Michael McDowell, who had never secured a NASCAR Cup Series pole position before the 2024 season, achieved his seventh career pole on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This marked the first pole position for the 40-year-old driver in the first five races of the 2025 season. Driving the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, he completed a fast lap in 28.883 seconds (186.961 mph) during the qualifying session, earning the pole by just 0.015 seconds over Joey Logano.
McDowell’s latest pole came from his impressive speed, especially through Turns 3 and 4. “This is where I always say that being a student and studying is important,” McDowell mentioned in his press conference after winning the pole. “Last year, Christopher Bell in Round 2 kept it a bit lower in Turn 4, which helped him get the pole. So, when my car went through Turns 1 and 2 and had a lot of grip without feeling like I used it all up, I realized I had a chance to achieve that without losing speed.”
McDowell’s review of last year’s qualifying session at the 1.5-mile speedway resulted in him securing a pole position. Currently ranked 15th in the championship standings, McDowell aims to achieve his third career win in the NASCAR Cup Series, which would be his first since joining Spire Motorsports after spending seven years with Front Row Motorsports.
This pole position is a significant milestone for Spire Motorsports, marking their first since the team’s formation in 2019. On Saturday, March 15, 2025, they officially claimed this achievement in NASCAR Cup Series competition. Fans following the qualifying rounds this season probably noticed Spire Motorsports making their mark.
McDowell shared, “Building positive momentum is always beneficial in our sport, and it truly matters.” He added, “Last week was also good for us. We had all three cars in the top 10. Unfortunately, during the race, two of our drivers crashed together, which was tough. We also had to go to the back after changing the steering rack, and then we cut a tire, which ended our day.”
Logano, who began in second place at Phoenix Raceway last weekend, faced a similar situation this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. However, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse is in a strong position to pursue his first top-10 finish of the season.
Austin Cindric, who is teammates with Logano at Team Penske, will start the race from the third position. Joining him in Row 2 is Kyle Busch from Richard Childress Racing. Busch, originally from Las Vegas, aims to end his 61-race winless streak this weekend at his home track.
Erik Jones secured the fifth starting position driving the No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota Camry XSE. The top ten qualifiers for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 include Alex Bowman, Josh Berry, William Byron, Zane Smith, and Kyle Larson.
Christopher Bell, who hopes to win his fourth straight NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, will begin from the 13th position.
Ryan Blaney will start in last place after he couldn’t complete a lap during Saturday’s qualifying. The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse spun out in Turn 2 during practice on Saturday and hit the outside wall, damaging his car.
