Qualifying report
NASCAR Cup Phoenix
Kyle Larson beats Denny Hamlin to Phoenix Cup pole
So far this weekend, Kyle Larson has been fastest every time it’s counted.
Jim Utter
Edited: Mar 12, 2023, 9:50 AM
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Larson, who was fastest in Friday’s practice session at Phoenix Raceway, followed that up with a perfect qualifying performance on Saturday.
Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was fastest in his Round 1 qualifying group and as the last car out in the final round, his lap of 130.237 mph eclipsed Denny Hamlin to claim the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.
The pole is the first of the 2023 season for Larson and 15th of his career.
“It’s definitely a blast,” Larson said when asked how fun it is to drive a car like he has this weekend. “A huge thank you to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports and especially this No. 5 car for getting a new aero package thrown at them and doing their homework.
“I was super-happy about yesterday. I thought my car handled good and had a lot of speed in it and it translated into qualifying today.
“It’s a tough race, though, tomorrow. These Next Gen races are really, really hard to win. It would be nice to get a little redemption on last week but we’re off to a good start (this season). That’s all you can ask for.”
Hamlin, among the first to go out in the final round, ended up second (129.931 mph) and last weekend’s winner, William Byron, was third (129.922 mph). Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell rounded out the top-five.
Completing the top-10 starting lineup are Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch and Erik Jones.
Sunday’s race will be the first since NASCAR announced new aero rules this season for road courses and a majority of tracks measuring 1.058-mile or less in distance, including Phoenix.
The package, which was tested in the offseason at Phoenix, consists of a 2-inch spoiler and the removal of three diffuser strakes and engine panel strakes. The changes were expected to lead to a 30-percent reduction in downforce.
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Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Gap Interval Mph 1 5 
Kyle Larson Chevrolet 1 27.642 130.237 2 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 1 27.707 0.065 0.065 129.931 3 24 William Byron Chevrolet 1 27.709 0.067 0.002 129.922 4 6 Brad Keselowski Ford 1 27.743 0.101 0.034 129.762 5 20 Christopher Bell Toyota 1 27.782 0.140 0.039 129.580 6 1 Ross Chastain Chevrolet 1 27.822 0.180 0.040 129.394 7 34 Michael McDowell Ford 1 27.867 0.225 0.045 129.185 8 12 Ryan Blaney Ford 1 27.889 0.247 0.022 129.083 9 8 Kyle Busch Chevrolet 1 27.918 0.276 0.029 128.949 10 43 Erik Jones Chevrolet 1 27.933 0.291 0.015 128.880
Round 1 / Group B
Larson, who was fastest in Friday’s practice session, led the way in Group B with an average lap speed of 131.752 mph.
Busch ended up second-fastest (130.326 mph) and Bell was third (130.284 mph).
Also advancing to the final round from Group B were Blaney and Chastain.
Among those who failed to advance were Daniel Suarez, Joey Logano and last year’s spring race winner Chase Briscoe.
Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Gap Interval Mph 1 5 Kyle Larson Chevrolet 1 27.324 131.752 2 8 Kyle Busch Chevrolet 1 27.623 0.299 0.299 130.326 3 20 Christopher Bell Toyota 1 27.632 0.308 0.009 130.284 4 12 Ryan Blaney Ford 1 27.642 0.318 0.010 130.237 5 1 Ross Chastain Chevrolet 1 27.656 0.332 0.014 130.171 6 99 
Daniel Suarez Chevrolet 1 27.660 0.336 0.004 130.152 7 54 Ty Gibbs Toyota 1 27.671 0.347 0.011 130.100 8 22 Joey Logano Ford 1 27.700 0.376 0.029 129.964 9 9 Josh Berry Chevrolet 1 27.716 0.392 0.016 129.889 10 48 Alex Bowman Chevrolet 1 27.723 0.399 0.007 129.856 11 17 Chris Buescher Ford 1 27.757 0.433 0.034 129.697 12 16 A.J. Allmendinger Chevrolet 1 27.762 0.438 0.005 129.674 13 14 Chase Briscoe Ford 1 27.779 0.455 0.017 129.594 14 41 Ryan Preece Ford 1 27.784 0.460 0.005 129.571 15 15 Todd Gilliland Ford 1 28.042 0.718 0.258 128.379 16 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 1 28.058 0.734 0.016 128.306 17 10 Aric Almirola Ford 1 28.084 0.760 0.026 128.187 18 78 B.J. McLeod Chevrolet 1 28.194 0.870 0.110 127.687
Round 1 / Group A
Byron, the last driver to make a qualifying attempt in Group A, went straight to the top of the leaderboard with an average lap speed of 130.657 mph.
Jones ended up second-fastest (130.643 mph) and Keselowski was third (130.279 mph).
“We’ve got some good speed,” Jones said. “Hopefully, this will help get our season going.”
Also advancing to the final round were Hamlin and McDowell.
Among those who failed to advance were Kevin Harvick, Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric and Bubba Wallace.
Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Gap Interval Mph 1 24 William Byron Chevrolet 1 27.553 130.657 2 43 Erik Jones Chevrolet 1 27.556 0.003 0.003 130.643 3 6 Brad Keselowski Ford 1 27.633 0.080 0.077 130.279 4 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 1 27.634 0.081 0.001 130.274 5 34 Michael McDowell Ford 1 27.644 0.091 0.010 130.227 6 45 Tyler Reddick Toyota 1 27.666 0.113 0.022 130.124 7 19 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 1 27.667 0.114 0.001 130.119 8 4 Kevin Harvick Ford 1 27.683 0.130 0.016 130.044 9 23 Bubba Wallace Toyota 1 27.750 0.197 0.067 129.730 10 2 Austin Cindric Ford 1 27.753 0.200 0.003 129.716 11 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chevrolet 1 27.766 0.213 0.013 129.655 12 31 Justin Haley Chevrolet 1 27.870 0.317 0.104 129.171 13 21 Harrison Burton Ford 1 27.974 0.421 0.104 128.691 14 7 Corey Lajoie Chevrolet 1 27.988 0.435 0.014 128.627 15 42 Noah Gragson Chevrolet 1 28.140 0.587 0.152 127.932 16 38 Zane Smith Ford 1 28.324 0.771 0.184 127.101 17 77 Ty Dillon Chevrolet 1 28.752 1.199 0.428 125.209 18 51 Cody Ware Ford 1 28.854 1.301 0.102 124.766
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