William Byron: "I did not hit my marks" on way to…

After a 45-minute practice session where teams were granted the opportunity to get a a feel for the multiple tire compounds being utilized this weekend, it was time to qualify. The format was a single round with one flying lap per driver, and the pole wasn't decided until the 37th and final driver on track.

William Byron was that last driver to put down a qualifying lap, rocketing to the top of the charts as the only driver under 27 seconds. He dethroned Joey Logano, who was hoping to earn Penske's 700th pole across all of their motorsports endeavors.

It didn't feel like a pole-winning lap

"I did not hit my marks," admitted Byron despite securing pole position. "I was sideways. I just carried a ton of entry speed. I felt like I missed the middle of the corner and had just come off the dogleg (where) I was so loose. I was just going to try and commit to the exits and see how much I could get out of the exits, even though I missed the center."

Byron, who now has 14 career Cup Series poles, later added: "I'm still shaking. I can't believe -- that did not feel like a good lap, but I just committed to it and the grip was there."

William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (Photo by: Chris Graythen - Getty Images)

Logano is a four-time winner at Phoenix and the most recent winner as well, taking the checkered flag in November on his way to his third Cup Series title. He was watching from atop the Team Penske hauler as Byron wheeled his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the top of the charts in the final moments of qualifying. In the end, nearly a full tenth separated the two drivers (0.098s).

"I don't like William Byron anymore," joked Logano. "Man, that stinks. I just got done saying that it would really suck if the last car beat us and that's what happened. That was going to be Penske's 700th pole across all of motorsports, but we'll have to go try and do that next week."

Spire impresses as others stumble

While Byron was impressed, it was Spire Motorsports who truly turned heads with all three of their drivers starting in the first four rows. Carson Hocevar -- who also led practice -- was the top Spire driver in third. He was ahead of Wood Brothers Racing's Josh Berry in fourth and Legacy Motor Club's Erik Jones in fifth.

Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell, Justin Haley, Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-ten.

Several drivers found themselves losing a lot of time as the cars got loose through Turns 1 and 2, including Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman, John-Hunter Nemechek and Noah Gragson. It proved costly as Larson was the only one of them to even qualify inside the top-20.

Christopher Bell, who is hunting a third consecutive Cup win this weekend, was a threat for a pole before his own bubble entering the final corner dropped him down to 11th.

Of note, Katherine Legge is making her Cup Series debut this weekend and is the first woman to take part in a Cup race since Danica Patrick ran the 2018 Daytona 500 seven years ago. She qualified 37th and will start the race from the very rear of the field. When she takes the green flag, she will officially become the 17th female racer to compete at the highest level of stock car racing.

Photos from Phoenix - Practice & Qualifying

Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Cla	Driver	#	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Interval	Mph
1	W. ByronHendrick Motorsports	24	Chevrolet	1	26.930		133.680
2	J. LoganoTeam Penske	22	Ford	1	+0.098 27.028	0.098	133.195
3	C. HocevarSpire Motorsports	77	Chevrolet	1	+0.113 27.043	0.015	133.121
4	J. BerryWood Brothers Racing	21	Ford	1	+0.158 27.088	0.045	132.900
5	E. JonesLegacy Motor Club	43	Toyota	1	+0.161 27.091	0.003	132.885
6	M. McDowellSpire Motorsports	71	Chevrolet	1	+0.169 27.099	0.008	132.846
7	C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports	9	Chevrolet	1	+0.169 27.099	0.000	132.846
8	J. HaleySpire Motorsports	7	Chevrolet	1	+0.181 27.111	0.012	132.787
9	T. Reddick23XI Racing	45	Toyota	1	+0.183 27.113	0.002	132.778
10	D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing	11	Toyota	1	+0.220 27.150	0.037	132.597
11	C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing	20	Toyota	1	+0.223 27.153	0.003	132.582
12	R. BlaneyTeam Penske	12	Ford	1	+0.227 27.157	0.004	132.563
13	C. BuescherRFK Racing	17	Ford	1	+0.238 27.168	0.011	132.509
14	A. CindricTeam Penske	2	Ford	1	+0.240 27.170	0.002	132.499
15	K. BuschRichard Childress Racing	8	Chevrolet	1	+0.259 27.189	0.019	132.406
16	A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing	16	Chevrolet	1	+0.291 27.221	0.032	132.251
17	K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports	5	Chevrolet	1	+0.292 27.222	0.001	132.246
18	R. Herbst23XI Racing	35	Toyota	1	+0.296 27.226	0.004	132.227
19	B. Wallace23XI Racing	23	Toyota	1	+0.328 27.258	0.032	132.071
20	B. KeselowskiRFK Racing	6	Ford	1	+0.354 27.284	0.026	131.945
21	A. DillonRichard Childress Racing	3	Chevrolet	1	+0.392 27.322	0.038	131.762
22	R. Stenhouse JrHyak Motorsports	47	Chevrolet	1	+0.404 27.334	0.012	131.704
23	C. CusterHaas Factory Team	41	Ford	1	+0.410 27.340	0.006	131.675
24	R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing	1	Chevrolet	1	+0.420 27.350	0.010	131.627
25	T. DillonKaulig Racing	10	Chevrolet	1	+0.434 27.364	0.014	131.560
26	Z. SmithFront Row Motorsports	38	Ford	1	+0.442 27.372	0.008	131.521
27	T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports	34	Ford	1	+0.528 27.458	0.086	131.109
28	R. PreeceRFK Racing	60	Ford	1	+0.534 27.464	0.006	131.081
29	S. van GisbergenTrackHouse Racing	88	Chevrolet	1	+0.550 27.480	0.016	131.004
30	C. BriscoeJoe Gibbs Racing	19	Toyota	1	+0.590 27.520	0.040	130.814
31	D. SuarezTrackHouse Racing	99	Chevrolet	1	+0.625 27.555	0.035	130.648
32	A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports	48	Chevrolet	1	+0.717 27.647	0.092	130.213
33	N. GragsonFront Row Motorsports	4	Ford	1	+0.730 27.660	0.013	130.152
34	T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing	54	Toyota	1	+0.751 27.681	0.021	130.053
35	C. WareRick Ware Racing	51	Ford	1	+0.896 27.826	0.145	129.375
36	J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club	42	Toyota	1	+0.912 27.842	0.016	129.301
37	K. LeggeLive Fast Motorsports	78	Chevrolet	1	+1.130 28.060	0.218	128.297