Byron claims Pocono pole

LONG POND, Pa. — William Byron turned the fast lap at Pocono in the latest sign that Hendrick Motorsports may have turned the corner and can stamp itself a NASCAR championship contender.

Hendrick Motorsports was long the home of Hall of Famers and champions, from Jeff Gordon to Jimmie Johnson, and was always a threat to place a driver in the championship race. Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired, and Johnson’s seven reigns as Cup Series champion at times seem like a distant memory as he’s stuck on a winless streak that stretches two years.

The organization with 12 Cup titles was locked out of the championship-deciding finale in 2018 for the second consecutive year.

Hendrick is on the brink of a breakthrough, though.

Byron turned a lap of 173.494 mph on Saturday to win the pole for the Pocono 400 on Sunday at Pocono Raceway. He won his second straight pole in the No. 24 Chevrolet, following up his first-place start last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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Byron opened the season with a pole in the Daytona 500 but has yet to win a Cup race in 49 career starts.

“It just improves your ability in the race to control your race,” Byron said of the pole. “We made some good improvements overnight for sure, and that showed in qualifying. Really, I think that’s going to translate to the race.”

Byron was one of four Hendrick Motorsports drivers to finish in the top 10 last week in the Coca-Cola 600. Chase Elliott is the only Hendrick driver with a win this season. Hendrick’s Alex Bowman was runner-up in three straight races before finishing seventh last week. Johnson has two straight top 10s and his drive to pass Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt and set a NASCAR record with eight championships remains as strong as ever.