Kyle Larson claims pole position for O’Reilly Auto Parts race at Darlington

Kyle Larson was fastest during the O’Reilly Auto Parts qualifying on Saturday at Darlington Raceway with a lap of 29.994 at 163.953 mph. He’ll lead the field to green in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for this evening’s race.

“It felt more stable than practice, for sure,” Larson said after qualifying. “Kind of the same sort of thing here the last two weeks. Like I’ve been really on the splitter in practice and then go qualify. My balance feels great. So yeah, hopefully, we can learn from that, from the last two weeks and have a smoother race later on. But happy to get the pole here. I really just tried to have a smooth lap.”

Larson is filling in for Alex Bowman, who was originally slated to compete in the race, as Bowman continues his recovery from vertigo issues.

It felt more stable than practice, for sure. Kind of the same sort of thing here the last two weeks. Like I’ve been really on the splitter in practice and then go to qualify. My balance feels great . So yeah, hopefully, we can learn from that and have a smoother

Christopher Bell, Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier and Parker Retzlaff completed the top-5 fastest during thee qualifying session. Matt DiBenedetto did not qualify for the 38-driver field.

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 will be broadcast on the CW network this evening at 5:30 p.m. ET with radio coverage provided by SiriusXM.

Starting Lineup

1. Kyle Larson, No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
2. Christopher Bell, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
3. Carson Kvapil, No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
4. Justin Allgaier, No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
5. Parker Retzlaff, No. 99 Viking Motorsports Chevrolet
6. Sam Mayer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet
7. William Sawalich, No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
8. Brandon Jones, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
9. Ross Chastain, No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
10. Jesse Love, No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
11. Austin Hill, No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
12. Corey Day, No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
13. Sheldon Creed, No. 00 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet
14. Harrison Burton, No. 24 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota
15. Taylor Gray, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
16. Kyle Sieg, No. 28 RSS Racing Chevrolet
17. Josh Williams, No. 92 DGM Racing Chevrolet
18. Sammy Smith, No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
19. Rajah Caruth, No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet
20. JJ Yeley, No. 5 Hettinger Racing Ford
21. Anthony Alfredo, No. 96 Viking Motorsports Chevrolet
22. Ryan Sieg, No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet
23. Brennan Poole, No. 44 Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet
24. Garrett Smithley, No. 0 SS Green Light Racing Chevrolet
25. Jeb Burton, No. 27 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet
26. Blaine Perkins, No. 31 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet
27. Nick Sanchez, No. 25 AM Racing Ford
28. Patrick Staropoli, No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet
29. Lavar Scott, No. 45 Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet
30. Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet
31. Austin Green, No. 87 Peterson Racing Group Chevrolet
32. Josh Bilicki, No. 07 SS Green Light Racing Chevrolet
33. Dean Thompson, No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota
34. Alex Labbe, No. 91 DGM Racing Chevrolet
35. Myatt Snider, No. 30 Barrett Cope Racing Chevrolet
36. Ryan Ellis, No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet
37. Joey Gase, No. 55 Joey Gase Motorsports Chevrolet
38. Nathan Byrd, No. 42 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet