AUSTIN, Texas — A pair of drivers with Circuit of the Americas wins will lead the Cup Series field to the green flag on Sunday afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET on Fox).
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Tyler Reddick, who leads the series with two wins this season, won the pole with a lap of 97.760 seconds. This marks his 12th career NASCAR Cup Series pole and his first of the season. Reddick is a past Circuit of the Americas winner, having captured the checkered flag in 2023.
Ross Chastain, the winner of the 2022 Cup Series race at the Texas road course, qualified second. He posted a lap of 97.897 seconds. This is his third time starting inside the top 10 at COTA.
MORE: COTA Cup Series starting lineup
The rest of the top 10 included Chase Briscoe (97.913), Ryan Blaney (97.982), Chase Elliott (98.002), Michael McDowell (98.147), AJ Allmendinger (98.152), Christopher Bell (98.204), Ty Gibbs (98.259), and William Byron (98.381).
Shane van Gisbergen, the driver viewed as the favorite to win, qualified 13th with a lap of 98.464 seconds. He will have to work through the field a bit as he pursues his sixth consecutive road course win.
This top 10 starting position is crucial for McDowell, who had the fastest time in practice and the best qualifying time in Group 1. He has never started better than 16th at COTA.
"Yeah, we won the B-Main, but we didn't win the A-Main," McDowell joked. "...Normally, I qualify terrible here. I mean, I don't think I've even qualified in the single digits here. But race really well. Our race car was good, so we should be in the game."
McDowell is not the only driver who will look to take advantage of his strong starting position at COTA. This also applies to Reddick, who now has some options. Instead of having to stay out for points or pit early to fight for the win, he can choose in the heat of the moment.
This is one of the luxuries of being the Cup Series points leader.
"I think our team does a great job on the preparation side for these races and where we start plays into that," Reddick said after winning the pole. "So there will be discussions, I'm sure, that will continue to happen here in a little bit and even into tomorrow morning.
"I don't know which way we will go at this moment, but certainly we kind of give ourselves more options starting towards the front, especially if we get off to a good start and as the field spreads out and if we're leading, it gives us choices."
