In a Friday (Sept. 16) qualifying session at Bristol Motor Speedway that saw four drivers break the 15-second barrier, it was Aric Almirola who prevailed with a speed of 128.382 mph. It is the fourth Cup Series pole in Almirola’s career, and his first since Nashville Superspeedway in 2021.
Almirola’s best finish from the pole is fourth, and he will look to better that in Saturday night’s (Sept. 17) race.
Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Chase Briscoe will join Almirola on the front row in second, while Alex Bowman will start third after leading 107 laps at Kansas Speedway last weekend. Denny Hamlin was the highest-qualifying Toyota in fourth, while defending Bristol winner Kyle Larson will roll off fifth.
Ryan Blaney was the leading Team Penske car in sixth, while Kevin Harvick was the third SHR car to reach the final round of qualifying in seventh. Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric and Brad Keselowski completed the top 10.
With 36 entries, every driver qualified for the race.
NASCAR Cup Bristol Night Race qualifying results
The Bass Pro Shops Night Race will take place on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET, with TV coverage provided by USA Network.
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is “Stat Sheet,” and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Find Stephen on Twitter @stephen_stumpf