NASCAR at Texas starting lineup: Kyle Larson wins his third consecutive Cup pole

Larson continues his pole streak while two other Cup champions have issues in Saturday's on-track sessions

Kyle Larson won the pole for the Autotrader Echopark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway in qualifying on Saturday. In the final round, he posted a lap of 28.366 (190.369 MPH) to earn his third consecutive Cup Series pole. Larson is the first driver to win three consecutive poles this season and the first overall since Christopher Bell pulled off the feat in September of last year.

Coming off of a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville, Larson continued to make history for NASCAR's most successful race team: His pole marks the 250th pole in Hendrick Motorsports history, dating back to 1984 when Geoff Bodine won the team's first pole ever at Bristol.

While the 2021 Cup Series champion continued his success on pole day, two other former Cup champions wound up being ensnared by a treacherous and unforgiving Texas surface. Two-time Cup champ Kyle Busch was the first to find misfortune in Group B practice, as he would spin and back his primary car into the outside wall on the exit of turn 2, forcing him to a backup car for Sunday's race.

Not the way Friday night's winner wanted to start his Saturday. pic.twitter.com/yvFQ2RTd5q

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 13, 2024

Shortly after Busch had his issues, seven-time Cup champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson -- making his second start of the year in a third Legacy Motor Club car -- got sideways in the middle of Turns 1 and 2 and hit the wall himself. Johnson did not make a qualifying attempt after his accident, and he will roll off 37th on Sunday just behind Busch in 35th.

.@JimmieJohnson gets loose and hits the wall! pic.twitter.com/LWOOEXYGxg

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 13, 2024

William Byron, last week's winner at Martinsville and the defending Texas winner, will start sixth as he looks for his fourth win in the first nine races of the 2024 season.

Autotrader Echopark Automotive 400 starting lineup

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