Erik Jones‘ quest to become the first NASCAR XFINITY Series regular to sweep the two series races at Bristol Motor Speedway will begin from the front of the field. As it turns out, his greatest competitors will likely be teammates.
Jones used a 15.002-second lap late in Coors Light Pole Qualifying to jump ahead of teammate Kyle Busch and claim the pole for the Friday’s Food City 300 at Bristol, his 10th-career NXS pole and a rookie record seventh pole of 2016.
Following Jones in the starting lineup are his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Busch and Daniel Suarez. Busch’s 15.041-second circuit led the way for much of the session before dropping to second, while Suarez’s late time of 15.173 seconds elevated him to third.
Brandon Jones (15.191) and Austin Dillon (15.244) completed the top five, with Darrell Wallace, Jr., Kyle Larson, Justin Allgaier, Regan Smith and Ty Dillon rounding out the top 10.
Gray Gaulding will start 21st in his XFINIY Series debut with Roush Fenway Racing. Joining Gaulding in row 11 will be teammate Ryan Reed.
Timmy Hill was the lone driver to fail to qualify for the event.
Coverage for the Food City 300 will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
Aaron Bearden is a Frontstretch alumnus who’s come back home as the site’s Short Track Editor. When he isn’t working with our grassroots writers, he can be found talking about racing on his Morning Warmup newsletter, pestering his wife/dog or convincing himself the Indiana Pacers can win an NBA title.