Jimmy Phelps has earned the pole in a Big Block Modified three times at NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week, but on Thursday afternoon at Oswego Speedway the “Baldswinsville Bandit” captured the top spot in DIRTcar 358 Modified Series Time Trials for the first time in his career.

Phelps hit the track in group five of six, setting a time of 20.948 seconds around the 5/8-mile “Clay Palace” to win the $1,000 STOP Tech/GPS Pole Award for Saturday’s Salute to the Troops 150, surprising even himself.

“I’m really happy with our results because we were mediocre in practice,” Phelps said. “There’s a lot of good cars here, so it helps to get a head start.”

To read the rest of Robby Knowles day 1 recap, head to Superdirtweek.com.