John Hunter Nemechek won the pole for Saturday’s Xfinity Series Shriners Children’s 200 with a 29.613 lap at 166.062 mph in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It was his second career pole in the series and his first this season.
“I feel really, really good about our Pye-Barker Toyota,” Nemechek said. “The guys on this 20 team have worked really hard and have prepared really fast race cars every single week.
“Darlington is one of my favorite racetracks to come to. So really proud of all the guys on this team, proud to come out here and get the pole.”
Ryan Truex, who won at Dover in the most recent Xfinity race, will start on the front row next to his teammate, Nemechek, after a lap of 165.275 mph. Kyle Larson, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing, qualified third at 165.081 mph. Sam Mayer (164.749 mph) in the JR Motorsports Chevrolet and Sewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer (164.578) completed the top five in qualifying.
Chandler Smith, Sheldon Creed, Parker Retzlaff, Sammy Smith and Austin Hill will start the race in positions six-10th, respectively.
The Xfinity Series Shriners Children’s 200 will be televised on FOX at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon with radio coverage by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
