Kyle Larson Powers To Pole For Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Race At COTA

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Story By: CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS – AUSTIN, TX – NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) champion Kyle Larson’s hopes of a Texas two-step at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) this weekend – with wins in both the Focused Health 250 and the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix – got off to a strong start as the Elk Grove, Calif. native powered his No. 17 machine to the pole for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) showdown.

Larson’s qualifying lap of 132.076 seconds at 92.946 mph was enough to hold off hard-charging rookie Shane van Gisbergen, who will start on the front row alongside the veteran. Larson, van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs, Chandler Smith and AJ Allmendinger were the top five in Focused Health 250 qualifying.

“I think I’ve gotten the pole every time I’ve run the (No.) 17 car,” Larson said following qualifying. “It hasn’t translated to a win yet. I’m still trying to get a grasp of things. It’s going to be tough. SVG (van Gisbergen), he’s still got a lot to learn about the car and he’s already second quick.”

Larson, who’s racing in his first NXS road course race since Sonoma last summer, said the limited practice time makes adjusting to the Xfinity car a fun challenge.

“Twenty minutes is not a long time,” he said. “You get five or six laps in practice and then go qualifying. It’s going to be tough. There’s going to be lots of slipping and sliding. It’s going to be tough to keep it going straight.”

The Focused Health 250 is set to go green at 4:19 p.m. CT Saturday.