NASCAR Cup Iowa starting lineup: Ryan Blaney earns pole over Kyle Larson
Motorsport.com • • sports
Key Points:
- Ryan Blaney secured pole position at Iowa with a 23.474-second lap in his No. 12 Team Penske Ford, narrowly beating Kyle Larson by 0.018 seconds; this marks Blaney's 15th career pole and first at Iowa.
- Blaney's teammate Joey Logano qualified third, while Brad Keselowski qualified fourth but crashed during qualifying and will start at the rear of the field.
- Notable performances include Connor Zilisch qualifying eighth, his first top-ten on an oval, and Austin Cindric starting 12th, with defending Iowa winner William Byron starting 19th.
- Joe Gibbs Racing drivers struggled with brake issues, resulting in low qualifying positions: Ty Gibbs sixth, Christopher Bell 21st, Cole Custer 36th, and Denny Hamlin 29th.
- The qualifying session featured several incidents and tight competition, with Elliott starting 32nd after practice damage and Ryan Preece, currently below the playoff cut-line, starting 35th.
