Trecherous track sets lineup for NASCAR's longest race

In winning the pole on Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chase Briscoe became just the second person behind Jimmie Johnson in 2002 to lead the field to green in both the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same season.

This is also the fourth time Briscoe has won the pole for a Cup Series race, two with Stewart-Haas Racing and now two with Joe Gibbs Racing.

“It’s pretty wild to be honest, just thinking back – I never thought I would get to run a single Truck race, not only to be able to now lead the field to two crown jewel events, it is pretty special,” Briscoe said. “Daytona was really, really neat. I don’t know if I quite savored the moment as much, because it was absolute chaos on that Sunday, but tomorrow will be really, really special, just being able to take it all on it a little bit more, just knowing what to expect.

“I’m excited. This is a race I’ve watched ever since I was a little kid, and to be able to start on the front row and lead the field to green is cool. Honestly, for me, being such an Indy 500 diehard, it’s pretty neat that the guy that I’m starting beside is racing the Indy 500 on Sunday. It is definitely a cool day for sure.”

That guy, of course, is Kyle Larson, who will attempt to complete the Memorial Day Weekend double by racing the Indianapolis 500 in the afternoon and then flying to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600.

This was an especially treacherous session with Ross Chastain crashing to the point where he will need to start in a backup.

Trouble strikes in practice for @RossChastain! pic.twitter.com/4EDJnAAYjN

"Just down the backstretch, all of the air came out of it at once," said Chastain after being released from the infield care center. "I tried to just keep it straight and braked as hard as I could in a straight line. But it was too late. I was okay until I got into the banking and then the whole car got on the ground and around it went."

Chastain was fastest in practice earlier in the day on the 10 lap and 20 lap averages.

Carson Hocevar got loose off Turn 4 and needed to cut through the Roval chicane. Tyler Reddick scraped the wall out of Turn 2.

A big moment for @CarsonHocevar! 🫣 pic.twitter.com/uKXYk8hYS7

Briscoe, despite his pole, acknowledged the challenges with this track.

“It is definitely rough down there,” Briscoe said. “It kind of changes year-to-year. Some of them get better, some of them get worse. Honestly, I feel like the Cup cars take it better than the Xfinity car for example. It definitely was nice. It is going to be great to start up front tomorrow. This race is obviously a long race, but to have the number one pit stall, being able to start up front and have clean air is huge in these cars. Looking forward to tomorrow, but I thought the track was good. Typical Charlotte, nice and slick.”

Jimmie Johnson will start 17th in his 700th start.

“Fun day of learning. Practice, I just kind of took my time getting up to speed, getting reaccustomed to the car and the track. I felt pretty comfortable at the end of practice and getting a feel for things, and then had a few minutes to think about it, and send it in qualifying. Qualifying went well. I kept getting stronger and stronger each corner I made. Sadly, I was just a little under committed for turns one and two, but had the balance right, or the commitment right for turns three and four and had a respectable lap. I do think we have potential in the car and can get up there with John Hunter (Nemechek), but I’m very happy to start kind of mid-pack there and have a good pit road pick as well.”

Starting lineup