DARLINGTON, S.C. – William Byron’s throwback Hendrick Autoguard/City Chevrolet ride will start this year’s Southern 500 at the front.
Saturday afternoon at Darlington Raceway, Byron paced the entire NASCAR Cup Series field in qualifying, capturing the pole for Sunday’s race.
It made him the youngest pole-sitter in Darlington history and marked his fourth pole of the year, tied for the most this season.
“I guess we dropped the hammer on that one,” Byron smiled. “Good to have the City Chevrolet No. 24 on the pole and just see what we can do for 500 miles.”
He is just the third driver in NASCAR history to win the pole for the Daytona 500, Charlotte 600 and Southern 500 in the same season, joining NASCAR Hall of Famers Fireball Roberts (1962) and Bill Elliott (1985).
Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott will join him inside the top 10 when the green flag waves, as they qualified sixth and eighth, respectively.
Alex Bowman qualified his No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 16th for Sunday’s race.
Hendrick Motorsports has earned eight poles in 2019, which leads all teams this season. The organization owns 223 poles all-time.
The Southern 500 is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on Sunday on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.