RELATED: Qualifying results | See every car | Full schedule for Bristol
Rookie Erik Jones scooted to his first Coors Light Pole Award in Friday qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Jones, 21, guided the Furniture Row Racing No. 77 Toyota to a fast lap of 128.082 mph in the final round of elimination-style time trials, claiming the first starting position for Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). His first career pole comes as he prepares for his 27th start in NASCAR’s top division.
“I was hoping we were going to be able to accomplish a few things this year and this was one of our goals – at least one of my goals for sure,” Jones said. “Pretty awesome you know, especially at Bristol. It’s a cool place to get your first pole.”
Kyle Larson, second in the standings and last week’s winner at Michigan International Speedway, secured the second-fastest lap at the .533-mile track, driving the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet to a 128.057 mph clocking. He wound up just .003 seconds off Jones’ pole-winning time.
“I wish I could have gone just a few thousandths faster, but ended up second,” said Larson, a three-time winner this season. “So, not bad. I really wanted that pole there just because I was doing something different than everybody, but we’ll start on the front row tomorrow and hopefully be there at the end.”
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kasey Kahne and Chase Elliott qualified third and fourth respectively, with four-time Bristol winner Matt Kenseth completing the top five.
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Series points leader Martin Truex Jr. qualified sixth in the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota. Truex, who boasts a sizable lead in the standings, has a chance to clinch the regular-season championship in Saturday night’s 500-lapper.
A handful of top-tier drivers surprisingly failed to advance past the first round of knockout qualifying. Kurt Busch just missed the 24-driver cut-off, and will start 25th on Saturday night. His Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick also logged a subpar 29th-fastest lap, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is scheduled to start 31st in what’s likely his final Bristol race.
Timmy Hill, driving the MBM Motorsports No. 66 Chevrolet, failed to qualify for the 40-car field.