KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Brandon Jones will lead an all Joe Gibbs Racing front row that will take the field to the green flag in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Kansas Speedway.

Ryan Kemna/TRE

Ryan Kemna/TRE

Jones and Taylor Gray claimed the top two starting spots in qualifying Saturday. Jones paced the 1.5-mile, D-shaped oval in 31.14 seconds. Gray was just 0.096-second off of Jones’ time.

Playoff drivers Sam Mayer (third), Justin Allgaier (fifth), Connor Zilisch (seventh) and Sheldon Creed (10th) will also start inside the top 10.

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Brenden Queen — Butterbean — will start fourth in his second ride with Kaulig Racing. He earned the best starting spot of any of the 26 non-playoff drivers in the field.

Ryan Kemna/TRE

Four positions behind Queen is Rajah Caruth, who starts eighth. Caruth is making his first Xfinity Series start with Hendrick Motorsports since the 2023 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Right between them in the top 10 is William Sawalich, who will start sixth.

Dean Thompson, who is also in a Toyota, will start ninth and is the only other non-playoff driver in the top 10. He led a strong qualifying effort for Sam Hunt Racing as Patrick Staropoli qualified a career-best 11th.

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Just behind Staropoli is Jesse Love who just missed the top 10, in 12th. Nick Sanchez (13th), Sammy Smith (14th), Austin Hill (17th), Harrison Burton (18th) and Carson Kvapil rounded out the other playoff drivers on the grid.

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In the middle of them is Ryan Sieg, who will start 15th after running the fastest lap in practice. Sieg has been strong on intermediate tracks like Kansas, almost winning last fall in the playoffs at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

One driver missed the field — Glen Reen in Joey Gase Motorsports’ No. 35 Ford.

Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.

A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.

Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick’s final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers’ stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.

Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com