William Byron secured his second career NASCAR Cup Series pole position at Phoenix Raceway, putting his Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet on the front row for Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500.

The 26-year-old driver posted a blistering lap time of 26.930 seconds (133.680 mph), making him the only competitor among the 37 qualifiers to break into the 26-second bracket. This performance edged out defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano, who will start alongside Byron on the front row.

“I did not hit my marks,” Byron admitted after qualifying. “I was sideways, I just carried a ton of entry speed. I felt like I missed the middle of the corner and just coming off the dog leg I was so loose, I just was going to try to commit to the exit to see how much I could get out of the exits even though I missed the centers. Just a fast car.”

This marks Byron’s 14th career Cup Series pole and his first since winning both the pole and race at Circuit of The Americas in March 2024. His previous Phoenix pole came during the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race, where he ultimately finished fourth.

Carson Hocevar, who led the 45-minute practice session earlier in the day, qualified third. Josh Berry and Erik Jones rounded out the top five, creating a surprisingly diverse front group.

Spire Motorsports made history by placing all three of its entries in the top 10, with Justin Haley (8th) joining Michael McDowell (7th) and Carson Hocevar (3rd). Chase Elliott, winner of the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, will start sixth, while Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin completed the top 10.

Christopher Bell, aiming to become the first driver to win three consecutive races in the NextGen era, will start from 11th position, with 2023 champion Ryan Blaney directly behind him in 12th.

Notable starting positions for other contenders include Chris Buescher (13th), Kyle Busch (15th), Kyle Larson (17th), Ross Chastain (24th), and Alex Bowman (32nd).

Katherine Legge, making her NASCAR Cup Series debut with Live Fast Motorsports in the No. 78 Chevrolet, qualified 37th. Despite being last on the grid, she remained competitive, finishing just two-tenths of a second behind 36th-place John Hunter Nemechek, an impressive showing considering this marks her first experience in both the NextGen car and at Phoenix Raceway.

The Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway is scheduled for Sunday, March 9 at 3:30 PM ET, with coverage on FOX Sports 1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images