Qualifying report
NASCAR Cup Bristol
Chase Elliott tops William Byron for Bristol pole
Chase Elliott saved his best for last and ended up with the pole.
Jim Utter
Edited: Apr 5, 2019, 11:30 PM
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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
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