In qualifying at Saturday, the No. 12 Team Penske Ford of Ryan Blaney secured pole position at Bristol Motor Speedway. With a fast lap of 15.101s, he earned his 13th career pole and second at Bristol.
"Just kind of got free on Lap 1, and then it was like all right, gather yourself up in (Turns) 3 and 4 and try and get a second lap," said Blaney. "Luckily, the rear tires came in better the second lap in (Turns) 1 and 2, and then (Turns) 3 and 4 I thought was a really good corner. A really great job by the whole 12 boys. Our race car in practice was pretty good, and it was nice that we made some pretty good adjustments in qualifying with the pace being up ... Cool start to the weekend, now we got to do it for 500 laps, which should be fun."
Blaney will share the front row with championship leader Tyler Reddick in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota.
Chase Briscoe qualified third with Riley Herbst fourth in the best qualifying effort of his entire Cup career. Ty Gibbs was fifth, while Ross Chastain led the way for Chevrolet in sixth. Chris Buescher, Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric, and Carson Hocevar filled out the remainder of the top ten.
Alex Bowman, who is making his first start in five weeks after recovering from vertigo, qualified 27th. But the real surprise towards the back of the pack was his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, who will start 34th.
Qualifying recap
Herbst, whose previous best start was sixth, led the first half of qualifying with a 15.147s. Chastain began the second half of qualifying, slotting in just 0.028s behind Herbst.
But the first to topple Herbst for P1 was Briscoe, lapping the half-mile 0.012s quicker than his fellow Toyota driver. Cindric had a shot at Briscoe, but bobbled on his second lap while tracking faster.
Herbst's 23XI teammate Reddick then burned out of the pits, heating up the tires in a clever move. The championship leader set the new benchmark with a 15.124s, 0.011 quicker than Briscoe.
Blaney then went fastest of all drivers, beating Reddick by over two hundredths and ending the Toyota stranglehold at the front. Gibbs had a chance to challenge, but slipped up off the bottom line during his second lap around the circuit.
There were no incidents during the qualifying session and all 37 entries recorded a time.
Photos from Bristol - Saturday
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Bristol - Saturday, in photos
Food City 500 Starting Lineup -- Bristol Motor Speedway
| Cla | Driver | # | Manufacturer | Time | Mph | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R. BlaneyTeam Penske | 12 | Ford |
15.101 |
127.064 | |
| 2 | T. Reddick23XI Racing | 45 | Toyota |
+0.023 15.124 |
126.871 | |
| 3 | C. BriscoeJoe Gibbs Racing | 19 | Toyota |
+0.034 15.135 |
126.779 | |
| 4 | R. Herbst23XI Racing | 35 | Toyota |
+0.046 15.147 |
126.679 | |
| 5 | T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing | 54 | Toyota |
+0.063 15.164 |
126.537 | |
| 6 | R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing | 1 | Chevrolet |
+0.074 15.175 |
126.445 | |
| 7 | C. BuescherRFK Racing | 17 | Ford |
+0.089 15.190 |
126.320 | |
| 8 | K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports | 5 | Chevrolet |
+0.091 15.192 |
126.303 | |
| 9 | A. CindricTeam Penske | 2 | Ford |
+0.099 15.200 |
126.237 | |
| 10 | C. HocevarSpire Motorsports | 77 | Chevrolet |
+0.100 15.201 |
126.229 | |
| 11 | D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Toyota |
+0.124 15.225 |
126.030 | |
| 12 | B. Wallace23XI Racing | 23 | Toyota |
+0.130 15.231 |
125.980 | |
| 13 | D. SuarezSpire Motorsports | 7 | Chevrolet |
+0.132 15.233 |
125.963 | |
| 14 | C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing | 20 | Toyota |
+0.160 15.261 |
125.732 | |
| 15 | Z. SmithFront Row Motorsports | 38 | Ford |
+0.176 15.277 |
125.601 | |
| 16 | N. GragsonFront Row Motorsports | 4 | Ford |
+0.178 15.279 |
125.584 | |
| 17 | R. PreeceRFK Racing | 60 | Ford |
+0.181 15.282 |
125.559 | |
| 18 | C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports | 9 | Chevrolet |
+0.184 15.285 |
125.535 | |
| 19 | M. McDowellSpire Motorsports | 71 | Chevrolet |
+0.190 15.291 |
125.486 | |
| 20 | J. LoganoTeam Penske | 22 | Ford |
+0.210 15.311 |
125.322 | |
| 21 | B. KeselowskiRFK Racing | 6 | Ford |
+0.211 15.312 |
125.313 | |
| 22 | A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing | 16 | Chevrolet |
+0.222 15.323 |
125.224 | |
| 23 | R. Stenhouse JrHyak Motorsports | 47 | Chevrolet |
+0.230 15.331 |
125.158 | |
| 24 | A. DillonRichard Childress Racing | 3 | Chevrolet |
+0.243 15.344 |
125.052 | |
| 25 |
J. BerryWood Brothers Racing
|
21 | Ford |
+0.263 15.364 |
124.889 | |
| 26 |
C. ZilischTrackHouse Racing
|
88 | Chevrolet |
+0.267 15.368 |
124.857 | |
| 27 | A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports | 48 | Chevrolet |
+0.267 15.368 |
124.857 | |
| 28 | E. JonesLegacy Motor Club | 43 | Toyota |
+0.277 15.378 |
124.776 | |
| 29 | K. BuschRichard Childress Racing | 8 | Chevrolet |
+0.288 15.389 |
124.686 | |
| 30 | C. CusterHaas Factory Team | 41 | Chevrolet |
+0.303 15.404 |
124.565 | |
| 31 | J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club | 42 | Toyota |
+0.366 15.467 |
124.058 | |
| 32 | T. DillonKaulig Racing | 10 | Chevrolet |
+0.397 15.498 |
123.810 | |
| 33 | S. van GisbergenTrackHouse Racing | 97 | Chevrolet |
+0.413 15.514 |
123.682 | |
| 34 | W. ByronHendrick Motorsports | 24 | Chevrolet |
+0.453 15.554 |
123.364 | |
| 35 | T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports | 34 | Ford |
+0.492 15.593 |
123.055 | |
| 36 | C. WareRick Ware Racing | 51 | Chevrolet |
+0.512 15.613 |
122.898 | |
| 37 | C. FinchumGarage 66 | 66 | Ford |
+0.610 15.711 |
122.131 |
