It was elation for William Byron, who took the pole position for Sunday's Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix, but it came at the expense of Joey Logano, who was knocked from what would have been Team Penske's 700th pole across all disciplines of racing.

The mile-long intermediate track is early in the NASCAR season, and it provides a strong test for the Cup Series’ top drivers.

Daytona 500 winner William Byron climbed out of his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on Phoenix Raceway pit road with a huge smile after claiming his first pole position in nearly a year on Saturday -- and his was last car to turn a qualifying lap.

Joey Logano had one of the fastest cars this past Sunday at Phoenix, especially early on in Stage 1. Logano started on the front row and took the lead away from William Byron.

Joey Logano already had an affinity for Phoenix Raceway. The Team Penske driver had won on the mile oval three times, including the 2022 Cup Series title, and had 15 top-10 finishes in 31 races since 2009.

Joey Logano was no fan of NASCAR's decision to penalize him at Sunday's Shriners Children's 500 in Phoenix. On Lap 18, the three-time Cup Series champion was hit with a restart violation that forced him to give up his lead and head towards the back of the pack.

William Byron, alongside Joey Logano on the front row, leads the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag at Phoenix Raceway.