Larson Speeds To Dominant Bristol Xfinity Series Pole

Kyle Larson at the pole board at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Wyatt Tinsley/Race Face Digital photo)

BRISTOL, Tenn. – One day after coming oh-so-close to starting his Bristol Motor Speedway weekend with a win, Kyle Larson struck back in NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying.

Larson went out late at the half-mile concrete high banks and comfortably outdistanced the competition, setting a time of 15.194 seconds (126.287 mph) in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet that was nearly a tenth of a second better than his nearest rival.

It gave Larson his eighth career Kennametal Pole Award in the Xfinity Series and his third Bristol pole at NASCAR’s second highest level.

“It was smooth the first lap, so I knew it was either going to be good or not good,” Larson said. “I got loose the second lap … but when the first lap was so smooth, I honestly thought, ‘Well, I must be slow.’ I pushed a bit more, and then I heard down the back(stretch) that we got the pole, so I bailed from there.

“Awesome pole run for the HendrickCars.com Chevy … it’s a good start and my car felt good in race trim too, so if we can keep on top of the track (changes) and know where the lanes are going when we get to traffic, I think we’ll be able to have a really good day.”

Joining Larson on the front row is 18-year-old rookie sensation Connor Zilisch, whose JR Motorsports entry toured Bristol in 15.272 seconds (125.642 mph) to put him second overall.

Another JRM rookie in Carson Kvapil rolls off third (15.306/125.363) alongside defending series champion Justin Allgaier (15.369/124.849), with Ryan Sieg rounding out the top five in the fastest Ford on the property.

Sixth was Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer, followed by Big Machine Racing’s Nick Sanchez, JRM’s Sammy Smith, Alpha Prime Racing’s Parker Retzlaff, and AM Racing’s Harrison Burton.

Notables starting deeper in the field include Taylor Gray (11th), Jesse Love (13th), and three of the four Dash 4 Cash-eligible drivers in Austin Hill (18th), Sheldon Creed (21st), and Brennan Poole (23rd).

Multi-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Justin Bonsignore, back in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as part of his limited schedule this season, starts 29th after a struggle on his time trial lap.

Tyler Tomassi scraped the wall in practice and his MBM Motorsports entry suffered a broken control arm, leaving him unable to make a qualifying attempt and as the lone driver who failed to make the field.

Broadcast coverage of the SciAps 300 is slated for 5 p.m. ET, live on The CW, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.