Chase Briscoe Iowa Speedway pole qualifying brought another high-stakes achievement for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver on Saturday, when he topped the time sheets with a 23.004-second lap that outpaced the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of William Byron by 0.084 seconds. Briscoe’s performance continues his recent trend of front-row starts, but the real test remains whether he can translate this qualifying speed into victory during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at Iowa Speedway.
Briscoe’s Run of Poles and Early Race Weekend Reflections
Since joining Joe Gibbs Racing, Chase Briscoe has amassed six pole positions, stacking up three consecutive front-row starts. The latest came at Iowa Speedway, where Briscoe clocked a time fast enough to edge out the competition. Briscoe expressed both satisfaction and a desire for more, saying,
“It’s definitely been great on Saturdays for our Bass Pro Shops Toyota,”
—Chase Briscoe, Driver. He continued,
“Would love to convert that to Sundays. We’ve been fast on Sundays too, just haven’t been able to come out on top yet. James [Small, crew chief] (and) the entire group do such a good job on this thing to get it better … I did not think that was going to hold. I was just a little too tight. I felt like i gave up a lot of time in (Turn) one and two. I knew my (Turn) three and four were good, but I didn’t think it would be enough. Really cool to get another pole.”
—Chase Briscoe, Driver.
While Briscoe’s lone 2024 win came earlier at Pocono from the sixth starting spot, his pole position tally this season stands out, including first-place qualifying efforts in every major “crown jewel” NASCAR Cup event so far: the Daytona 500, Coca Cola 600, and the Brickyard 400.
Lineup Facts: Front Row and the Field
William Byron’s strong effort placed him second, with Kyle Larson set to start third, Austin Cindric in fourth, and Brad Keselowski rounding out the top five. Key contenders Ryan Blaney, Carson Hocevar, Chase Elliott, A.J. Allmendinger, and Justin Haley formed the remainder of the top ten, all looking to capitalize on the positions and the challenging short track conditions Iowa Speedway provides.
Briscoe’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin will take the green flag from 11th, Christopher Bell starts 17th, and Ty Gibbs will be 20th. The grid features several regulars starting further back, including Tyler Reddick in 22nd, Daniel Suarez in 26th, Chris Buescher in 27th, Ross Chastain in 28th, and Ryan Preece deep in the field at 33rd. With Buescher and Preece, both RFK Racing drivers, separated by just 42 points for the last playoff spot, there’s added urgency for a strong finish.
Challenges on the Short Track and Notable Incidents
The notorious bumps of Iowa Speedway persisted as a challenge for many in the field, with several drivers fighting to keep control during their attempts. Though qualifying ran incident-free, earlier practice was not as kind; Kyle Busch crashed heavily and his Richard Childress Racing team was forced to resort to a backup car. As a result, Busch did not take a timed lap in qualifying and will start shotgun on the field in 37th place.
Looking Ahead at Iowa Speedway
Briscoe’s pole run at Iowa adds yet another qualification highlight to his season, but the question lingers—can he and Joe Gibbs Racing convert Saturday speed into Sunday victory? With team strategies and playoff implications at stake for many, including drivers like Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, and Ross Chastain, the tension is set to carry over into the race itself. How Briscoe and his competitors adapt to the unique challenges of Iowa Speedway may define both the event and the playoff landscape as the season unfolds.
