Larson nips Blaney for first NASCAR Cup Series pole at Iowa Speedway
NEWTON, Iowa — Kyle Larson went last in qualifying Saturday but he nipped Ryan Blaney to become the first NASCAR Cup Series polesitter at Iowa Speedway.
Larson ran a lap of 23.084 seconds, besting Ryan Blaney by 0.025 seconds. Blaney will start second.
Due to a rain delay, NASCAR condensed qualifying to just Groups A and B. Each driver in Group A turned a lap, then each driver in Group B turned a lap.
The drivers sixth through 18th in Group A determined the even starting positions from 12th-36th (sixth in Group A starts 12th, 18th starts 36th). Meanwhile, the drivers sixth through 18th in Group B determined the odd starting positions from 11th-35th (sixth in Group B starts 11th, 18th start 35th).
Meanwhile, the top-5 in each group would comprise the top-10 starting positions. Lap times would set the order of the top-10.
Chase Briscoe and Kyle Busch were fastest in Group A, with Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell behind them. Briscoe and Busch looked good as they were the only drivers who ran lap times in the 23.6-second range.
Then in Group B, everyone found grip as Justin Haley ran a lap in the 23.4-second range before Berry broke into the 23.1-second range.
Berry held on to the provisional pole with a time of 23.176 seconds as the next dozen or so drivers went and dashed Briscoe and Busch’s hopes of starting in the top-5.
Then, Blaney ran a time of 23.109 seconds that dashed Berry’s hopes. Larson countered, grabbing the pole in the last run of the day for the Cup Series cars.
The Iowa Corn 350 goes green Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. See the full lineup and more info here:
NASCAR at Iowa Speedway 2024: Odds, TV times, lineups and more info
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com