Ross Chastain will lead the Cup Series field to the green flag on Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen International (3 p.m. ET on USA Network).
The Trackhouse Racing driver won the pole with a lap of 72.130 seconds. This is his second career Cup Series pole and his first since Nashville Superspeedway last season. Chastain won the race at Nashville after leading the field to the green flag.
Martin Truex Jr. (playoffs) qualified second with a lap of 72.264 seconds. He was followed by Shane van Gisbergen at 72.376 seconds, Alex Bowman (playoffs) at 72.388 seconds, and Austin Cindric (playoffs) at 72.426 seconds.
MORE: Ross Chastain wins pole, full starting lineup
The rest of the top 10 included AJ Allmendinger at 72.482 seconds, Joey Logano (playoffs) at 72.658 seconds, Daniel Suarez (playoffs) at 72.757 seconds, Noah Gragson at 72.982 seconds, and Michael McDowell at 73.052 seconds.
"Turning right just seems so simple, but gosh, it's been a challenge for me," Chastain told NBC Sports' Kim Coon. "I went to Skip Barber Driving School to learn how to turn right, I've leaned on Josh Wise and Scott Speed so much, the instructors at Skip Barber.
"...For our Busch Light Chevy, this is just a career moment. A lifetime achievement to go faster than everybody in the Cup Series. It's unbelievable for Trackhouse and myself."
The majority of playoff drivers were unable to reach the second round of qualifying. William Byron was the best of this group as he qualified 11th (72.148 seconds).
Chase Briscoe (72.619 seconds) qualified 12th, Chase Elliott (72.620) qualified 14th, Ty Gibbs (72.229) qualified 15th, Tyler Reddick (72.626) qualified 16th, Christopher Bell (72.388) qualified 17th, and Kyle Larson (72.704) qualified 20th.
Four playoff drivers will line up outside the top 20. This group includes Denny Hamlin (72.759) in 22nd, Brad Keselowski (73.067) in 28th, Ryan Blaney (73.076) in 30th, and Harrison Burton (73.154) in 33rd.
Juan Pablo Montoya qualified 34th with a lap of 73.204 seconds as he prepares to take on his first NASCAR race since 2014.
The command to fire engines will take place Sunday at 2:55 p.m. ET. The green flag will be at 3:06 p.m. ET.