Chase Elliott tops William Byron for Bristol pole

Ryan Blaney actually set a track qualifying record in Round 2 of Friday’s qualifying session at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, but Elliott was fastest in the final round.

Elliott’s average lap speed of 131.389 mph topped William Byron (131.371 mph) and Blaney (131.182 mph).  Erik Jones was fourth and Denny Hamlin completed the top-five.

The pole is the first for Elliott this season and fifth of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career. All four of his previous Cup poles have come on superspeedways.

"I've been wanting a pole outside of Daytona and Talladega for quite some time now. I was able to deliver a pole to my team that really deserved it more than one time over the years," Elliott said. "I felt like I hadn't  played my part.

"It was nice to give my guys one today from that standpoint. I had a fast NAPA Chevy. I had a solid lap in that last round. I think Ryan (Blaney) probably threw me a bone, it looked like he may have messed up. He had a pretty good lap going.

"We have some work to do tomorrow to be really good on Sunday but I think it's doable. The starting spot is great, but it's just a starting spot. The first pit stall is probably more important than that. Hopefully, we'll give ourselves a chance."

Rounding out the top 12 starters are Aric Almirola, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman and Brad Keselowski.

Round 2

Blaney set a new track qualifying lap while leading the second round of knockout qualifying.

Blaney’s average lap speed of 132.076 mph topped Elliott (131.389 mph) and Almirola (131.200 mph). Jones and Byron completed the top-five.

Also advancing to the final round were Johnson, Bowyer, Logano, Keselowski, Hamlin, Newman and Menard.

Most teams didn’t attempt their qualifying runs until less than four minutes remained in the 10-minute session.

Among those who failed to advance to the final round were Kevin Harvick, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.

“We just got too tight there. Our teammates were fast like always,” Bowman said. “This is a good place for us so I hope we can race strong.”

Larson, who ended up 16th, said he wished he had gone out earlier so perhaps he would have had more time to make a second run in the round.

Several drivers complained about the application of the PJ1 track compound this weekend, saying its inconsistent use makes it difficult for teams to learn what they need to go faster.

Round 1

Blaney, who was fastest in Friday’s practice, led the way in the first 10-minute session of knockout qualifying.

Blaney’s average lap speed of 130.789 mph edged Almirola (130.575 mph) and Johnson (130.557 mph). Bowyer was fourth and Larson completed the top-five.

Rounding out the top-10 were Jones, Stenhouse, Elliott, Hamlin and Bowman.

Most teams waited until there was less than four minutes left in the session before attempting their qualifying runs.

Among those who failed to advance to the second round were Chris Buescher, Daniel Hemric, Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Preece.

“The car was loose and we didn’t get a good time,” Kurt Busch, a six-time winner at the track, said. “I did one lap, that’s all I got.”

Cla	#	Driver		Manufacturer	Time	Gap	Mph
1	9	Chase Elliott		Chevrolet	14.568		131.713
2	24	William Byron		Chevrolet	14.606	0.038	131.371
3	12	Ryan Blaney		Ford	14.627	0.059	131.182
4	20	Erik Jones		Toyota	14.641	0.073	131.057
5	11	Denny Hamlin		Toyota	14.681	0.113	130.700
6	10	Aric Almirola		Ford	14.692	0.124	130.602
7	22	Joey Logano		Ford	14.734	0.166	130.229
8	14	Clint Bowyer		Ford	14.741	0.173	130.168
9	21	Paul Menard		Ford	14.757	0.189	130.026
10	48	Jimmie Johnson		Chevrolet	14.780	0.212	129.824
11	6	Ryan Newman		Ford	14.801	0.233	129.640
12	2	Brad Keselowski		Ford	14.803	0.235	129.622
13	4	Kevin Harvick		Ford	14.706	0.138	130.477
14	88	Alex Bowman		Chevrolet	14.706	0.138	130.477
15	3	Austin Dillon		Chevrolet	14.729	0.161	130.274
16	42	Kyle Larson		Chevrolet	14.734	0.166	130.229
17	18	Kyle Busch		Toyota	14.780	0.212	129.824
18	34	Michael McDowell		Ford	14.784	0.216	129.789
19	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.		Ford	14.799	0.231	129.657
20	41	Daniel Suarez		Ford	14.809	0.241	129.570
21	95	Matt DiBenedetto		Toyota	14.834	0.266	129.351
22	38	David Ragan		Ford	14.838	0.270	129.317
23	19	Martin Truex Jr.		Toyota	14.854	0.286	129.177
24	13	Ty Dillon		Chevrolet	14.951	0.383	128.339
25	37	Chris Buescher		Chevrolet	14.914	0.346	128.658
26	8	Daniel Hemric		Chevrolet	14.926	0.358	128.554
27	1	Kurt Busch		Chevrolet	14.955	0.387	128.305
28	43	Darrell Wallace Jr.		Chevrolet	14.957	0.389	128.288
29	36	Matt Tifft		Ford	14.987	0.419	128.031
30	47	Ryan Preece		Chevrolet	15.078	0.510	127.258
31	00	Landon Cassill		Chevrolet	15.156	0.588	126.603
32	32	Corey Lajoie		Ford	15.268	0.700	125.675
33	51	Gray Gaulding		Chevrolet	15.280	0.712	125.576
34	52	Bayley Currey		Ford	15.495	0.927	123.833
35	66	Timmy Hill		Toyota	15.741	1.173	121.898
36	77	Quin Houff		Chevrolet	16.656	2.088	115.202
37	15	Ross Chastain		Chevrolet