Ryan Blaney claimed pole position at Iowa with a 23.474‑second lap in his No. 12 Team Penske Ford, edging Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet by 0.018 seconds. His Penske teammate Joey Logano will start third.
This will be Blaney’s 15th career pole and his first victory on the Iowa oval. He also captured the inaugural Cup race at Iowa in 2024.
“It was a really cool day,” Blaney said. “We had a fast car in practice and I was able to lay down a solid lap. My first attempt wasn’t what I wanted, but we found grip on the second run and secured the pole.”
“It’s special to debut a tribute helmet honoring Kyle Busch. Hopefully it takes us all the way to Victory Lane.”
Watch: Ryan Blaney shows off Kyle Busch tribute helmet at Iowa
Brad Keselowski qualified fourth but crashed on his second lap and will be moved to the rear of the field. Tyler Reddick will start fifth, Ty Gibbs sixth, Austin Dillon seventh, Connor Zilisch eighth, Ross Chastain ninth, and Erik Jones tenth.
This is the first time Zilisch has qualified inside the top ten on an oval in his Cup career.
Further down the order, Chase Elliott will line up Austin Cindric in 12th, while the defending Iowa winner William Byron starts 19th.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Briscoe and Hamlin struggled with brake issues during practice and failed to find pace in qualifying. Briscoe will start 20th and Hamlin 29th, with Christopher Bell joining them at 21st.
Ryan Preece enters the race as the first driver outside the playoff cut line and will start 35th after a challenging day for the No. 60 RFK Ford.
Qualifying recap
Watch: Keselowski snaps loose, crashes in Iowa qualifying
Several drivers experienced twitchy moments during the session. Larson set the early benchmark and held the top spot until Blaney arrived, ultimately surpassing him by 0.018 seconds.
Elliott, who incurred damage in a practice spin, will start near the back of the field in 32nd.
Drivers who ventured early in the session enjoyed a temporary advantage, with several unexpected names lingering near the top for a time.
Josh Berry nearly brushed the wall on his first lap after sliding out of the groove but fought back on his second attempt, climbing higher on the grid. A few drivers abandoned their second laps due to unsettled handling.
Logano was the only competitor to threaten the top two, tying Larson’s speed but losing the tiebreaker on account of his standings position.
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