Ryan Truex wins first Nationwide Series pole as part of all-Toyota front row at Dover

Ryan Truex put his Toyota Camry on the pole for today's Nationwide Series race at Dover.

A pair of Toyotas from Joe Gibbs Racing will start from row one for this afternoon’s 5-Hour Energy Drink Nationwide Series 200 at Dover International Speedway. That’s not altogether surprising since JGR has swept the front row for 13 Nationwide races dating to 1997. But the name of the pole-winner might be a surprise.

Ryan Truex, the 20-year-old JGR developmental driver, beat Joey Logano, his better-known and more-established teammate for his first Nationwide pole in his 29th career start. His pole speed was 154.746 mph and Logano’s second-best speed was 154.453 mph. They were two of only five drivers in the 154 mph range, with seven more jammed into the 153 mph range and only two in the 152 mph range.

Ty Dillon, making his Nationwide debut for Richard Childress Racing, will start third in a Chevrolet at 154.420 mph. Defending series champion and current point-leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. qualified his Ford fourth at 154.057 mph for Roush Fenway Racing, the same speed Toyota driver Brian Scott ran for to take fifth for Joe Gibbs Racing. Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier, Mike Bliss, Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish Jr. rounded out the top-10.

Among select others: series rookie Austin Dillon qualified 11th, Parker Kligerman was 12th in the only Dodge on the grid, Scott Speed was 16th, Danica Patrick 17th and teammate Cole Whitt 18th. Only 43 teams are on hand, so all of them made the show. 

That Truex is even on the grid is somewhat remarkable. He underwent short-notice appendicitis surgery on May 22 and wasn’t cleared to complete until early this week. In the meantime, team owner Joe Gibbs had tentatively inked in his older brother, Martin Truex Jr., for this afternoon 200-lap, 200-mile race. Ryan showed his meddle on Friday, when he was third-fastest behind Logano and Sadler in practice.

“He [Martin Truex Jr.] already has a Nationwide win here, so there was no way I was going to let him have my ride,” the pole-winner said. “This is great, winning the pole at the NASCAR track closest to my [New Jersey] home. It’s kind of a dream come true, to win a pole here. This is a race I had circled on my schedule. We ran third the entire race last fall but ended up going on pit road for our last stop and the caution came out. That kind of messed up my strategy and we ended up eighth. But I think we can this time.”