Reddick back on top with pole run in New Hampshire

It’s been a tough summer stretch for early season dominator Tyler Reddick. But the five-time winner positioned himself well to turn things around one week before returning to the site of his Daytona 500 victory in February.

Reddick threw down a quick lap of 131.094 mph (29.054s) to claim his fifth pole of the season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It’s the Californian’s first pole run since Kansas Speedway in April, though he’s started two other races up from due to rainouts.

After a dreadful practice session where he slotted 31st, no one was more surprised by the result than Reddick.

“I was really unhappy (after practice),” Reddick said. “I can’t recall a practice (where) I’ve complained like that. … We did not have a good practice, but that’s a good way to turn it around.”

“I just kind of committed,” he said of his run. “I’ve gotta qualify good. I don’t want to do like we did at Richmond and start in the 30s.”

The 30-year-old will hope to carry the result into a strong Sunday run and turn his season back around before the Chase. Reddick won three-straight races to open the year and led the points until Sonoma Raceway in June, but has dropped to fourth with six finishes of 25th or worse in the past 10 races.

Last year’s runner-up, Josh Berry, was the only other one to top 131 mph. The Tennessean held the top spot for the bulk of the session until he was unseated by Reddick. His 131.026 mph lap held in second and gives Berry a strong chance to earn a victory before he departs Wood Brothers Racing at season’s end. The former Late Model standout is still searching for a ride for 2027.

William Byron (130.981 mph) was the top Chevrolet in third. Denny Hamlin (130.972) followed in fourth, with Shane van Gisbergen (130.86) rounding out the top five.

Van Gisbergen’s run will come as a relief to his No. 97 team. He slotted 13 spots clear of Chase bubble rival Ryan Preece and is positioned well to gain stage points. The Kiwi sits 50 points ahead of Preece with two races left in the regular season and could secure his place in NASCAR’s altered postseason format with a good run on Sunday.

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Christopher Bell (130.555), Ty Gibbs (130.496), Ryan Blaney (130.447), Kyle Larson (130.443) and Alex Bowman (130.42) capped off the top 10.

There were a few noteworthy struggles among expected contenders. Last week’s winner, Joey Logano, will start a distant 21st after a disappointing run. Penske teammate Austin Cindric was even worse off in 26th. Bubba Wallace neared the top of the charts in practice but ended up 23rd in qualifying. Chase Elliott will roll off 29th, with Daniel Suarez mired even further back in 35th.

Despite the challenges of qualifying on the "Magic Mile," there were no incidents of note in qualifying. Suarez slid around and AJ Allmendinger briefly scraped the frontstretch wall, but both drivers reached the checkered flag without further issue.

The Dollar Tree 301 will go live at 2pm ET on USA. The race was moved forward an hour on Friday due to forecasted inclement weather.

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