HOMESTEAD, Fla. — William Byron’s playoff push will begin from the perfect spot Sunday. He gained the pole in Saturday’s qualifying laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway, delivering a lap of 32.454 seconds.

That was 0.049 seconds forward of fellow playoff entrant Bell. One other driver nonetheless within the playoff, Chase Elliott, will begin third.

“Wherever in that high 10 is an effective place to start out right here,” stated Byron, who received the primary pole of his season and the eighth of his profession.

Among the many different drivers nonetheless within the playoff: Ryan Blaney will begin thirteenth, Hamlin 14th, Logano seventeenth, Briscoe nineteenth and Chastain twentieth.

Most drivers do not count on to see a lot correlation between qualifying and what’ll occur over 267 laps on Sunday.

“The automobile drives tremendously completely different and the traces are completely different across the racetrack, too,” Bell stated. “It is fully two completely different animals.”

Comforts of residence

Daniel Suarez is from Mexico, not Miami, however he feels the comforts of residence this weekend in a spot the place most individuals communicate not less than some Spanish and the Latin taste is nearly in all places.

“All the things begins, I might say, driving to the racetrack,” Suarez stated. “If you happen to activate the radio and also you begin flipping stations, the whole lot is in Spanish. Then we get to the racetrack and many of the safety folks communicate Spanish. So, the power simply feels completely different, they usually make me really feel like residence. And that feels very wonderful.”

It isn’t unusual for Suarez to go to tracks and listen to loads of Spanish – he cited Texas and “each single race on the West Coast” as such locales.

“I actually really feel extra like residence in coming to locations like this,” Suarez stated. “And I do know that there are going to be lots of followers chatting with me in Spanish and bringing some Mexican flags. Now we have lots of assist and that’s one thing that I actually take pleasure in rather a lot.”