Day one of NASCAR weekend at EchoPark Speedway wrapped up with Sam Mayer and Georgia native Jake Garcia scoring pole positions.
They will lead their respective fields to green during Saturday’s doubleheader, which includes the Fr8 Racing 208 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race (1:30 p.m., FS1 and PRN Radio) and the Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race (5 p.m., The CW and PRN Radio).
Mayer set the pace in both rounds of O’Reilly Auto Parts Series qualifying and ultimately claimed the top spot with a speed of 174.318 mph in his No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevy.
He outran Carson Kvapil for the pole. Kvapil will start second in his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevy after turning a lap at 173.875 mph.
In this race last year, Mayer was swept up in a crash, relegating him to a 36th-place finish. He experienced the same fate in last week’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season opener and looks to rebound this weekend at EchoPark Speedway in the Bennett 250.
“I feel like it’s going to be very good,” Sam Mayer said after winning the pole. “It’s my first speedway pole—it feels really good, very rewarding, everyone at Haas Factory Team did a great job. The pushes are a lot different with this [Chevy] nose, and it’s something I had to relearn last week at Daytona and it’s going to be even bigger here.”
Taylor Gray qualified third at 173.766 mph, followed closely by Sheldon Creed in his Haas Factory Team Chevy at 173.760 mph.
William Sawalich, Rajah Caruth and Gio Ruggiero rounded out positions five through seven for tomorrow’s race.
Defending winner of the Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250 and last week’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season-opening winner Austin Hill failed to advance into the top 10 qualifiers and will start tomorrow’s event in 20th place.
“We just missed it,” Hill said.” That is right in the hornets’ nest where a lot of bad things can go wrong. As long as we can get through the first handful of laps, I think we can make our way up through there and if we can get inside the top 10 pretty quick I’ll feel very strong about our chances.”
Jake Garcia, a native of Monroe, Ga., is running his fourth season in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, and earned his fourth career pole in his 77th career start.
The driver of the ThorSport Racing No. 98 Ford F-150 powered to a 172.980 mph lap in the second round of qualifying to claim the top spot.
Last week, Garcia finished 32nd in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener after his truck sustained damage in a crash with Tony Stewart. Like Mayer in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Garcia is looking to rebound early in the Truck Series season.
“It’s huge to start up front here in Atlanta. If you can control a lane, you put yourself in a good position to get stage points,” Garcia said after winning the pole. “It’s really special to start on the pole here. It’s a home track for me. I’m excited to lead the field to green in front of this Georgia crowd.”
Garcia’s teammate Ben Rhodes will start second in his No. 99 Ford F-150, completing the front row with a speed of 172.726 mph. Kyle Busch, defending winner of this race making his first Truck Series start of the season in the No. 7 Chevrolet, will roll off third with a lap of 172.662 mph.
Tyler Ankrum, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cole Buthcer and Ty Majeski qualified fourth through seventh. Gio Ruggiero did not make a lap in the final round of qualifying and will start in the 10th position.
Tickets for tomorrow’s doubleheader and Sunday’s AutoTrader 400 NASCAR Cup Series race are available at www.EchoParkSpeedway.com.
