Blaney claims pole for Phoenix 312

Ryan Blaney seized the pole for Sunday’s 312‑lap Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway, clocking a 26.250‑second lap at 137.143 mph. The 1‑mile oval’s time trials saw his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano fall just 0.032 s behind at 136.926 mph, while four other Chase contenders—Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell—rounded out the top five. Blaney, fifth in the championship standings and 85 points shy of leader Kyle Larson, entered the race in a strong position.

Phoenix Practice Sets the Stage

Blaney’s pole was foreshadowed in Saturday’s practice, where he topped the field with a 26.969‑second lap—133.487 mph—by a margin of 0.029 s over Carson Hocevar. Both drivers, for Team Penske and Spire Motorsports respectively, were followed by Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell, who completed the top five fastest times in the one‑mile event.

In Barcelona, Thomas Fleming delivered a 1:40.933 lap in the #10 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, securing pole for the 6 Hours of Barcelona by 0.122 s over Manthey’s Riccardo Pera. Fleming had missed the first three practice sessions due to commitments in Portugal, yet he extracted the only sub‑1:41 lap in Hyperpole. The result gives Garage 59 the lead in the LMGT3 field and its second pole of the FIA World Endurance Championship season.

Both poles underline driver precision under pressure. Blaney’s fast start at Phoenix comes amid a Chase battle where a front‑row advantage could help him and Logano claw back the 85‑point gap to Larson. Meanwhile, Fleming’s performance sets Garage 59 up to defend its position in the 6 Hours of Barcelona, where strong qualifying can be a decisive edge.

At Phoenix, the pole‑position duo of Blaney and Logano will be eager to gain early stage points and challenge Larson’s lead in the final four races of the season. In Barcelona, Garage 59’s pole gives the team a chance to strengthen its title bid, as a clean start may translate into a strong finish in the endurance race. Both events highlight how qualifying can shape championship fortunes.