Jesse Love scores second O’Reilly pole of 2026 at Phoenix

Jesse Love scored the pole position for the Timberland PRO 200 at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, October 17.

The event’s starting lineup was 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 cycled around Phoenix once to post the fastest lap amongst one another. The competitor who posted the fastest lap was awarded the pole position.

During the session, Love, who was the 12th-fastest competitor in practice earlier on Saturday, utilized his single-lap sesssion to post a qualifying lap at 131.694 mph in 27.336 seconds. Love’s lap was enough for the reigning O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion from Menlo Park, California, to secure the top-starting spot for Saturday night’s main event in the desert state. 

With the pole, Love notched his 11th NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career pole for his 95th series’ start, his second of the 2026 season, his first at Phoenix Raceway and his first since Talladega Superspeedway in April. The Californian also achieved the 98th O’Reilly career pole for Richard Childress Racing. Love is ranked in the runner-up spot in the 2026 Chase standings and is two points behind points leader Sheldon Creed. He has four Chase events remaining on the schedule, including Phoenix, to reel in Creed and contend for his second consecutive title.

Love will share the front row with Brandon Jones, the latter of whom posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 130.548 mph in 27.675 seconds. William Sawalich, Sheldon Creed and Taylor Gray qualified in the top five, respectively. Rajah Caruth, Nick Sanchez, Brent Crews (fastest in practice), Sammy Smith and Austin Hill complete the top-10 starting grid, respectively.

With seven of 12 Chase contenders (Love, Jones, Creed, Gray, Caruth, Sammy Smith and Hill) starting in the top 10, the remaining Chasers that include Corey Day, Justin Allgaier, Carson Kvapil, Parker Retzlaff and Sam Mayer will start 11th, 13th, 16th, 18th and 35th, respectively. Mayer was the lone Chaser who was unable to post a qualifying lap due to an engine issue he experienced during practice. Harrison Burton, Brad Perez and Joey Gase all met similar fates as Mayer’s as they will round out the 38-car field.

With 38 competitors vying for 38 starting spots, all made the main event.

Phoenix – Starting Lineup:

1. Jesse Love, 131.694 mph, 27.336 seconds
2. Brandon Jones, 130548 mph, 27.675 seconds
3. William Sawalich, 130.529 mph, 27.580 seconds
4. Sheldon Creed, 130.340 mph, 27.620 seconds
5. Taylor Gray, 130.189 mph, 27.652 seconds
6. Rajah Caruth, 130.110 mph, 27.669 seconds
7. Nick Sanchez, 130.063 mph, 27.679 seconds
8. Brent Crews, 129.870 mph, 27.720 seconds
9. Sammy Smith, 129.734 mph, 27.749 seconds
10. Austin Hill, 129.674 mph, 27.762 seconds
11. Corey Day, 129.403 mph, 27.820 seconds
12. Ryan Sieg, 129.399 mph, 27.821 seconds
13. Justin Allgaier, 129.357 mph, 27.830 seconds
14. Blaine Perkins, 129.315 mph, 27.839 seconds
15. Anthony Alfredo, 129.153 mph, 27.874 seconds
16. Carson Kvapil, 129.148 mph, 27.875 seconds
17. Dean Thompson, 129.074 mph, 27.891 seconds
18. Parker Retzlaff, 129.023 mph, 27.902 seconds
19. Jeremy Clements, 128.981 mph, 27.911 seconds
20. Leland Honeyman Jr., 128.815 mph, 27.947 seconds
21. Kyle Sieg, 128.696 mph, 27.973 seconds
22. Jeb Burton, 128.265 mph, 28.067 seconds
23. Josh Williams, 128.036 mph, 28.117 seconds
24. Will Rodgers, 127.827 mph, 28.163 seconds
25. Andrew Patterson, 127.660 mph, 28.200 seconds
26. Brennan Poole, 126.819 mph, 28.387 seconds
27. Patrick Staropoli, 126.774 mph, 28.397 seconds
28. Ryan Ellis, 126.551 mph, 28.447 seconds
29. Jake Finch, 126.232 mph, 28.519 seconds
30. Lavar Scott, 126.201 mph, 28.526 seconds
31. Connor Mosack, 125.914 mphh, 28.591 seconds
32. Josh Bilicki, 125.571 mph, 28.669 seconds
33. Dawson Cram, 124.831 mph, 28.839 seconds
34. Garrett Smithley, 124.516 mph, 28.912 seconds
35. Sam Mayer, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
36. Harrison Burton, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
37. Brad Perez, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
38. Joey Gase, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds

*Bold indicates Chase Drivers

The 2026 Timerberland PRO 200 at Phoenix Raceway is scheduled to occur on Saturday, October 17, at 7:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM.