NASCAR Cup Series at Dover starting lineup: Chris Buescher wins first career pole at The Monster Mile

Chris Buescher has won the pole for Sunday’s DuraMAX Drydene 400 at Dover, laying down a lap of 22.479 (160.149 MPH) in the final round of qualifying to beat Denny Hamlin for the top spot and earn the first pole of his Cup career in his 233rd start.

After Chevrolets posted the fastest times in Group A and Group B qualifying, Buescher was the only driver to run a lap under 22.500, setting his fast lap early and then holding on as other drivers saw their times fall off compared to practice and the early rounds of qualifying. Buescher is now the fourth driver to earn his first Cup pole this season, joining Austin Cindric, Christopher Bell, and Cole Custer.

Buescher paced a qualifying session that was relatively tame in comparison to practice, which saw a number of drivers get bitten by The Monster Mile. Drivers who spun and crashed included Tyler Reddick, Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland, William Byron, and Josh Bilicki — the latter two sustaining the worst damage, forcing both to backup cars for tomorrow’s race.

Only one driver had issues in pre-qualifying tech inspection. Ty Dillon’s team failed inspection twice, leading to loss of pit selection and the ejection of a crew member.

DuraMAX Drydene 400 starting lineup

1. #17 – Chris Buescher
2. #11 – Denny Hamlin
3. #5 – Kyle Larson
4. #9 – Chase Elliott
5. #12 – Ryan Blaney
6. #48 – Alex Bowman
7. #1 – Ross Chastain
8. #99 – Daniel Suarez
9. #23 – Bubba Wallace
10. #18 – Kyle Busch
11. #4 – Kevin Harvick
12. #2 – Austin Cindric (R)
13. #15 – Ryan Preece
14. #31 – Justin Haley
15. #47 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
16. #45 – Kurt Busch
17. #20 – Christopher Bell
18. #19 – Martin Truex Jr.
19. #16 – A.J. Allmendinger
20. #6 – Brad Keselowski
21. #7 – Corey LaJoie
22. #22 – Joey Logano
23. #14 – Chase Briscoe
24. #3 – Austin Dillon
25. #43 – Erik Jones
26. #8 – Tyler Reddick
27. #10 – Aric Almirola
28. #51 – Cody Ware
29. #34 – Michael McDowell
30. #41 – Cole Custer
31. #42 – Ty Dillon
32. #78 – B.J. McLeod
33. #24 – William Byron
34. #38 – Todd Gilliland (R)
35. #21 – Harrison Burton (R)
36. #77 – Josh Bilicki