NASHVILLE, Tenn. – William Byron and Kyle Larson will both start in the top seven for Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Byron will take to the grid from the fifth position (159.398 mph) in the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. This marks his eighth top-five starting spot of the season. Byron enters this weekend leading or holding a share of the lead in the following statistical categories: wins (three), top-five finishes (seven), top-10s (nine), laps led (717) and stage wins (seven). The 25-year-old driver finished third at Nashville in 2021.
Larson drove the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy to the seventh starting spot (159.329 mph). He is one of two drivers to finish in the top five in both races at the 1.33-mile track and his average finish (2.5) at this venue is the best among all drivers in Sunday’s field. Larson dominated the inaugural race at the Tennessee track in 2021.
RELATED: Hendrick Motorsports looks to continue winning tune in Nashville
Defending race winner Chase Elliott is set to start 14th in the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. He was bumped out of advancing to the final round of qualifying by the last driver in Group B – Martin Truex Jr. Elliott is coming off a top-five finish at Sonoma Raceway and sits 84 points outside of the playoffs.
Alex Bowman will line up 15th in the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. He has four top-five finishes in his last eight starts on concrete tracks in the series (Bristol Motor Speedway, Dover Motor Speedway and Nashville). With 10 races left in the regular season, the 30-year-old driver holds the final provisional playoff spot by three points.
Ross Chastain took the pole position in qualifying.
Byron placed fifth in Friday’s 50-minute practice session. Byron (fourth), Larson (fifth) and Elliott (eighth) all placed in the top 10 for best 10 consecutive lap averages. Byron and Larson ranked third and fourth in the best 15 and 20 consecutive lap averages.
RELATED: Byron paces Hendrick Motorsports in Nashville practice
The Rick Hendrick-owned organization is a perfect two-for-two in Cup Series races at the concrete track. In last year's race, which finished under the lights due to a weather delay, Elliott took the checkered flag. In 2021, Larson earned the victory as part of a 10-win campaign en route to that season's championship. The team has led 53% (319 of 600) of the laps run at the Tennessee venue. Counting the last Cup Series race at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway won by Geoff Bodine in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has been victorious in the last three premier series events held in the Music City.
The Ally 400 will take place on Sunday, June 25, at 7 p.m. ET with coverage on NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).