AJ ALLMENDINGER! HOW ABOUT THAT?!
After a stellar lap in Friday’s single-vehicle qualifying session from Bristol Motor Speedway, AJ Allmendinger has secured his fifth pole in the NASCAR Cup Series, and his first since August 2015 at Watkins Glen International.
It’s just the second pole position for Kaulig Racing at NASCAR’s top level, with the first being last October at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL, with Shane Van Gisbergen.
Allmendinger, a non-playoff driver, will have 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney starting alongside him for Saturday evening’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race.
Austin Cindric, the driver who enters the playoffs sitting on the cutline, will start from third, with Ty Gibbs fourth and Kyle Larson — the winner of the last two events at Bristol Motor Speedway — rounding out the top five.
Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, and Josh Berry will round out the top-10 starters.
Other drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs that failed to qualify inside the top-10 for the 500-lap gauntlet around ‘The World’s Fastest Half-Mile’ include: Ross Chastain (P13), Tyler Reddick (P14), Alex Bowman (P15), Chase Elliott (P16), Joey Logano (P22), Austin Dillon (P23), Shane Van Gisbergen (P28), Chase Briscoe (P31).
The Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway will take place on Saturday, September 13 at 7:30 PM ET on USA Network, Performance Racing Network (PRN), and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Bass Pro Shops Night Race Starting Lineup:
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Diff | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet | 15.117 | 0.000 | 126.930 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske Menards / Sylvania Ford | 15.120 | 0.003 | 126.905 |
| 3 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske Discount Tire Ford | 15.132 | 0.015 | 126.804 |
| 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing Monster Energy Toyota | 15.142 | 0.025 | 126.720 |
| 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 15.148 | 0.031 | 126.670 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing King's Hawaiian Toyota | 15.191 | 0.074 | 126.312 |
| 7 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports Raptor Coatings Chevrolet | 15.206 | 0.089 | 126.187 |
| 8 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing Robinhood Toyota | 15.208 | 0.091 | 126.170 |
| 9 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing DEWALT Toyota | 15.214 | 0.097 | 126.121 |
| 10 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford | 15.214 | 0.097 | 126.121 |
| 11 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | HYAK Motorsports NOS Energy Chevrolet | 15.220 | 0.103 | 126.071 |
| 12 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports Delaware Life Chevrolet | 15.222 | 0.105 | 126.054 |
| 13 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Moose Fraternity Chevrolet | 15.239 | 0.122 | 125.914 |
| 14 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing Pinnacle Toyota | 15.246 | 0.129 | 125.856 |
| 15 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports Ally Racing Open Road Sweepstakes Chevrolet | 15.258 | 0.141 | 125.757 |
| 16 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 15.271 | 0.154 | 125.650 |
| 17 | 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports NationsGuard Chevrolet | 15.272 | 0.155 | 125.642 |
| 18 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing Castrol / TA Centers of America Ford | 15.273 | 0.156 | 125.633 |
| 19 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota | 15.273 | 0.156 | 125.633 |
| 20 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing Kroger / SToK Ford | 15.281 | 0.164 | 125.568 |
| 21 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing Fastenal Ford | 15.290 | 0.173 | 125.494 |
| 22 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske Shell-Pennzoil Ford | 15.298 | 0.181 | 125.428 |
| 23 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing Bass Pro Shops / Winchester Chevrolet | 15.332 | 0.215 | 125.150 |
| 24 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports Long John Silver's Ford | 15.344 | 0.227 | 125.052 |
| 25 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports Gainbridge Chevrolet | 15.361 | 0.244 | 124.914 |
| 26 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team HaasTooling.com Ford | 15.375 | 0.258 | 124.800 |
| 27 | 43 | Erik Jones | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Dollar Tree Toyota | 15.388 | 0.271 | 124.695 |
| 28 | 88 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing Wendy's Breakfast Baconator Chevrolet | 15.396 | 0.279 | 124.630 |
| 29 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing Monster Energy Toyota | 15.397 | 0.280 | 124.622 |
| 30 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports Rush Truck Centers Ford | 15.402 | 0.285 | 124.581 |
| 31 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 15.431 | 0.314 | 124.347 |
| 32 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing Lucas Oil Chevrolet | 15.432 | 0.315 | 124.339 |
| 33 | 33 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing United States Chevrolet | 15.480 | 0.363 | 123.953 |
| 34 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing Arby's Ford | 15.600 | 0.483 | 123.000 |
| 35 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing Freeway Insurance Chevrolet | 15.612 | 0.495 | 122.905 |
| 36 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports Love's Travel Stops Ford | 15.631 | 0.514 | 122.756 |
| 37 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet | 15.657 | 0.540 | 122.552 |
| 38 | 67 | Corey Heim | 23XI Racing Robinhood Toyota | 15.673 | 0.556 | 122.427 |
| 39 | 66 | Chad Finchum | Garage 66 Barger Precast Ford | 16.054 | 0.937 | 119.522 |
