Ty Gibbs
Ty Gibbs, driver of the No. 18 Pristine Auction Toyota, celebrates winning the General Tire Pole Award ahead of the General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 for the ARCA Menards Series at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, on June 25, 2021. (Mitchell Leff/ARCA Racing)

QUALIFYING: Ty Gibbs takes General Tire Pole Award at Pocono

www.arcaracing.com June 25, 2021

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