In a race with numerous veteran heavy hitters, it was a pair of young guns sitting on the front row after qualifying for the All-American 400 on Saturday afternoon at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville.
Chandler Smith edged out reigning Snowball Derby champion Christian Eckes for the top spot with a fast lap of 18.550 seconds around the legendary 0.596-mile speedway. The two will lead the field to the green at 1 p.m. ET (Noon local.)
For Smith and his Ricky Turner led crew, this pole was a validation of the speed they expected to have all weekend.
“We unloaded quick, stayed on top of it to keep improving the race car, and as the track rubbered up, stay on top of it and that’s why we’re up there,” Smith said. “We did our job.”
Ironically, both Smith and Eckes were contenders for a Music City guitar last October but were both eliminated in the same crash in the final 100 laps when the two came together on the backstretch.
Now they both hope to see it through until the end.
“You just have to conserve your stuff until the last couple of laps,” Eckes said. “You have to be there at the end. We all made a decision on the backstretch that put all of us in a bad spot. It might have cost one of the win. So we just all have to be smart when the races drag out.”
Casey Roderick, Stephen Nasse and Mason Mingus will complete the starting top-5 for Sunday’s race. Defending winner Bubba Pollard will roll off 12th.
“I just struggle here,” Pollard said. “I know it doesn’t look like it but I do. These longer races play out to our advantage. We’re good with tire management and I can kind of settle and get comfortable. But for whatever reason, we just kind of struggle to find speed. Driver, I guess.”
The complete starting lineup for the ‘Civil War on Wheels’ can be found below.
- Chandler Smith 18.550
- Christian Eckes 18.599
- Casey Roderick 18.615
- Stephen Nasse 18.694
- Mason Mingus 18.727
- Chad Finley 18.739
- Steven Wallace 18.754
- Dennis Schoenfield 18.773
- Matt Craig 18.773
- Donnie Wilson 18.773
- Raphael Lessard 18.784
- Bubba Pollard 18.825
- Cole Rouse 18.850
- Willie Allen 18.864
- Spencer Davis 18.865
- Danny O’Quinn 18.925
- Cole Timm 18.984
- Austin Thaxton 19.013
- Tyler Ankrum 19.032
- Casey Johnson 19.041
- Kyle McCallum 19.103
- Joseph Meyer 19.108
- Nathan Davis 19.650
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Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.