BRISTOL, Tenn. – Friday evening at Bristol Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports swept the front row in qualifying for the second week in a row.
Chase Elliott captured the pole, the fifth of his career and his first this season. His final-round time was 14.568 with a speed of 131.713 mph.
“It’s awesome,” Elliott said. “I’ve really been wanting a pole outside of Daytona and Talladega for a long time now. So, I feel like I was finally able to contribute from my end a little bit more and get a pole that my team certainly deserves.”
Joining him on the front row will be William Byron, who captured the outside pole for the second week in a row. It’s the third time this season he has started on the front row – he also earned the pole position for the Daytona 500.
"To be one-two for Hendrick Motorsports two weeks in a row; I hate to be on the second end of it, but it’s still fun to start on the front row," Byron said. "I feel like we’re making huge strides in the speed of our cars and it just makes things easier at the track."
Jimmie Johnson will join his teammates inside the top 10 to start Sunday’s race after also advancing to the final round and qualifying 10th. Alex Bowman qualified 14th.
Friday’s pole was Hendrick Motorsports’ 218th in the NASCAR Cup Series, with 19 drivers accounting for those poles. It’s the organization’s 12th pole at Bristol Motor Speedway, and Elliott becomes the fifth driver to contribute a Bristol pole to Hendrick Motorsports.
With Elliott and Byron on the front row, it’s the third time this season the organization has swept the front row in qualifying.
“We’ve got a fast NAPA Chevy,” Elliott said. “I appreciate everybody’s efforts at Hendrick Motorsports and the engine department and the chassis shop and everybody back home. They’ve been working really hard to try to get better and this is a big deal."
Sunday’s 500-lap race at Bristol is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
"This is fun," Byron said, "so hopefully we can keep it going on Sunday.”