NASCAR: Bristol Starting Lineup
Martin Truex Jr. captured the Busch Pole Award for Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 16 elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Truex will start his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota from the first spot in search of his first Bristol victory. Truex, a playoff driver, is coming off a win at Richmond Raceway to lock into the Round of 12.
Noah Gragson, fresh off back-to-back wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, claimed the pole for Friday night’s Food City 300 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN and SiriusXM) in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Sheldon Creed, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series reigning champion and a winner of back-to-back playoff races earned the pole for his No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet for Thursday night’s UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics (9 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM). The Truck race is the elimination race for the Round of 10 in that series.
| Pos | Driver | No. | Team | Crew Chief |
| 1 | MARTIN TRUEX JR | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing | JAMES SMALL |
| 2 | DENNY HAMLIN | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing | CHRISTOPHER GABEHART |
| 3 | JOEY LOGANO | 22 | Team Penske | PAUL WOLFE |
| 4 | CHASE ELLIOTT | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports | ALAN GUSTAFSON |
| 5 | KYLE LARSON | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports | CLIFF DANIELS |
| 6 | CHRISTOPHER BELL | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing | ADAM STEVENS |
| 7 | RYAN BLANEY | 12 | Team Penske | TODD GORDON |
| 8 | KEVIN HARVICK | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing | RODNEY CHILDERS |
| 9 | KYLE BUSCH | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing | BEN BESHORE |
| 10 | BRAD KESELOWSKI | 2 | Team Penske | JEREMY BULLINS |
| 11 | ALEX BOWMAN | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports | GREG IVES |
| 12 | ARIC ALMIROLA | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing | MIKE BUGAREWICZ |
| 13 | TYLER REDDICK | 8 | Richard Childress Racing | RANDALL BURNETT |
| 14 | WILLIAM BYRON | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports | RUDY FUGLE |
| 15 | KURT BUSCH | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing | MATT MCCALL |
| 16 | MICHAEL MCDOWELL | 34 | Front Row Motorsports | DREW BLICKENSDERFER |
| 17 | ROSS CHASTAIN | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing | PHILIP SURGEN |
| 18 | AUSTIN DILLON | 3 | Richard Childress Racing | JUSTIN ALEXANDER |
| 19 | MATT DIBENEDETTO | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing | JONATHAN HASSLER |
| 20 | CHASE BRISCOE | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing | JOHN KLAUSMEIER |
| 21 | DANIEL SUAREZ | 99 | TrackHouse Racing | TRAVIS MACK |
| 22 | ERIK JONES | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports | JERRY BAXTER |
| 23 | RICKY STENHOUSE JR | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing | BRIAN PATTIE |
| 24 | RYAN NEWMAN | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing | SCOTT GRAVES |
| 25 | CHRIS BUESCHER | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing | LUCAS LAMBERT |
| 26 | COLE CUSTER | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing | MIKE SHIPLETT |
| 27 | RYAN PREECE | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing | TRENT OWENS |
| 28 | BUBBA WALLACE | 23 | 23XI Racing | MICHAEL WHEELER |
| 29 | JUSTIN HALEY | 77 | Spire Motorsports | KEVIN BELLICOURT |
| 30 | ANTHONY ALFREDO | 38 | Front Row Motorsports | SETH BARBOUR |
| 31 | COREY LAJOIE | 7 | Spire Motorsports | RYAN SPARKS |
| 32 | BJ MCLEOD | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports | FRANK KERR |
| 33 | JOSH BILICKI | 52 | Rick Ware Racing | JASON HOUGHTALING |
| 34 | QUIN HOUFF | 00 | StarCom Racing | GEORGE CHURCH |
| 35 | JJ YELEY | 51 | Petty Ware Racing | MIKE HILLMAN SR. |
| 36 | GARRETT SMITHLEY | 53 | Rick Ware Racing | BILLY PLOURDE |
| 37 | JAMES DAVISON | 15 | Rick Ware Racing | KEN EVANS |
| 38 | DAVID STARR | 66 | Motorsports Business Management | JOHNNY ROTEN |