NASCAR at Dover qualifying results, starting lineup: Kyle Busch wins his first pole of 2024 for Wurth 400

NASCAR at Dover qualifying results, starting lineup: Kyle Busch wins his first pole of 2024 for Wurth 400

Kyle Busch won the pole for the Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway in qualifying on Saturday, posting a lap of 22.196 (162.191 MPH) in the final round to win his first pole of the 2024 season and his first since Gateway last June. Busch’s pole is also the 34th of his Cup career overall, breaking a tie with Fonty Flock for the 22nd most in NASCAR history.

Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions featured cool temperatures and heavy tire wear, and it also featured major problems for two Cup rookies. First, Zane Smith spun and backed his car into the wall, and then Kaz Grala crashed hard when he overcorrected on the exit of turn 4, sending him head-on into the outside wall. Neither driver was able to make a qualifying lap afterwards, and Grala will be forced to go to a backup car for Sunday’s race.

Christopher Bell nearly joined those two in qualifying, as he spun in the middle of turns 3 and 4 and very nearly backed his car into the wall as well. However, Bell was able to drive out of the spin and keep from suffering major damage, only scuffing the paint off his rear bumper as he drove off and back to pit road.

Practice featured a bit of a blast from the past, as NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson — the all-time winningest driver at Dover — displayed some of his old mastery by posting the fifth fastest lap overall. However, Johnson’s speed did not carry over to qualifying and he will roll off 27th on Sunday.

Corey Heim, making his Cup Series debut subbing for the injured Erik Jones, qualified 32nd. On the other end of the grid, Noah Gragson followed up a career-best third place finish at Talladega by qualifying fifth to earn the best starting spot of his Cup career.

Wurth 400 starting lineup

1. #8 – Kyle Busch
2. #12 – Ryan Blaney
3. #24 – William Byron
4. #45 – Tyler Reddick
5. #10 – Noah Gragson
6. #11 – Denny Hamlin
7. #14 – Chase Briscoe
8. #34 – Michael McDowell
9. #48 – Alex Bowman
10. #16 – A.J. Allmendinger
11. #2 – Austin Cindric
12. #4 – Josh Berry (R)
13. #22 – Joey Logano
14. #31 – Daniel Hemric
15. #19 – Martin Truex Jr.
16. #23 – Bubba Wallace
17. #47 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
18. #17 – Chris Buescher
19. #54 – Ty Gibbs
20. #77 – Carson Hocevar (R)
21. #5 – Kyle Larson
22. #1 – Ross Chastain
23. #3 – Austin Dillon
24. #6 – Brad Keselowski
25. #7 – Corey LaJoie
26. #21 – Harrison Burton
27. #84 – Jimmie Johnson
28. #41 – Ryan Preece
29. #9 – Chase Elliott
30. #38 – Todd Gilliland
31. #99 – Daniel Suarez
32. #43 – Corey Heim
33. #20 – Christopher Bell
34. #42 – John Hunter Nemechek
35. #15 – Kaz Grala (R)
36. #51 – Justin Haley
37. #71 – Zane Smith (R)