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Taylor Gray earns first career Xfinity Series pole at Homestead-Miami Speedway

JHby:Jonathan Howard•03/22/25•

Jondean25

Taylor Gray Christian Eckes
Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

For the first time in his young NASCAR Xfinity Series career, Taylor Gray is on the pole. He will lead the field to green at Homestead-Miami. The Joe Gibbs Racing cars are very fast. This is a car owned by Ty Gibbs officially, so the first pole as a car owner.

Taylor Gray didn’t turn heads in the Truck Series. However, he has been very impressive early in the season. Three top-10 finishes, including a top-five at Daytona. He now has his first career pole award in the series. Things are looking up.

A big moment for Gray and for Gibbs. Now can they put this 54 car into Victory Lane later this evening?

As The CW graphic above noted, rookies were the talk of the qualifying session. Four of the top five drivers in qualifying are rookies. Taylor Gray leads the group with Connor Zilisch and Nick Sanchez behind him. Christian Eckes will start P5.

Justin Bonsignore, the four-time modified champ, is making his third start in the series. He qualified P7. So, you could count him among the rookies, too if you wanted.

Here is the full starting lineup, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. It should be a fun one tonight with Kyle Larson in the field. He won the Truck Series race last night and is looking to sweep the entire weekend.

Taylor Gray has Ty Gibbs’ car on the pole tonight. It should be a fun race. Homestead-Miami always delivers on the action. So much rookie talent near the front, who will be the top driver in that group at the end of tonight?

Taylor Gray hoping to make a statement

With so many talented drivers in the Xfinity Series, it can be hard to stand out. Again, just look at the rookie class and you will see there isn’t much room for error. Connor Zilisch and Carson Kvapil have snatched headlines early with great driving. But Taylor Gray is right there.

Winning a race this early in the season would be major. Zilisch has the win from COTA that has him locked into the playoffs. If Gray won today, not only would it lock him into the playoffs, but would be a very impressive performance given the talent in the field.

While Kyle Larson starts P17, today’s race won’t be easy. He had trouble last night winning the Truck Series. He had to come back from the rear with less than 50 laps to go thanks to a spin. With five laps to go, he was three seconds behind the leaders. Without a late restart, Larson came back, ran the leaders down, and won.

The Xfinity Series is full of young talent, Joe Gibbs Racing is full of young talent – Taylor Gray needs to find a way to make a name for himself. Homestead-Miami could be that opportunity.