NASCAR at Bristol qualifying results, starting lineup: Ryan Blaney takes pole position at Food City 500

The defending Cup champion won his first pole since 2022

By Steven Taranto

Mar 16, 2024 at 8:00 pm ET • 2 min read

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BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Ryan Blaney won the pole for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday evening, putting down a lap of 15.356 (124.954 MPH) in the final round of qualifying to win his first pole of the 2024 season and his first pole since Richmond in the spring of 2022. Blaney's pole is also the 10th of the 2023 Cup champion's career.

Blaney prevailed in what proved to be a treacherous qualifying session, as the concrete surface of Bristol Motor Speedway wasted no time in reintroducing itself to the field. The track changed dramatically from the end of practice to the start of qualifying, with the resin in the inside lane suddenly providing little grip. Multiple drivers had to save their cars when they got out of shape, with the most dramatic save belonging to Carson Hocevar coming off of turn 2.

Hang on, @CarsonHocevar! 😳 pic.twitter.com/9yGEMMeDCN
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 16, 2024

While Hocevar narrowly avoided sending his No. 77 Chevrolet into the backstretch wall, another Rookie of the Year contender ended up being one of the stars of qualifying. Josh Berry put his short track prowess on full display with a lap of 15.376, earning the outside pole and the best starting spot of his career. Berry's second place qualifying effort gave Ford its third sweep of the front row in five Cup Series races this season, and Blaney's pole gives Ford Performance its fourth pole in five races to start the year.

The lone car to find trouble in Saturday's practice and qualifying session was Ty Gibbs, whose recent hot streak took a bit of a turn when he shot up the racetrack and hit the turn 2 wall. Gibbs, who is coming off a career-best third place finish last week at Phoenix, ended up qualifying 19th.

Here's a look at the hit for Ty Gibbs in Bristol: https://t.co/k8DWyRDjBT pic.twitter.com/aBDQHDVeTz
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 16, 2024

Denny Hamlin, who won the most recent Cup race at Bristol last September, was the fastest Toyota and will start third on Sunday. Chase Elliott, the fastest Chevrolet, will roll off fifth.