There are thrills, spills and everything in between when racers trade the open space of a superspeedway for the tight turns and close quarters of the half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway.
It’s an experience unlike any other in the sport. And with just one race left before the playoff field is cut from 16 drivers to 12, competitors have to show a willingness to go that extra mile (no pun intended) to cement their spot in the next round of the postseason.
It’s hard to look past short-track dynamos like Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney in this year’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race. Hamlin and Larson have combined for six top-two finishes at the 0.533-mile track. And Blaney, despite never nabbing a win on the Bristol concrete, has led significant number of laps on it — 45 circuits last year and more than 100 on three other occasions.MORE: Watch NASCAR playoff racing live with fuboTV (free trial)
With that, here’s everything you need to know about the starting lineup for Saturday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway after Friday’s qualifying session.Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Bristol?
Aric Almirola, a non-playoff driver, took the pole for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway with a 14.946-second lap time in the final round of qualifying. He was 22 one-thousandths of a second faster than his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, who qualified second.
14.946 seconds of perfection from @Aric_Almirola!#BuschLightPole | @BMSupdates pic.twitter.com/CwzzbtJtvQ
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 16, 2022
This is Almirola’s first pole of the season and the fourth of his career.
Final group results
| Finish | Driver | Lap time (sec.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Aric Almirola | 14.946 |
| 2. | Chase Briscoe | 14.968 |
| 3. | Alex Bowman | 14.970 |
| 4. | Denny Hamlin | 14.998 |
| 5. | Kyle Larson | 15.001 |
| 6. | Ryan Blaney | 15.008 |
| 7. | Kevin Harvick | 15.030 |
| 8. | Christopher Bell | 15.057 |
| 9. | Austin Cindric | 15.078 |
| 10. | Brad Keselowski | 15.083 |
Starting lineup for Bristol race
Stewart-Haas Racing will lead the 36-car field to green in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol, the final race of the Round of 16. Teammates Aric Almirola and Chase Briscoe qualified 1-2 for the 500-lap race. Briscoe needed a big qualifying effort; he came into the week nine points below the Round of 12 cut line.
Stewart-Haas’ Kevin Harvick qualified seventh. Harvick is last in the playoff standings, 35 points out of the 12th spot.
| Starting pos. | Driver | Car No. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 2 | Chase Briscoe (P) | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 3 | Alex Bowman (P) | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 4 | Denny Hamlin (P) | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6 | Ryan Blaney (P) | 12 | Team Penske |
| 7 | Kevin Harvick (P) | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 8 | Christopher Bell (P) | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 9 | Austin Cindric (P) | 2 | Team Penske |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing |
| 11 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 12 | Ross Chastain (P) | 1 | Trackhouse Racing |
| 13 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | Kaulig Racing |
| 14 | Bubba Wallace | 45 | 23XI Racing |
| 15 | Joey Logano (P) | 22 | Team Penske |
| 16 | William Byron (P) | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 17 | Tyler Reddick (P) | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 18 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 19 | Justin Haley | 31 | Kaulig Racing |
| 20 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing |
| 21 | Kyle Busch (P) | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 22 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 23 | Chase Elliott (P) | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 24 | Erik Jones | 43 | Petty GMS Motorsports |
| 25 | Ty Gibbs | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 26 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 27 | Harrison Burton | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 28 | Austin Dillon (P) | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 29 | Daniel Suarez (P) | 99 | Trackhouse Racing |
| 30 | Todd Gilliland | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 31 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 32 | Cody Ware | 51 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 33 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 34 | Ty Dillon | 42 | Petty GMS Motorsports |
| 35 | Landon Cassill | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 36 | JJ Yeley | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
(P) Playoff driver.
