NASCAR News: Briscoe tops Hamlin to give Toyota Front-Row lockout

Chase Briscoe (pictured) reclaimed his pole-winning form on Saturday, capturing his series-leading seventh Busch Light Pole Award of the 2025 season for the Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET at Kansas Speedway.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing driver posted a lap of 29.987 seconds (180.078 mph) at the 1.5-mile track, narrowly beating teammate Denny Hamlin (179.474 mph) by 0.101 seconds to claim the top starting spot for the second NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Round of 12 race.

Briscoe’s pole, his first at Kansas and ninth career pole, highlighted a strong showing for Joe Gibbs Racing, with Christopher Bell (179.015 mph) qualifying fifth to secure three of the top five spots. Hendrick Motorsports’ playoff drivers Kyle Larson (179.396 mph) and Chase Elliott (179.063 mph) took third and fourth, respectively. Briscoe noted a surprising drop in qualifying speeds compared to May, when Larson hit 183.730 mph for the pole. “Not a single car ran wide-open through Turns 1 and 2 this time,” Briscoe said. “My team did a great job adjusting to the slower pace.”

Non-playoff driver Carson Hocevar qualified sixth, followed by playoff drivers Bubba Wallace (seventh) and Ross Chastain (ninth). Ty Gibbs (eighth) and Erik Jones (tenth) gave Toyota six of the top 10 starting positions. Playoff drivers William Byron and Tyler Reddick will start 11th and 12th, while non-playoff driver Josh Berry was the fastest Ford in 13th.

Team Penske Faces Setbacks

Team Penske’s playoff drivers endured a tough day. Ryan Blaney, locked into the Round of 8 after his New Hampshire win, suffered a right-rear tire failure in practice, crashing into the outside wall and failing to post a qualifying lap, relegating him to 37th. Defending champion Joey Logano, 24 points above the Round of 8 cut line, also encountered a tire issue in practice but avoided a crash, though he’ll start 35th.

“It felt funky through Turns 3 and 4,” Logano said. “I lifted off, which is when it came apart. We’ll put four tires on the Shell/Pennzoil Mustang, make adjustments, and hope it runs well.”

Austin Cindric, 19 points below the elimination line, scraped the wall during qualifying and will start 26th, adding pressure to his playoff campaign.

Buescher Tops Practice Session

RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher set the pace in Saturday’s practice, clocking the fastest lap at 176.056 mph across both groups, each allotted 25 minutes on track. Zane Smith followed closely at 175.695 mph, while Denny Hamlin led Group 2 with a 175.684 mph lap, securing third overall. Bubba Wallace (175.661 mph) and John Hunter Nemechek (175.536 mph) rounded out the top five, with Erik Jones, Justin Haley, Chase Briscoe, Todd Gilliland, and Ty Dillon completing the top 10.

Practice wasn’t without drama. Early in Group 2, Ryan Blaney suffered a tire failure, slamming into the Turn 2 wall and limping his No. 12 Ford back to the garage, unable to set a qualifying time. Shortly after, Team Penske teammate Joey Logano also encountered a tire issue exiting Turn 4 but avoided contact with the wall.

Kansas Cup Race Starting Lineup