Kyle Larson wins pole award at Iowa Speedway in altered qualifying session

Right at the end of Group B qualifying, Kyle Larson came out on the track and stole the pole award from Ryan Blaney. NASCAR Cup Series qualifying was altered today due to rain with just a single round.

Drivers were separated into Group A and B as usual. However, there was no final round. The five fastest from each group were put in the top-10 and then separated by their times.

Group B was much quicker than Group A as is usually the case. It allowed Kyle Larson to lay down a blistering fast lap and take the pole award. Ryan Blaney was beside himself watching Larson take the top spot from him.

"IT'S LARSON!"

Ryan Blaney reacts to Kyle Larson snagging the pole for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway. pic.twitter.com/mAjQtWd5ip

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) June 15, 2024

Those Group B drivers were very quick. So, there will be all five of them ahead of the Group A drivers. Not really too much of a fair deal for that first group, but that is how things shook out today at Iowa. If the session was rained out, Larson would have started on the front row anyway.

There is a lot unknown about this track. Drivers were loose during qualifying and practice wasn’t much better. The tires are burning up quickly and drivers will likely have to manage their equipment if they want to make it to the end of the race.

A few cars are going to end up in the wall this weekend. It’s just going to happen, so be prepared. Kyle Larson and the leaders are hoping that they are not involved when tires do start to wear out.

Kyle Larson starting to get into championship form

If I am one of the other drivers in the Cup Series garage, I would be worried. Kyle Larson is showing that he is just rounding into form and that could be scary for everyone else. Fresh off a win, starting on the pole might be what he needs to get another one.

Things won’t be so easy though. This track is tearing up tires and giving drivers fits. We might see a similar race to Bristol with how much tire wear there is. Iowa was repaved in certain sections for a reason and now we know why.

I’m not sure what to think about this race. There will be a lot of factors that play into things, how hard they race, how the tire strategies fall, and where the cautions end up coming out. All of that could make or break a race for a driver like Larson.

Kyle Larson doesn’t need any help to win a race. When he starts on the pole, he makes for a tough driver to beat. The was tires are falling apart on the Iowa Speedway surface, he will have his hands full as will crew chief, Cliff Daniels.