NASCAR at Phoenix 2019 Qualifying Results: Ryan Blaney Takes Pole Position

Ryan Blaney won the pole for the 2019 TicketGuardian 500 after posting the best qualifying time at ISM Raceway on Friday. 

Chase Elliott will join Blaney in the front row, with Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski rounding out the top five.

Below is a glimpse at the starting lineup for Sunday's race as well a look of some of the most noteworthy qualifying performances.

2019 TicketGuardian 500 Lineup

1. Ryan Blaney

2. Chase Elliott

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Kyle Busch

5. Brad Keselowski

6. Alex Bowman

7. William Byron

8. Kevin Harvick

9. Martin Truex Jr.

10. Erik Jones

11. Daniel Hemric

12. Joey Logano

*Full qualifying results available on NASCAR's official website 

Recap

Ryan Blaney has finished no better than 22nd through the first three races of 2019, but he is in prime position to end that skid this week.

The 25-year-old captured his sixth career pole on Friday, thanks to a time of 25.480 seconds. 

That put him 0.203 seconds clear of the field, as Elliott finished at 25.683 seconds. The No. 12 car also had the top speed, reaching 141.287 mph at ISM Raceway.

"Good way to start the weekend off," Blaney said.

By starting out in front of the pack, Blaney will have the opportunity to try to best last year's 16th-place finish, which followed a 12th-place start.

Even though he'll be starting in the front row, Elliott was disappointed not to win the pole. He did, however, tip his cap to Blaney afterward:

Last year's TicketGuardian winner, Kevin Harvick, will start in eighth place, and the 2018 pole winner, Martin Truex Jr., will again start near the front of the field in ninth.

While there was plenty of action on the track, there was some drama on pit road as well. Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell were involved in a pit-road altercation as emotions ran high outside of the vehicles:

McDowell blamed the No. 41 car for the scuffle:

Meanwhile, Suarez said a "lack of respect" from the No. 34 car during qualifying was the reason:

Interestingly enough, the two drivers will start near each other on Sunday. McDowell qualified 27th, and Suarez came in 28th.

After a drama-filled qualifying round, the race itself will have a lot to live up to. The 2019 TicketGuardian will get underway at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.