DOVER, Del. – One week after earning his first NASCAR Xfinity Series pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL, Chase Briscoe earned his second.
Briscoe topped NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying Saturday at Dover Int’l Speedway to earn the pole for the Drive Sober 200, the final race in the first round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs.
The driver of the No. 98 Ford Mustang circled Dover’s one-mile concrete oval in 22.894 seconds for a speed of 157.246 mph to claim the pole.
However, it wasn’t all good news for the Indiana native.
During his qualifying attempt Briscoe’s car was underpowered because of an engine misfire, with his Stewart-Haas Racing team believing an electrical issue to be the cause. The team was unable to fix the problem easily, forcing them to make unapproved adjustments to the car.
As a result, Briscoe forfeited his pole starting position for Saturday’s race and will start from the rear of the field.
“The motor was running once we got going, but it was under load over here. It was just missing a little bit,” Briscoe explained. “I’m not sure. It’s probably something electrical we think. Just a testament to all the awesome motors that Roush Yates brings that we weren’t even under full power and were able to get the pole.
“Hopefully we can find something little like a wire loose or something, but if not we’ll probably have to go to the back.”
Austin Cindric qualified second for Team Penske, with Briscoe’s teammate Cole Custer giving Ford a sweep of the top-three positions in qualifying. Custer will move up one row and start on the inside of row one as a result of Briscoe start at the rear.
Tyler Reddick and Harrison Burton completed the top-five.
Saturday’s Driver Sober 200 is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.
Drive Sober 200 Starting Lineup
1. Chase Briscoe (Must Start At The Rear)
2. Austin Cindric
3. Cole Custer
4. Tyler Reddick
5. Harrison Burton
6. Christopher Bell
7. Noah Gragson
8. Justin Allgaier
9. Brandon Jones
10. Zane Smith
11. Justin Haley
12. Landon Cassill
13. Jeremy Clements
14. Ross Chastain
15. Ryan Sieg
16. Michael Annett
17. John Hunter Nemechek
18. Dillon Bassett
19. B.J. McLeod
20. Garrett Smithley
21. Brandon Brown
22. Bayley Currey
23. Stefan Parsons
24. Joe Nemechek
25. Gray Gaulding
26. Vinnie Miller
27. Timmy Hill
28. Ray Black Jr.
29. J.J. Yeley
30. Chad Finchum
31. Stephen Leicht
32. Carl Long
33. David Starr
34. Matt Mills
35. Josh Williams
36. Kyle Weatherman
37. Joey Gase
38. Mike Harmon