Suarez to Start from Cup Pole
Ty Gibbs and Scott Dixon drove to victories in two Brickyard Weekend races Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, while Daniel Suarez won the pole position for the headlining NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday.
Gibbs dominated the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard presented by Advance Auto Parts NASCAR Xfinity Series race, while Dixon held off Graham Rahal to make history by winning the Gallagher Grand Prix NTT INDYCAR SERIES race on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.
Gibbs, grandson of Joe Gibbs Racing owner and NFL Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs, drove the No. 19 He Gets Us Toyota to a 7.959-second victory over Sam Mayer in the No. 1 Huck’s Market Chevrolet. Gibbs, who started second, took the lead on Lap 46 of the 62-lap race and never trailed thereafter.
“It’s really cool to get one at the Brickyard,” Gibbs said. “I grew up racing go-karts at New Castle (Indiana) right down the street. It’s really special to me. We got the Brickyard – let’s go!”
Suarez will start from the first spot on the grid for the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard, which starts at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday. Tickets are available at IMS.com. Suarez, a native of Mexico, earned his first pole of the 2023 season and third career Cup Series pole in the No. 99 Freeway.com Chevrolet with a lap of 1 minute, 27.968 seconds, 99.814 mph.
“It’s a good first day,” Suarez said. “Looking forward to carrying on tomorrow. We have to execute well. The car has the speed. Now we have to have a good, clean day and the most important thing – have fun.”
Reigning Verizon 200 at the Brickyard winner Tyler Reddick qualified second at 1:28.113 in the No. 45 SiriusXM Radio Toyota.
Chase Elliott, son of 2002 Brickyard 400 winner Bill Elliott, will start third after a lap of 1:28.335 in the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet. Michael McDowell will join Elliott in Row 2 after his best lap of 1:28.434 in the No. 34 Horizon Hobby Ford.
Australian Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen qualified eighth for his second Cup Series start. Van Gisbergen, from New Zealand, stunned the motorsports world by winning his Cup Series debut last month in the inaugural street race in downtown Chicago.
Yesterday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series winner Gibbs was the quickest rookie in NASCAR qualifying and will start 10th after a lap of 1:28.606 in the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota.
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— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) August 13, 2023
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