LONG POND, Pa. — There was little doubt Ty Gibbs was driver to beat in General Tire Pole Qualifying on Friday at Pocono Raceway given the speed he had displayed in a pair of practice sessions.
Sure enough, the 18-year-old driver of the No. 18 Pristine Auction Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing earned another General Tire Pole Award with a lap time of 52.393 seconds around the 2.5-mile tri-oval.
Friday evening’s General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 at Pocono will mark the sixth ARCA Menards Series race in which Gibbs has started up front in 2021.
From Phoenix Raceway on March 12 through Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, Gibbs started on the pole for five consecutive ARCA Menards Series races before Corey Heim broke his rival’s streak at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course earlier this month.
Chandler Smith, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular who is running Friday’s ARCA Menards Series race at Pocono for Venturini Motorsports, will join Gibbs on the front row after qualifying second (52.840 seconds).
Heim qualified third with a lap time of 53.086 seconds. He leads the series championship standings by one point over Gibbs entering the Pocono race, the eighth of 20 on the 2021 schedule.
Sam Mayer, the two-time reigning ARCA Menards Series East champion who is making his ARCA Menards Series debut for Bret Holmes Racing on Friday at Pocono, qualified fourth (53.709 seconds) ahead of Jack Wood in fifth (53.780 seconds).
Nick Sanchez, Drew Dollar, Kyle Sieg, Andy Jankowiak and Thad Moffitt rounded out the top 10 in qualifying.
The General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 at Pocono is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET. The race will broadcast live on FS1 with live streaming available on the Fox Sports App.
A radio broadcast also will be available on MRN and SiriusXM.
Starting lineup: General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 at Pocono Raceway
Pos | Car No. | Driver | Sponsor | Best Time | Best Speed | In Lap | Laps | Diff. |
1 | 18 | Ty Gibbs* | Pristine Auction | 52.393 | 171.779 | 1 | 1 | – |
2 | 25 | Chandler Smith | Safelite | 52.84 | 170.326 | 1 | 1 | 0.447 |
3 | 20 | Corey Heim* | Craftsman | 53.086 | 169.536 | 1 | 1 | 0.693 |
4 | 23 | Sam Mayer | Bret Holmes Racing | 53.709 | 167.57 | 1 | 1 | 1.316 |
5 | 21 | Jack Wood | GMS Racing | 53.78 | 167.348 | 1 | 1 | 1.387 |
6 | 2 | Nick Sanchez* | UTI/NTI | 53.856 | 167.112 | 1 | 1 | 1.463 |
7 | 15 | Drew Dollar | Sunbelt Rentals | 53.915 | 166.929 | 2 | 2 | 1.522 |
8 | 28 | Kyle Sieg* | RSS Racing | 54.002 | 166.66 | 2 | 2 | 1.609 |
9 | 73 | Andy Jankowiak* | V1 Fiber/Thermal Foams | 54.074 | 166.439 | 1 | 2 | 1.681 |
10 | 46 | Thad Moffitt | Clean Pacs | 55.067 | 163.437 | 1 | 1 | 2.674 |
11 | 11 | Jade Buford* | Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers | 55.15 | 163.191 | 1 | 1 | 2.757 |
12 | 97 | Jason Kitzmiller | A.L.L Construction | 55.748 | 161.441 | 1 | 2 | 3.355 |
13 | 50 | Jett Noland | Hype Motorsports | 56.204 | 160.131 | 1 | 1 | 3.811 |
14 | 69 | Scott Melton | Melton McFadden Insurance Agency | 56.59 | 159.039 | 1 | 1 | 4.197 |
15 | 36 | Ryan Huff | South Estrn Svc – H&H Excavation Outback | 56.678 | 158.792 | 1 | 2 | 4.285 |
16 | 57 | Bryan Dauzat | Brother in Law | 56.68 | 158.786 | 1 | 2 | 4.287 |
17 | 8 | Sean Corr | Transtech | 56.841 | 158.336 | 2 | 2 | 4.448 |
18 | 27 | Tim Richmond | Immigration Law | 57.176 | 157.409 | 4 | 4 | 4.783 |
19 | 10 | Ed Pompa | Burt Crane & Rigging Cen Pe Co | 58.558 | 153.694 | 1 | 3 | 6.165 |
20 | 1 | Stephanie Moyer* | EvergreenRacewayPark/Council Cup Campground | 01:00.1 | 149.835 | 1 | 2 | 7.673 |
21 | 12 | Nick Igdalsky | Pocono Reg Police Foundation | 01:00.2 | 149.604 | 1 | 2 | 7.766 |
22 | 48 | Brad Smith | Henshaw Automation | 63.281 | 142.223 | 1 | 1 | 10.888 |
23 | 6 | Don Thompson | GreatRailing.com | 64.729 | 139.041 | 1 | 2 | 12.336 |