Jesse Love was awarded the pole position for the Sports Illustrated Resorts 250 at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, May 30.
The event’s starting lineup was initially going to be determined through an on-track qualifying session that consisted of a single-car, single-lap qualifying format. During the session, each of the 38 competitors vying for 38 starting spots would cycle around Nashville Superspeedway once to post the fastest lap amongst one another. The competitor who posted the single fastest lap would be awarded the pole position.
Due to inclement weather, the session was canceled and the starting lineup was based on a qualifying metric formula per the NASCAR rule book. As a result, Jesse Love, driver of the No. 2 Whelen/Richard Childress Racing (RCR) Chevrolet Camaro entry, was awarded the pole position. Love, the reigning O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion from Menlo Park, California, is currently ranked in the runner-up spot in the 2026 driver’s standings while his No. 2 entry is ranked in third place in the owner’s standings. He is also coming off a runner-up result from Saturday night’s event at Charlotte Motor Speedway as he continues the pursuit of his first victory of the 2026 season.
Love will share the front row with his RCR teammate, Austin Hill. Hill, driver of the No. 21 1-800-PACK-RAT Chevrolet Camaro entry from Winston, Georgia, finished in third place at Charlotte, and he is ranked in sixth place in the driver’s standings while his No. 21 team is ranked in eighth place in the owner’s standings.
Corey Day, Carson Kvapil and William Sawalich will start in the top five, respectively. Kyle Larson, who is substituting for teammate Alex Bowman in the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry for JR Motorsports, will start in sixth place while Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith, Parker Retzlaff and Garrett Smithley complete the top-10 starting grid.
Notably, Justin Allgaier, the two-time defending O’Reilly winner at Nashville and the points leader, will start in 17th place. In addition, Cleetus McFarland will round out the starting grid in 38th place for his second O’Reilly start, driving the No. 33 Tommy’s Express Car Wash Chevrolet Camaro entry for Richard Childress Racing.
With 38 competitors vying for 38 starting spots, all made the main event.
Nashville – Starting Lineup:
- Jesse Love
- Austin Hill
- Corey Day
- Carson Kvapil
- William Sawalich
- Kyle Larson
- Ryan Sieg
- Sammy Smith
- Parker Retzlaff
- Garrett Smithley
- Mason Maggio
- Anthony Alfredo
- Dean Thompson
- Austin Green
- Leland Honeyman Jr.
- Patrick Staropoli
- Justin Allgaier
- Lavar Scott
- Jeb Burton
- Kyle Sieg
- Blaine Perkins
- David Starr
- Brennan Poole
- Sheldon Creed
- Rajah Caruth
- Ryan Ellis
- Taylor Gray
- Josh Bilicki
- Brandon Jones
- Joey Gase
- Jeremy Clements
- Logan Bearden
- Brent Crews
- Sam Mayer
- Harrison Burton
- Dawson Cram
- JJ Yeley
- Cleetus McFarland
The 2026 Sports Illustrated Resorts 250 at Nashville Superspeedway is scheduled to occur on Saturday, May 30, at 7:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, PRN Radio, and SiriusXM.
