Gibbs crew on the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team completed a four-tire pit stop in 13.012 seconds to lead all 37 entries in both the All-Star Race and the Open.
As the top-performing Open team, Gibbs will start Sunday night’s 100-lap Open race from the pole.
“All credit to them,” Gibbs said of his pit crew. “I don’t think you should be interviewing me. You should be interviewing those guys. They work so hard. I appreciate all that they do.
“I’m excited. We’ll see what happens. I’m excited that NASCAR brought this back.”
Gibbs’ crew chief, Chris Gayle, said he was glad to see his team’s crew get recognition for the work that often goes unnoticed.
“We see the ins and outs every week with these guys – live and die with them,” he said. “We sort of see the success today that you get to enjoy after going through some hit and misses this season.”
Starting alongside Gibbs in the Open race will be Josh Berry, who had a 13.677-second stop in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Berry has been substituting for Alex Bowman, who suffered a fractured vertebra in his back during a wreck in a sprint car race last month.
The top two finishers in the Open race will advance to the All-Star main event Sunday night as will the winner of the Fan Vote.
With the top pit stops among the drivers already qualified for the All-Star Race main event, Daniel Suarez and Chris Buescher will start on the pole for Saturday night’s two 60-lap heat races.
The result of Saturday night’s heat races will set the starting lineup for Sunday night’s All-Star Race which pays $1 million to the winner.
No. 54 winning pit crew
Crew Chief: Chris Gayle
Car Chief: Nate Bellows
Fuel: Peyton Moore
Jack: Darrell Edwards
Front: Blake Houston
Rear: Mike Hicks
Carrier: Jacob Holmes
Driver: Ty Gibbs