of knockout qualifying.

Mosack was one of only two drivers above the 173-mph threshold and outpaced Truck Series veteran Grant Enfinger by .076 seconds for the Kennametal Pole Award, worth $1,000.

“This feels good,” said Mosack, who earned the pole in just his 13th Truck Series start. “Hats off to the MHR guys for bringing fast Silverados this weekend. Blake (Bainbridge, crew chief) put together the pole truck two years in a row, so that’s really cool for him and for this team.

“Hopefully it drives a little bit better in the race for us tomorrow; I think we’ve been able to work on a few things, so it comes down to me learning throughout the first stage and trying to make some moves early,” Mosack added. “Even if they don’t all work out, it’s still stuff that I can put in the (memory) bank for later on. I feel good about the team we have, though, and we’ll see what that brings us in the race.”

Enfinger’s time of 32.045 seconds (173.007 mph) in the pole shootout puts him on the front row with Mosack as he seeks to back up his playoff run from a year ago with CR7 Motorsports.

“This is a testament to all our crew guys,” Enfinger pointed out. “Qualifying here is basically (super)speedway qualifying, where you hold (the throttle) to the floor and try to keep a smooth wheel.

“Thankful to have a fast Chevy and I think we’ve got something to work with in the race. I enjoy the draft and appreciate what it takes to be successful in this type of racing … even if I don’t always love the crazy moments it brings!”

Mosack’s McAnally-Hilgemann Racing teammate Daniel Hemric starts third (32.061/172.920) alongside Spire Motorsports’ Rajah Caruth (32.122/172.592), with Jack Wood (32.132/172.538) giving MHR three of the top five starters.

ThorSport Racing’s Jake Garcia was sixth as the fastest Ford in time trials, followed by the fourth MHR entry of Tyler Ankrum. Stewart Friesen’s Toyota, the Chevrolet of Kyle Busch, and the Ford of Ben Rhodes closed the top 10.

Three-time Truck Series champion Matt Crafton was the first driver who failed to make the transfer out of round one, missing the cut by .017 seconds with a lap of 32.211 seconds (172.115 mph) in the No. 88 Serta/Menards Ford F-150.

Crafton will line up 11th Saturday afternoon alongside one of his ThorSport teammates, defending Truck Series champion Ty Majeski in 12th (32.236/171.982).

Other notables starting deeper in the field include rookies Andres Perez (14th) and Dawson Sutton (15th), Layne Riggs (16th), Cup Series veteran Michael McDowell (17th), Corey Heim (19th), Frankie Muniz (21st), Kaden Honeycutt (25th), and Chandler Smith (28th).

Three drivers – Bayley Currey, Keith McGee, and Justin Carroll – did not take a qualifying lap Friday, but with just 32 trucks entered, no one failed to make the starting field.

Saturday’s Fr8 Racing 208 is slated for a 1:30 p.m. ET green flag, with live coverage on FS1, the new NASCAR Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.