BRISTOL, Tenn. – In a stunning display of skill, AJ Allmendinger beat the NASCAR Cup Series playoff drivers at Bristol Motor Speedway, securing the pole position for the crucial first-round elimination race, which will be held Saturday night on the 0.533-mile oval. Allmendinger, from the Kaulig Racing team, secured the first starting position for the first time in a decade, completing a lap in 15.117 seconds (126.930 mph) on Friday in his No. 16 Chevrolet. With this fifth career pole position in the Cup Series, and the first since August 2015 at Watkins Glen, the experienced 43-year-old driver became the oldest driver to win a pole at Bristol since Mark Martin, who achieved it at 50 years old in 2009.
Ryan Blaney, for his part, will start from second position, just 0.003 seconds behind the pole in his No. 12 Ford. Despite this, the Team Penske driver is in a solid position to add the 15 necessary points and secure his place in the second round, thanks to his fourth start on the front row this season.Getting a pole in Bristol is incredible. Let’s hope we can maintain that pace for the 500 laps. I know it’s a Friday night qualifying and it doesn’t award points or money, but they are small victories like this for our team, which is constantly growing. Days like today are pleasant and give me confidence because I feel like I can still do it. It shows that I can be here.
AJ Allmendinger
Austin Cindric, Blaney’s teammate, qualified third, followed by Ty Gibbs and Kyle Larson, who is seeking his third consecutive victory at Bristol. Cindric is in 12th place in the standings, 11 points above the cut line, before the 500-lap race that will eliminate four of the 16 playoff drivers.I think our car is very good for the long run and I’m looking forward to Saturday night. Overall, I’m proud of the effort, and being so close to the pole is a good day.
Ryan Blaney
Playoff drivers rounded out the rest of the top 10 in the standings: Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Josh Berry, and Christopher Bell. The finishing positions of other playoff drivers are as follows: Ross Chastain 13th, Tyler Reddick 14th, Alex Bowman 15th, Chase Elliott 16th, Joey Logano 22nd, Austin Dillon 23rd, and Shane van Gisbergen 28th.It’s the first box checked, but nothing is guaranteed from here. I feel like we did our job on Friday. This sets us up well to try and keep controlling our destiny for the end of the race.
Austin Cindric
