In a night full of emotions at the Bristol Motor Speedway, AJ Allmendinger, from Kaulig Racing, surprised everyone by securing the pole position for the elimination race of the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series. Allmendinger demonstrated his skill behind the wheel, setting a time of 15.117 seconds (126.930 mph) in his No. 16 Chevrolet.This victory represents Allmendinger’s first pole in a decade and the fifth of his career in the Cup Series. In addition, at 43 years old, he became the oldest driver to win a pole in Bristol since Mark Martin in 2009.
Ryan Blaney finished second, just 0.003 seconds off the pole, and is in a solid position to secure his place in the second round. Austin Cindric, Blaney’s teammate, qualified third, followed by Ty Gibbs and Kyle Larson, who is seeking his third consecutive victory at Bristol.Cindric, currently 12th in the standings, is 11 points above the cut line for the 500-lap race that will eliminate four of the 16 playoff drivers.Getting a pole in Bristol is amazing. I hope we can keep this pace for the 500 laps. Although it’s a Friday night qualifying and doesn’t award points or money, they are small victories like this for our ever-growing race team. Days like today are nice and give me confidence because I feel like I can still do it. It shows that I can be here.
AJ Allmendinger
Playoff drivers Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Josh Berry, and Christopher Bell rounded out the top 10 in the standings.Other playoff drivers who failed to make the top 10 were 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’ve done our work for Friday. This sets us up well to try and continue controlling our destiny for the end of the race.
Austin Cindric
