NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix starting lineup: Kyle Larson sets the pace, winning the pole in the desert

Larson was fast again in qualifying despite NASCAR confiscating louvers from each Hendrick Motorsports car

By Steven Taranto

Mar 12, 2023 at 3:25 pm ET • 1 min read

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Kyle Larson won the pole for the United Rentals 500 at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, posting a lap of 27.642 seconds (130.237 MPH) to win his first pole of 2023 and keep up a weekend's worth of dominant speed. Larson was fastest in Friday's extended practice session before being fastest in both rounds of qualifying, at one point posting a lap of 27.324 in Group B before losing three tenths in the next round.

Larson's pace has come despite NASCAR confiscating the hood louvers from each of the four Hendrick Motorsports cars following practice on Friday. According to the sanctioning body, officials discovered a potential issue with the louvers that requires further examination, but the Hendrick cars were permitted to practice with the louvers they had before they were removed by officials following practice. In addition, Dustin Long of NBC Sports reported that the hood louvers from the Kaulig Racing No. 31 driven by Justin Haley were also confiscated prior to qualifying.

The hood louvers will be brought back to NASCAR's Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. for further evaluation. While the Hendrick cars will face no penalties at the track in Phoenix, any potential penalties stemming from the louvers will be announced next week.

William Byron, one of the other Hendrick cars and last week's winner at Las Vegas, will start just behind Larson in third. Josh Berry, subbing for the injured Chase Elliott, qualified 17th alongside fellow Hendrick driver Alex Bowman in 18th.