Reddick Speeds To Busch Pole For Goodyear 400

Tyler Reddick with the Busch Light Pole Award at Darlington Raceway. (HHP/David Graham photo)

DARLINGTON, S.C. – If recent history is any indication, Tyler Reddick may be well on his way to becoming a present-era master at the Track Too Tough to Tame.

Reddick earned the Busch Light Pole Award for the Goodyear 400 in a sun-drenched qualifying session Saturday at Darlington Raceway, topping the final knockout round in impressive fashion.

The Corning, Calif., native turned a lap of 28.906 seconds (170.124 mph) around the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval with the No. 45 MoneyLion Throwback Toyota for his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series pole.

It’s Reddick’s seventh straight top-10 start at Darlington, where he’s finished third or better in three of his past four starts. He’ll seek his first Cup Series win at the historic track on Sunday afternoon.

“Just really excited that this Tim Richmond throwback [scheme] is going to be starting on the pole,” said Reddick, who’s carrying the colors of Richmond’s Fast Company Limited No. 29 from 1982.

“It really does seem like both of the 23XI [Racing] cars are strong, but I didn’t run a lot in traffic in practice, so I think we’ve got some work to do there,” he added. “It was really nice, though, to be able to put in the effort this week to have that kind of a qualifying effort. Last week was tough … but I love this place and we’re looking for ways to have a good week this week.”

Joining Reddick on the front row will be RFK Racing co-owner and 2012 Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, who posted a time of 28.924 seconds (170.018 mph) in the No. 6 Castrol Edge Throwback Ford.

Keselowski earned his best Darlington start since winning the pole for the 2021 spring race, and he’ll seek a trophy to go with his Southern 500 triumph from 2018.

Chris Buescher qualified third in the second RFK Ford, with Ty Gibbs fourth and Daytona 500 winner William Byron fifth.

Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, and Martin Truex Jr. made up the remainder of the top 10 that advanced through both knockout rounds.

Kyle Busch (Group B) and Christopher Bell (Group A) were the quickest drivers in their respective groups that failed to transfer to the pole shootout. They’ll roll off 11th and 12th, respectively, come race day.

Other notables starting deeper in the field include two-time series champion Joey Logano (14th), defending champion Ryan Blaney (17th), Chase Elliott (31st), and Noah Gragson (36th).

Making his return from a back injury suffered at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April, two-time Southern 500 winner Erik Jones qualified 30th.

Coverage of the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway is slated for 3 p.m. ET Sunday, live on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.