Qualifying Pivotal in the XFINITY Series in 2017

Erik Jones won the Pole and Race at Texas in November
(Photo-Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images/NASCAR Media)

In the second installment of 2017 Qualifying Report, we take a look at how drivers fared in qualifying and the races this season.

91% of race winners this season qualified 10th or better with a total of 13 drivers qualified on the front row en-route to victory.

William Byron earned his first career pole at Phoenix in March
(Photo-Sean Gardner/Getty Images/NASCAR Media)

Nine drivers won the pole and the race this season with Kyle Busch (Atlanta, Kentucky 1, New Hampshire, and Bristol), Kyle Larson (Dover), Ryan Preece (Iowa), Sam Hornish Jr. (Mid-Ohio), Denny Hamlin (Darlington), and Erik Jones (Texas 2). Those nine drivers dominated the season with a combined sixteen victories. With the new eligibility rules, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin will be limited to seven races while Kyle Larson and Erik Jones will not be allowed to compete in playoff races at the end of the season.

The worst qualifying effort by a winner came at Road America where Jeremy Clements started 24th. Aric Almirola qualified 23rd at Talladega for the second worst effort this season. Justin Allgaier started 14th at Chicago with those three finishes being the only time a driver qualified outside the top-10 resulting in qualifying becoming extra important.

2017 Champion William Byron won two poles this season, neither of which resulted in a victory (Phoenix 1 and Dover 2). In his four victories, Byron qualified a best of second at Phoenix in November and a worst of sixth at Iowa. His worst qualifying effort of the season came at Mid-Ohio where he qualified 23rd. Other than that one qualifying effort, Byron qualified inside the top-20 the remainder of the races. (Koelle,2017)