NASCAR starting lineup: Cole Custer earns pole position in qualifying for Tennessee Lottery 250

Final update: Cole Custer finished with the fastest qualifying time and has won pole for today’s race. Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, Ty Gibbs, and Riley Herbst will round out the top five.

12:35 p.m. ET update: About halfway through qualifying and Zane Smith has the fast time so far.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series is back for the second half of the schedule and the home stretch is approaching. The junior circuit was on a bye last week and will run the final 12 races of the regular season over the next 12 weeks. The bye splits up the TV coverage as well, with USA Network and NBC taking over.

Qualifying and the race are scheduled for Saturday, and both will air on USA Network. Qualifying opens the day at noon ET with a single-car, one lap process. Each driver gets one lap to put together their fastest time in a bid for pole position. The starting lineup will be settled by qualifying speed with the fastest in the pole and the slowest in the back of the field.

Ty Gibbs and defending champ Justin Allgaier head into the race as co-favorites to win at DraftKings Sportsbook. They are installed at +330 and are followed by John H. Nemechek at +550, Josh Berry at +650, and Cole Custer at +850.

Here is the full starting lineup for the Tennessee Lottery 250 Xfinity Series race.