NASCAR

NASCAR Cup Series Shriners Children’s 500: Qualifying, William Byron’s Pole Position, Lineup At Phoenix Raceway

Jeff Hawkins Sports Editor

Published08 Mar 2025

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NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron may have captured the pole position for Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway, but could have lost a friend in the process.

“I don’t like William Byron anymore,” Joey Logano said with a laugh, as reported by NASCAR.com. “Man, that stinks. I just got through telling (crew chief) Paul (Wolfe) that it would really suck if the last car beat us.”

Well, that last car was Byron, who stole a milestone moment for Logano and Team Penske.

The Mooresville, N.C.-based organization has compiled 699 poles across all motorsports platforms. Logano wanted No. 700, but came up 0.035 seconds behind.

Byron recorded a hot lap of 133.68 mph, securing his 14 career Cup pole. He didn’t like his effort at the one-mile tri-oval, though.

“I did not hit my marks,” he said. “I was sideways and carried a ton of entry speed, missed the middle of the corner, and coming off the dogleg, I was so loose.

“I was just going to try to commit to the exits and see how much I could get out, even though I missed the center (of the turn).”

Byron enjoyed one advantage.

“Just a fast car,” he said. “Thanks to my whole team. They’ve been bringing fast cars and we’ve been doing a really good job of executing. So definitely want to go out there and have a great day tomorrow.”

With a pair of runner-up finishes in the season’s opening three races, Byron paces the circuit’s points standings. Logano will start in the front row for the third time in four outings this season.

William Byron knocks Joey Logano off the top spot as the last car out to qualify. He wins the pole at Phoenix and is fired up about it.

"Holy cow dude, did you see that lap!?" pic.twitter.com/lJFDVccrfy

— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) March 8, 2025

Starting Lineup for NASCAR Cup Series’ Shriners Children’s 500

Here is a look at the lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway:

Starting Position, Driver, Car No.

1, William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
2, Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
3, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
4, Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
5, Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
6, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
7, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
8, Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
9, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
10, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
11, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
12, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
13, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
14, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford
15, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
16, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
17, Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
18, Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
19, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
20, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
21, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
22, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet
23, Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
24, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
25, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
26, Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
27, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
28, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
29, Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
30, Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota
31, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
32, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
33, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
34, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
35, Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
36, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
37, Katherine Legge, No. 78 Chevrolet

Katherine Legge has raced in practically everything in her career, except a NASCAR Cup Series car.

That changes Sunday when the 45-year-old makes her debut at Phoenix Raceway. pic.twitter.com/AXBuBcEOsW

— On Her Turf (@OnHerTurf) March 7, 2025