Bubba Wallace will lead the Cup Series field to the green flag at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, post-race show on Peacock).
Wallace won the pole with a lap of 188.337 mph. This is his second career pole and his first since Michigan last season.
“When it’s time to step up to the plate and deliver, this is what these guys do,” Wallace said about his No. 23 team to NBC Sports’ Kim Coon. “And so it’s time. It’s the playoffs. It’s what you got to do. You got to show up in big time moments and make big time plays. So I’m excited for today, but the real task is tomorrow. But it’s good to start out on the right foot.”
The starting position will be crucial for Wallace. He enters the Round of 12 as the last driver below the cutline. He has no playoff points but can pursue them early after leading the field to the green flag.
Texas native Chris Buescher will start second with a lap of 188.081 mph. Brad Keselowski will line up third with a lap of 187.891. Ty Gibbs (187.761 mph) and Ross Chastain (187.702 mph) will round out the top five.
MORE: Texas starting lineup
AJ Allmendinger will start sixth with a lap of 187.350 mph. Daniel Suarez will start eighth with a lap of 186.948 mph. Playoff drivers Kyle Busch (186.948 mph) and Christopher Bell (186.896 mph) will line up just behind them in eighth and ninth.
Denny Hamlin will line up 10th. He aborted his qualifying lap after recognizing that he would potentially hit the wall if he tried to push any harder.
No doubt about this one for @BubbaWallace! #BuschLightPole | #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/wZXwKPgq5g
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 23, 2023
Five playoff drivers will line up outside the top 10. Kyle Larson (188.035 mph) will line up 11th. Tyler Reddick (187.292 mph) will line up 15th. Martin Truex Jr. (186.851 mph) will line up 16th. William Byron (186.400 mph) will line up 18th. Ryan Blaney (185.586 mph) will be the furthest back in 23rd.
The green flag for Sunday’s race is scheduled to wave at 3:50 p.m. ET on USA Network. Pre-race coverage starts at 3 p.m. on USA Network.