Taylor Gray Collects O'Reilly Series Pole Position at Phoenix

After coming up just short of winning the pole last November at Phoenix Raceway, Taylor Gray, in his second year of full-time competition in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, has secured the top spot for Saturday's GOVX 200.

The Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver laid down a lap time of 27.535 seconds (130.743mph) to win his fourth career pole in NASCAR's second-tier division and putting his No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra atop the speed charts in Friday evening's single-vehicle qualifying session.

"I honestly felt like our car was really good on the long run, too, so that's a really good feeling, especially after you've had a really good qualifying pace," said Taylor Gray. "Really proud of Jason Ratcliff and all of the No. 54 boys, we brought a really fast Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra. So, excited to get to the race tomorrow and race for the win."

It's Taylor's time!@Taylor_Gray wins the pole for Saturday's race in Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/PzuIMfKKzg
— NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (@NASCAROReillyAP) March 7, 2026

Gray would end up posting the fastest lap in the session, but it wasn't by a comfortable margin at all, as defending NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Jesse Love took a shot at the pole late and came up just a hundredth of a second short.

"I know, I was a little nervous because my buddy Jesse [Love] pretty much had me, I think, but, yeah," Gray added. The pole marks the 250th for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.

Love will be starting on the outside of the front row for Saturday's 200-lap contest in Avondale, Arizona, driving the newly-unveiled No. 2 Distrubutor Wire & Cable Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing.

Anthony Alfredo put up a monster lap in qualifying to earn Viking Motorsports its best-ever start in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. The Ridgefield, Connecticut-native will be running double-duty this weekend, filling in for Alex Bowman in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series event at the one-mile racetrack.

Brent Crews, making his second NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series start in the No. 19 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing, rounded out the top-five with a solid lap.

William Byron, Sammy Smith, Corey Day, Jeb Burton, and Kyle Sieg rounded out the top-10 in Friday's qualifying session. Other notables include Sam Mayer (12th), Austin Hill (13th), Carson Kvapil (14th), William Sawalich (15th), Sheldon Creed (16th), and Justin Allgaier (17th).

Josh Williams (No. 92) and Blake Lothian (No. 35) failed to qualify for Saturday's GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway.

NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series GOVX 200 Starting Lineup:

1. #54 - Taylor Gray
2. #2 - Jesse Love
3. #20 - Brandon Jones
4. #96 - Anthony Alfredo
5. #19 - Brent Crews
6. #88 - William Byron
7. #8 - Sammy Smith
8. #17 - Corey Day
9. #27 - Jeb Burton
10. #28 - Kyle Sieg
11. #24 - Harrison Burton
12. #41 - Sam Mayer
13. #21 - Austin Hill
14. #1 - Carson Kvapil
15. #18 - William Sawalich
16. #00 - Sheldon Creed
17. #7 - Justin Allgaier
18. #39 - Ryan Sieg
19. #25 - Nick Sanchez
20. #44 - Brennan Poole
21. #51 - Jeremy Clements
22. #0 - Garrett Smithley
23. #26 - Dean Thompson
24. #5 - Chandler Smith
25. #32 - Rajah Caruth
26. #31 - Blaine Perkins
27. #87 - Austin Green
28. #48 - Patrick Staropoli
29. #52 - Daniel Dye
30. #45 - Lavar Scott
31. #99 - Parker Retzlaff
32. #42 - Nathan Byrd
33. #07 - Josh Bilicki
34. #30 - Austin J. Hill
35. #55 - Joey Gase
36. #74 - Dawson Cram
37. #91 - Mason Maggio
38. #02 - Ryan Ellis
DNQ: #92 - Josh Williams
DNQ: #35 - Blake Lothian