William Byron wins back-to-back Charlotte poles

William Byron wins his fifth Busch Pole Award of the season
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

In a wild final round of qualifying on Friday, William Byron took the pole for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. On a slick track, Byron posted a lap speed of 103.198 mph. Teammate Alex Bowman will start on the front row with Byron, with Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer rounding out the top five.

Byron's pole-winning run was his fifth of the season and hissecond-straight at Charlotte Motor Speedway after winning the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 earlier in May.

Kevin Harvick will start sixth on Sunday, Kyle Larson seventh and Martin Truex Jr. eighth. Defending race winner Ryan Blaney, Paul Menard, Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher filled the top 12.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Both Bowyer and Larson missed the backstretch chicane on their first runs of the final round and had to make a second run. Larson had been on pace to win the pole before his mishap

Byron finished on top in the first round as well, joined in the top five in that session by Larson, Johnson, Bowyer and Keselowski.

Notable drivers not making the top 12 included Erik Jones (15th), Kyle Busch (18th),Chase Elliott (19th), Kurt Busch (23rd) Ryan Newman (24th) and Denny Hamlin (28th in a backup car). Both Kurt Busch and Jones are currently below the cut line for making the second round of the playoffs.

Final practice for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 is scheduled for Saturday at 2:00 pm. Sunday’s race broadcast begins at 2:00 pm.

William Byron currently sits 12th in points.
Pete McCole/AR1

Bryon enters this weekend's event 12th in points and just two points ahead of his teammate Alex Bowman for the final spot to advance to the next round of the Cup Series playoffs.

“The guys did a great job with this car and it really takes every corner around this race track to get a pole," Byron said after his run. “I knew we could qualify Top 5, but I really wanted the pole and really kind of went out there and got it. So, I’m really proud of this UniFirst team, it’s going to be great to start up front."

RACE LINEUP

Pos # Driver Sponsor/Make Lap Speed
1 24 William Byron (P) UniFirst Chevrolet 80.932 103.198
2 88 Alex Bowman (P) Nationwide Retirement Plans Chevrolet 81.026 103.078
3 22 Joey Logano (P) Shell Pennzoil/Autotrader Ford 81.058 103.037
4 48 Jimmie Johnson Ally Chevrolet 81.172 102.893
5 14 Clint Bowyer (P) Rush/Cummins Ford 81.215 102.838
6 4 Kevin Harvick (P) Jimmy John's Ford 81.576 102.383
7 42 Kyle Larson (P) Clover Chevrolet 81.595 102.359
8 19 Martin Truex Jr. (P) Bass Pro Shops Toyota 82.068 101.769
9 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Menards/Duracell Ford 82.094 101.737
10 21 Paul Menard Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 82.215 101.587
11 2 Brad Keselowski (P) Alliance Truck Parts Ford 82.297 101.486
12 37 Chris Buescher Velveeta Chevrolet 82.327 101.449
13 41 Daniel Suarez Haas Automation Ford 81.92 101.953
14 47 Ryan Preece # Kroger Chevrolet 81.928 101.943
15 20 Erik Jones (P) Craftsman Toyota 81.973 101.887
16 10 Aric Almirola (P) Smithfield Ford 81.978 101.881
17 18 Kyle Busch (P) M&M's Hazelnut Toyota 81.986 101.871
18 95 Matt DiBenedetto Toyota Express Maintenance Toyota 81.993 101.862
19 9 Chase Elliott (P) NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 82.098 101.732
20 8 Daniel Hemric # Cat Next Gen Excavators Chevrolet 82.127 101.696
21 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. SunnyD Ford 82.232 101.566
22 34 Michael McDowell Love's Travel Stops Ford 82.252 101.542
23 1 Kurt Busch (P) Monster Energy Chevrolet 82.317 101.461
24 6 Ryan Newman (P) Performance Plus Ford 82.572 101.148
25 43 Bubba Wallace LeithCars.com Chevrolet 82.582 101.136
26 32 Corey LaJoie Samaritan's Feet Ford 82.63 101.077
27 38 David Ragan Citgard Heavy Duty Engine Oil Ford 83.088 100.52
28 11 Denny Hamlin (P) FedEx Freight Toyota 83.099 100.507
29 13 Ty Dillon GEICO Military Chevrolet 83.121 100.48
30 3 Austin Dillon Jack Daniel's Chevrolet 83.232 100.346
31 51 Cody Ware(i) Jacob Companies Chevrolet 84.22 99.169
32 0 Landon Cassill(i) Coladka Chevrolet 84.69 98.618
33 66 Timmy Hill(i) Duracap Asphalt Toyota 85.315 97.896
34 53 Josh Bilicki(i) AQRE.app Chevrolet 85.572 97.602
35 52 Garrett Smithley(i) Victory Lane/Kendall Oil Ford 85.782 97.363
36 36 Matt Tifft # Louis Kemp Crab Delights Ford 0 0
37 15 Ross Chastain(i) Empire Auto Group Chevrolet 0 0
38 77 Reed Sorenson Aquesta Bank Chevrolet 0 0
39 27 Joe Nemechek(i) Chevrolet 0 0
40 96 Parker Kligerman(i) TRD 40th Anniversary Toyota 0 0