NASCAR

NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400: Qualifying, William Byron’s Pole Position, Lineup At Darlington Raceway

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By
Jeff Hawkins
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Jeff Hawkins Sports Editor

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.  

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Published05 Apr 2025

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cup William Byron wins darlington pole (1)

Celebrating the annual “Throwback Weekend” at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron, piloting a 2015 Jeff Gordon-themed ride, captured the pole position for Sunday’s Goodyear 400. 

Byron’s hot qualifying lap was clocked at 28.774 seconds, edging runner-up Ryan Preece (28.857 seconds) for his second pole position of the season and 15th of his career. 

“To get a pole here is great,” Byron told Prime. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a pole at Darlington. We usually run well here. We just have to put it together (Sunday).” 

In his first season with RFK Racing, Preece’s confidence appears to be growing. 

I think confidence-wise, it feels great,” Preece told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. “We felt good in practice.” 

Preece has earned three consecutive top-10 finishes and Saturday’s qualifying effort was his best this season.

Ty Gibbs Dealing With Early-Season Struggles 

In an effort to snap Ty Gibbs’ early-season funk, Joe Gibbs Racing made a move to turn the No. 54 Toyota’s fortunes around. 

Veteran crew chief Robert “Cheddar” Smith will take over as the car chief and aid with the team’s on-track operations at Darlington. Smith served as Kevin Harvick’s crew chief during his 2014 championship run. 

Gibbs enters Sunday’s outing at Darlington in 31st place in the driver standings. The 22-year-old former Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series champion has not placed better than P13 in his opening seven starts this season.

Starting Lineup for NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400   

Here is a look at the lineup for the NASCAR Cup Series’ Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway: 

Starting Position, Driver, Car No.

  • 1, William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet 
  • 2, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford 
  • 3, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota 
  • 4, Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota 
  • 5, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota 
  • 6, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Penske Ford
  • 7, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
  • 8, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
  • 9, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
  • 10, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
  • 11, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
  • 12, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
  • 13, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
  • 14, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
  • 15, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
  • 16, Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
  • 17, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
  • 18, Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
  • 19, Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
  • 20, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
  • 21, Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
  • 22, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
  • 23, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
  • 24, Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
  • 25, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
  • 26, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
  • 27, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
  • 28, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet
  • 29, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
  • 30, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
  • 31, Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
  • 32, Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
  • 33, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
  • 34, Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
  • 35, Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
  • 36, Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
  • 37, Austin Hill, No. 33 Chevrolet
  • 38, JJ Yeley, No. 44 Chevrolet