NASCAR Cup qualifying: Chase Elliott on the pole for Phoenix race

NASCAR drivers took to Phoenix Raceway Saturday afternoon for a two-lap qualifying round ahead of Sunday’s race at the one mile oval. No. 9 driver Chase Elliott left the track with the fastest qualifying time (26.065 seconds, 138.116 mph), followed by No. 4 driver Kevin Harvick.

Elliott will make his first pole start of the season on Sunday, while Harvick makes his fourth start in the front row.

Harvick drove his qualifying laps before Elliott on Saturday, and was the first in the field to drive low into turn one. Elliott said other drivers behind him tried to mimic the move to pick up speed on the first two turns.

“Kevin made the top work and then everybody saw that,” Elliott said.

Sunday’s race will be the first of the season with NASCAR’s new 2020 package for short tracks.

For more information on the short track package, read: Daytona is almost here, but Kevin Harvick wants short track wins after rule changes

Despite an 11th place finish in qualifying, Martin Truex Jr. will start at the back of the field for Sunday’s race due to an engine change. His No. 19 team changed out the power unit of its Toyota Camry before technical inspection on Saturday morning, which sends him to the rear during pace laps.

John Hunter Nemechek’s Front Row Motorsports team said the No. 38 car would also drop to the back of the pack on Sunday due to a radiator change.

Saturday’s full qualifying results are as follows:

This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 3:59 PM.

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription