RELATED: Full starting lineup
Denny Hamlin was the car to beat in Friday’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway, leading all three rounds en route to his first career XFINITY pole at the Tennessee short track. Hamlin rounded the 0.533-mile oval at 126.896 mph in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Hamlin’s JGR teammate Kyle Busch will also start on the front row in tonight’s Food City 300 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Busch used a fast lap of 126.312 mph to snag the runner-up spot in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Kevin Harvick, piloting the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend, will roll off the grid third (126.021 mph), while Richard Childress Racing‘s Brian Scott will start fourth (125.996 mph). Points leader Chris Buescher rounded out the top five in his No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford with a fast lap of 125.699 mph.
Practice leader Brendan Gaughan advanced to the second round, but wasn’t able to make the final round and will start 15th in tonight’s event.
Reigning series champion Chase Elliott advanced to the the final round and will roll off the grid 10th tonight.