Kyle Larson kicked his Memorial Day Weekend into high gear Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway winning the pole for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. Larson led the way in a Hendrick Motorsports-dominated qualifying session, earning what was his first Charlotte pole and his first pole on a 1.5-mile track.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. qualified second, with Chase Elliott and William Byron — two of Larson’s Hendrick teammates — third and fourth. Kevin Harvick qualified fifth and Austin Dillon sixth, while Alex Bowman’s seventh-place effort put all four Hendrick cars in the top seven.
Two-time Coca-Cola 600 winner Martin Truex Jr. qualified eighth with Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain completing the top 10.
Brad Keselowski, the defending winner of the Coca-Cola 600, qualified 13th for Sunday’s race.
“Our teammates were a little more trimmed out than we were, so we thought they were going to have more raw speed,” Larson said. “That’s why we didn’t think we’d get the pole, but once I was out there and I felt like I had more grip than I had yesterday, I thought that if I could keep it straighter than I was yesterday and hold it wide-open easier, maybe I’d have a shot at the front row. Sometimes, it’s good to exceed expectations.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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