Cole Custer didn’t even have to capture the victory in his heat race to win the pole for Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, capturing his first career pole position in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The Ladera Ranch, California-native started Saturday’s first 15-lap heat race from last (ninth), strategically moving his way through the pack to finish in second place, only 1.511 seconds behind Tyler Reddick.
Christopher Bell, the winner of the evening’s second heat race, will start on the outside of the front row on Sunday, collecting four passing points after starting the heat in fifth.
Tyler Reddick will start in third, with Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson rounding out the top-five. Justin Haley, Ty Dillon, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, and Joey Logano will complete the top-10 starters.
The four NASCAR Cup Series heats were more eventful than that of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, with multiple spins over the course of 60 laps around the 0.533-mile dirt oval.
Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain were both the victims of loose cars in the first heat race, suffering single-car spins throughout the 15-lap event. Chastain’s teammate, Daniel Suarez, also suffered a spin in the second heat race.
Heat 1 Winner: 8 – Tyler Reddick (RESULTS)
Heat 2 Winner: 20 – Christopher Bell (RESULTS)
Heat 3 Winner: 31 – Justin Haley (RESULTS)
Heat 4 Winner: 42 – Ty Dillon (RESULTS)
