When it comes to the drafting tracks in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, it’s always been a challenge to defeat Austin Hill, Jesse Love, and just Richard Childress Racing in general. However, on Friday, in qualifying for the Bennett 250, it appears that they did.
Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 41 Audibel Chevrolet Camaro for Haas Factory Team, landed on the pole position for Saturday’s 250-mile contest at EchoPark Speedway, after leading the field in both rounds of qualifying.
The Franklin, Wisconsin-native got around the 1.54-mile superspeedway in 31.804 seconds, a lap equivalent to an average speed of 174.318mph, to win just his fourth career pole in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and his second while driving under the HFT banner.
“We’re showing up pretty similar to what we have in the last year with this Haas Factory Team,” Mayer told The CW after being asked about the balance between handling and speed. “I feel like it’s going to be pretty good. We were in the race, top-five, top-10 all day, finished third [referring to last year], so I feel pretty good about what we have.”
Carson Kvapil, debuting a brand-new look to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with Arby’s on a JR Motorsports entry for first-time, will start on the outside of the front row in the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro, matching the best start of his 43-race career in NASCAR’s second-tier division.
Taylor Gray was third-fastest in qualifying from EchoPark Speedway, with Mayer’s Haas Factory Team teammate Sheldon Creed in fourth. William Sawalich rounded out the top-five, which included three Chevrolet drivers and two from Toyota Racing USA.
Rajah Caruth, Gio Ruggiero, Sammy Smith, Hendrick Motorsports development driver Corey Day, and defending NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Jesse Love rounded out the top-10 in the session.
The biggest surprise, though? Austin Hill, winner of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season-opener at Daytona and one of the strongest superspeedway racers in the history of the series, qualified a shocking 20th — it’s the worst start for the Winston, Georgia-native on a drafting track since running part-time for Hattori Racing Enterprises in 2020.
With 39 drivers entered in the event, only one (Dawson Cram of Mike Harmon Racing) was sent packing before the green flag dropped on Saturday
The Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 at EchoPark Speedway will take place on Saturday, February 21 at 5:30 PM ET on The CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 Starting Lineup