Race Weekend Central

Ty Dillon Grabs XFINITY Pole at Daytona

Spoiler alert: The No. 3 is fast at Daytona International Speedway.

Ty Dillon backed up his dominating runs in practice, taking the pole for Saturday’s Powershares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway following a quick lap of 49.493 seconds (181.844 mph). The pole is the fourth of his XFINITY Series career and first since 2014.

“I’m just really proud of these guys,” Dillon said. “Every single practice we worked to get speed out of the car. It just shows that hard work does pay off.”

Following Dillon were Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Daniel Suarez and Bobby Labonte – who makes his first series start since 2008 in his return to the team. Austin Dillon will be fourth.

Erik Jones was the quickest rookie in qualifying, lining up fifth in his No. 20 Toyota.

For Ty Dillon, he enters the race a clear favorite after pacing the field in two of three practices Friday including a Final Practice session where he was nearly three-tenths faster than the field.

Other expected contenders will be further back. Following a practice crash on Friday, Darrell Wallace, Jr. lines up 12th next  his Roush Fenway Racing teammate and defending Daytona winner Ryan Reed in 11th. Kasey Kahne starts 15th for JR Motorsports alongside Justin Allgaier in his new JRM ride.

Eight drivers failed to qualify for Saturday’s season-opening race: Mark Thompson, Mario Gosselin, Harrison Rhodes, Derrike Cope, Chris Fontaine, Derek White, Stanton Barrett and Mike Harmon.

The XFINITY Series season opener will begin later today at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

About the author

Growing up in Easton, Pa., Zach Catanzareti has grown his auto racing interest from fandom to professional. Joining Frontstretch in 2015, Zach enjoys nothing more than being at the track, having covered his first half-season of 18 races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2017. With experience behind the wheel, behind the camera and in the media center, he thrives on being an all-around reporter.

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