NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington starting lineup: Martin Truex Jr. edges Bubba Wallace for first pole of 2023

Truex leads the way for Toyota despite issues for two of their teams in inspection

By Steven Taranto

May 13, 2023 at 2:13 pm ET • 1 min read

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Martin Truex Jr. won the pole for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway in qualifying on Saturday, posting a lap of 29.028 (169.409 mph) in the final round of qualifying to beat Bubba Wallace for the top starting spot by just over a tenth of a second. Truex's pole is his first of the 2023 season and the 21st of his Cup career.

Truex and Wallace claimed the front row for the premiere event of NASCAR's throwback weekend despite the fact that both are driving present-day paint schemes this weekend. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driving a throwback to the UPS Ford driven by Dale Jarrett in 2001, led the way among those in throwback paint schemes in third.

Two teams failed pre-qualifying tech inspection on Friday evening, with the most severe immediate penalty being assessed to Tyler Reddick's No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota as NASCAR elected to eject crew chief Billy Scott from the race weekend. Ty Gibbs' No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team also lost a crewmember for the weekend, and both teams lost pit selection for the weekend. Reddick would qualify ninth with interim crew chief Dave Rogers calling the shots, while Gibbs qualified 13th.

Also of note was Ryan Newman, who is making his first Cup Series start since 2021 this weekend after recently being named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers. Newman qualified 26th for his first of five races behind the wheel of Rick Ware Racing's No. 51 Ford.