Martin Truex Jr on pole for final start as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Martin Truex Jr. will have the best view of his final green flag as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
Truex won the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series championship race, outrunning championship contender Joey Logano to earn his 25th career pole.
The 2017 Cup Series champion is sporting a firesuit and a paint scheme throwing back to his first career start in the series. He said it was all a surprise to him.
Logano will start eight spots ahead of his closest Championship 4 contender, William Byron, who starts eighth. Tyler Reddick will start 10th after just breaking into the final round and only running the 21st-fastest time in practice and being 10th on the 10-lap average.
Blaney and Logano topped the 10-lap average while Byron was fifth. Blaney was also fastest in practice but will start 17th after bobbling in turn one during his qualifying lap.
The defending Cup Series champion isn’t worried.
“I thought I had a little bit of both but, would I like to qualify a little better? Yea. But I feel like my car was pretty well-balanced so that’s a good thing,” he said.
See the full lineup and practice results here:
Discover more from The Racing Experts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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