Inclement weather canceled Friday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series scheduled practice and qualifying sessions at Kansas Speedway, leading to JR Motorsports driver Carson Kvapil earning the pole for Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 by virtue of the NASCAR rulebook.
Kvapil, 22, is in the midst of his second full-time O’Reilly Series season. He’s fifth in the series standings through nine races with four top fives and five top-10 finishes.
A fellow JR Motorsports car will line up beside him on the front row, with Cup Series driver and two-time Daytona 500 champion William Byron behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet. Justin Allgaier, Sheldon Creed and Brent Crews round out the top five starters, with Corey Day, William Sawalich, Parker Retzlaff, Jesse Love and Taylor Gray completing the top 10.
Kansas Lottery 300 could be sketchy
Other notable drivers and their starting positions include Ryan Sieg in 12th, Rajah Caruth in 13th, Austin Hill in 15th, Sam Mayer in 19th and Cup Series driver and 2023 NOAPS champion Cole Custer in 36th. Blake Lothian will start last (37th) on Saturday.
Saturday’s race will now be filled with unknowns, and the start in particular could be a sketchy one. The first of 200 laps around the 1.5-mile oval on Saturday evening will be the first laps for both driver and car all weekend.
The Kansas Lottery 300 will go green shortly after 7 p.m. ET Saturday, with coverage on the CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Pre-race coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET on the CW and MRN.