BRISTOL, Tenn. — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images for NASCAR photo —
Joe Gibbs Racing’s stranglehold on the NASCAR XFINITY Series qualifying podium may have finally been broken on Saturday morning at Bristol Motor Speedway, but the organization still scored its sixth-straight series pole thanks to a flying lap by Byron, Michigan’s Erik Jones.
Jones took the No. 20 Toyota to the top of the charts in rounds two and three of Coors Light Pole Qualifying, but it was his lap of 15.239 seconds (125.914 mph) on the final run that landed him his fifth career 21 Means 21 Pole Award and second at ‘The Last Great Coliseum’.
“Starting up front is big at Bristol, whether it’s in a heat or in the main, so this run was big for us,” Jones said. “It’s nice to be able to start up front. Hopefully we can stay there in the main as well. It’s a really good car and that was a really fast lap for us, thanks to a good adjustment we made before the last round. Pretty cool to get a pole here at Bristol … and hopefully we get some good momentum going for the rest of the day.”
By virtue of his top qualifying effort, Jones will lead Qualifying Heat 1 to the green flag this afternoon, in advance of the 200-lap main event as part of NASCAR’s new Dash 4 Cash format in 2016.
Odd-numbered qualifiers will make up the starting lineup for the first 50-lap heat, while even-numbered qualifiers line the grid for the second 50-lap heat. The finishing orders of each heat race will set their respective files (inside and outside) for the feature.
Austin Dillon posted the second-fastest qualifying time in the final round, a lap of 15.284 seconds (125.543 mph), which places him on the pole for heat two in his No. 2 Rheem Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.
Dillon’s run not only gives him a solid starting position for his heat, it also ended JGR’s string of five consecutive sweeps of the top three positions in qualifying.
“It’s going to be an interesting day,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it because we’ve got a really fast car. We’ve worked hard on it. I think this is one of the best cars we’ve brought to the track all year long. … I feel like today we’ve got a car capable of winning, so we’ll do our best to stay up front and maybe win one of these heat races, and then see where it goes from there.”
Former Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Kyle Larson was third (15.337/125.109) for Chip Ganassi Racing, while Daniel Suarez’s Toyota ended the final round fourth-fastest (15.347/125.028). The duo will start on the outside pole for their respective heats.
The final round, however, saw problems for Suarez after he washed up the race track and brushed the wall exiting turn two, just moments following his quick lap around the 0.533-mile oval.
“We were having some issues (before the last round),” Suarez admitted. “My car kept tighter, so we made a big adjustment that made it better, but it started getting looser on us. I knew my second lap was a good one, but I went to do the third lap just in case and I got too loose, up into the marbles. Once you’re up there, there’s nothing you can do.”
“I didn’t hit the wall, I just gave a little scratch to the race car. I’m still excited for our heat race, and being able to watch what goes on in the first heat to come up with a game plan for how to get to the front.”
Three-time season pole winner Kyle Busch rounded out the Fast Five, followed by Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Aric Almirola, Brandon Jones, Ty Dillon, Ross Chastain and Kevin Harvick.
Brendan Gaughan was the first car that failed to advance to the final round of qualifying, missing the cutoff by 0.008 of a second in his No. 62 South Point Hotel and Casino Chevrolet.
Gaughan had an exciting first round, bumping out Dakoda Armstrong on his final timed lap to advance, but said an issue in his first run ultimately kept him from moving on to round three. The Las Vegas native will roll off seventh in Heat 1.
“First, I have to apologize to my team. I screwed up in the first round and got a whole bunch of marbles all over our Goodyear tires,” Gaughan explained. “It took me the whole second round to get them cleaned off, and by then it was too late. The reason we didn’t make the third round is all on me today — we had a better South Point Chevy than that.”
“Now though? It’s 50 laps for the heats. You just have to race the hell out of it; you can’t save anything.”
Other notables qualifying outside the top dozen include Blake Koch (14th), Darrell Wallace Jr. (15th), opening round leader Jeb Burton (16th), Brennan Poole (17th), Elliott Sadler (19th), Ryan Reed (21st), Ryan Preece (26th) and Matt Tifft (29th).
With 42 cars on the grounds at Bristol, two drivers — Morgan Shepherd and Carl Long — failed to qualify for the remainder of the race program.
Heat racing for the NASCAR XFINITY Series kicks off at noon ET, live on FOX Sports 1.
RESULTS: NASCAR XFINITY Series; Coors Light Pole Qualifying; Bristol Motor Speedway; April 16, 2016
- Erik Jones
- Austin Dillon
- Kyle Larson
- Daniel Suarez
- Kyle Busch
- Joey Logano
- Justin Allgaier
- Aric Almirola
- Brandon Jones
- Ty Dillon
- Ross Chastain
- Kevin Harvick
- Brendan Gaughan
- Blake Koch
- Darrell Wallace Jr.
- Jeb Burton
- Brennan Poole
- Ryan Sieg
- Elliott Sadler
- Mario Gosselin
- Ryan Reed
- Jeremy Clements
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Josh Wise
- Dakoda Armstrong
- Ryan Preece
- Jeff Green
- J.J. Yeley
- Matt Tifft
- David Starr
- Brandon Gdovic
- B.J. McLeod
- Joey Gase
- Ray Black Jr.
- Harrison Rhodes
- Garrett Smithley
- Timmy Hill
- Ryan Ellis
- Mike Harmon
- Derrike Cope
DNQ: Morgan Shepherd, Carl Long.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network. Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: speed77radio@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
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