Elliott earns Bristol Pole

Chase Elliott
Chase Elliott

Chase Elliott surged ahead in the final round of Busch Pole Qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday to earn the pole for Sunday’s Food City 500 after the he sped his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet around the track at 131.713 mph.

It is Elliott’s first pole of the season and the fifth of his career.

Elliott’s mark was faster than the track record for qualifying of 131.668 mph set by Denny Hamlin on Aug. 19, 2016 … which Ryan Blaney had broken one round earlier.

William Byron will join his Hendrick Motorsports teammate on the front row Sunday (2 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) after circling the track in his No. 24 Chevrolet at 131.371 mph.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Blaney set the new track record in the second round of qualifying after surging his No. 12 Ford around the track at 132.076 mph — but fell behind in the final round of qualifying and will start third.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Erik Jones in the No. 20 (131.057 mph) and Denny Hamlin (130.700 mpg) round out the top five in qualifying.

Seven-time Bristol winner Kyle Busch did not advance to the final round of qualifying, managing a 17th starting spot after speeding his No. 18 JGR Toyota around the track at 129.824 mph. Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Daniel Suarez and Martin Truex Jr. were among drivers who were not among the 12 fastest in qualifying.

Kurt Busch, who will start 27th, was among those not advancing from the first round of qualifying. He is the most recent winner at the track, winning at Bristol in August 2018.

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Pole Winner

HOW BIG OF A DEAL IS IT FOR YOU TO GET THE POLE HERE AT BRISTOL?

“It’s awesome. I’ve really been wanting a pole outside of Daytona and Talladega for a long time now. So, I feel like I was finally able to contribute from my end a little bit more and get a pole that my team certainly deserves. We’ve got a fast NAPA Chevy. I appreciate everybody’s efforts at Hendrick Motorsports and the engine department and the chassis shop and everybody back home. They’ve been working really hard to try to get better and this is a big deal. We have some work to do, I think, for Sunday and we’ll go to work tomorrow and try to get it driving good for 500 laps. That’s a long time."

THERE WERE SO MANY UNKNOWNS. SOME WERE TIGHT AND OTHERS GOT LOOSE. WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE FOR YOU IN ROUND 3?

“Yeah, we were kind of tight. Every round, I feel like we got tighter. And we were freeing up as each round went, too. So, I actually thought we got a little behind for that last round. I kind of missed my lap. I didn’t feel like I got a perfect one and I was frustrated because I thought it could have been a little bit better. And as tight as it was, I was looking there at one point and a tenth and a half was separating first through 13th or 12th. So, a tight field when I was running around the bottom like that and I’m sure it’s going to change a lot for Sunday. It’s awesome. I’m happy to get a pole. It’s really cool. But it’s just a starting spot. So, we’ve got to go to work for race trim. Actually, I am excited. Take that back I am excited to have that first pit box. That’s a big deal. So, we’ll go to work Sunday."

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 2nd

YOU ARE ON THE FRONT ROW FOR THE THIRD TIME THIS SEASON

‘It’s awesome. To be one-two for Hendrick Motorsports two weeks in a row; I hate to be on the second end of it, but it’s still fun to start on the front row. I feel like we’re making huge strides in the speed of our cars and it just makes things easier at the track. I feel like (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) and I are starting to gel a little more. Thanks to Axalta and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports for this race car, and Chevrolet, obviously. This is fun so hopefully we can keep it going on Sunday."

Lineup

Pos No. Driver Team Time Speed
1 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 14.568 131.713
2 24 William Byron Axalta Chevrolet 14.606 131.371
3 12 Ryan Blaney PPG Ford 14.627 131.182
4 20 Erik Jones CRAFTSMAN Racing for a Miracle Toyota 14.641 131.057
5 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 14.681 130.700
6 10 Aric Almirola SHAZAM /Smithfield Ford 14.692 130.602
7 22 Joey Logano Autotrader Ford 14.734 130.229
8 14 Clint Bowyer Haas Automation Ford 14.741 130.168
9 21 Paul Menard Menards/Sylvania Ford 14.757 130.026
10 48 Jimmie Johnson Ally Chevrolet 14.780 129.824
11 6 Ryan Newman Wyndham Rewards Ford 14.801 129.640
12 2 Brad Keselowski Discount Tire Ford 14.803 129.622
13 4 Kevin Harvick Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford 14.706 130.477
14 88 Alex Bowman Nationwide Chevrolet 14.706 130.477
15 3 Austin Dillon Symbicort Chevrolet 14.729 130.274
16 42 Kyle Larson Credit One Bank Chevrolet 14.734 130.229
17 18 Kyle Busch Skittles Toyota 14.780 129.824
18 34 Michael McDowell Love's Travel Stops Ford 14.784 129.789
19 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. SunnyD Ford 14.799 129.657
20 41 Daniel Suarez Haas Automation Ford 14.809 129.570
21 95 Matt DiBenedetto LFR Pro League Toyota 14.834 129.351
22 38 David Ragan MDS Transport Ford 14.838 129.317
23 19 Martin Truex Jr. Auto Owners Insurance Toyota 14.854 129.177
24 13 Ty Dillon GEICO Chevrolet 14.951 128.339
25 37 Chris Buescher Bush's Beans Chevrolet 14.914 128.658
26 8 Daniel Hemric # Caterpillar/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 14.926 128.554
27 1 Kurt Busch Monster Energy Chevrolet 14.955 128.305
28 43 Bubba Wallace Blue-Emu Chevrolet 14.957 128.288
29 36 Matt Tifft # Surface Sunscreen/Tunity Ford 14.987 128.031
30 47 Ryan Preece # Kroger Chevrolet 15.078 127.258
31 00 Landon Cassill StarCom Fiber Chevrolet 15.156 126.603
32 32 Corey LaJoie DUDE Wipes Ford 15.268 125.675
33 51 Gray Gaulding(i) Jacob Companies Ford 15.280 125.576
34 52 Bayley Currey # Belmont Classic Cars Chevrolet 15.495 123.833
35 66 Timmy Hill(i) Toyota 15.741 121.898
36 77 Quin Houff FALCI Adaptve Motorsports Chevrolet 16.656 115.202
37 15 Ross Chastain(i) Rim Riderz Chevrolet 0.000 0.000

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