Chase Briscoe Claims Nashville Cup Pole as JGR Dominates Front Row

Chase Briscoe captured the pole position for the Nashville Cup race with an impressive lap time of 29.125 seconds in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Briscoe set the fast lap as the 36th out of 39 qualifiers, edging out teammate Denny Hamlin by a tight margin of 0.049 seconds.

Hamlin will line up alongside Briscoe, ensuring a sweep of the front row for Joe Gibbs Racing. Both drivers highlighted the importance of track position at Nashville Superspeedway, saying that starting up front gives them a strong advantage heading into Sunday’s race.

Briscoe now has three pole awards in his first season with JGR, having previously secured top qualifying spots at both the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600. William Byron was the fastest Chevrolet driver and will start third.

Tyler Reddick, who led practice earlier in the weekend, earned the fourth spot, while Ross Chastain, who recently won the Coca-Cola 600, rounds out the top five after clocking a 29.310-second lap. Brad Keselowski qualified sixth, followed by Christopher Bell in seventh and Michael McDowell in eighth.

Joey Logano and Chris Buescher secured the final two places in the top ten, delivering a mix of Toyotas, Chevrolets, and Fords to the front of the field. Further down the order, A.J. Allmendinger qualified 17th after NASCAR officials caught the Kaulig Racing team making unapproved adjustments, forcing extra scrutiny during the inspection process.

Shane van Gisbergen delivered his best oval-track qualifying performance of the season, placing 23rd. His previous best came at a non-points All-Star Open event earlier in the year.

Meanwhile, Kyle Larson, who suffered tough luck during the Memorial Day Weekend with crashes at both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, continues to struggle. Larson posted his worst qualifying result of the year, rolling off 28th at Nashville.

The rest of the starting grid features a tight gap among drivers. Chase Elliott will begin the race in 11th, Tyler Gibbs is set for the 22nd spot, and Austin Dillon starts 21st for Richard Childress Racing.

Daniel Suarez, who also had a challenging qualifying session, will start from the 32nd position. Rookies and veterans alike will look to make moves early, hoping to capitalize on any opportunities presented during the opening laps.

Briscoe’s pole win demonstrates strong speed from Joe Gibbs Racing, which placed three cars in the top seven. The team has found momentum, but Briscoe emphasized the need to capitalize on the strong starting spot and “put a Sunday together,” underlining how important consistent execution will be when the green flag drops.

The Nashville Cup race promises tight competition with several drivers starting close together and teams bringing different strategies. With only fractions of a second separating much of the field in qualifying, every pit stop and restart could play a major role in deciding the outcome.

As the series heads into Sunday’s event, the focus will be on Briscoe and the front row sweep by JGR as the drivers prepare to battle under the Tennessee lights. The level of competition certainly recalls the intensity seen in F1 battles for the title, where strategy and precision make all the difference.