Apr 11, 2026, 11:38 PM ET<\/p>\n
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Ryan Blaney<\/a> captured his first NASCAR Cup Series pole position since last August, bumping points leader Tyler Reddick<\/a> from the top spot in qualifying Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n Blaney turned a 127.064-mph lap to qualify first for the 13th time in 386 career starts. His previous pole was 19 starts ago at Watkins Glen International last season.<\/p>\n The Team Penske driver also started on pole at Bristol two years ago. He has led 585 laps at the track, the most of any Cup driver without a win on the 0.533-mile oval.<\/p>\n “Cool start to the weekend,” the 2023 Cup champion said. “Now we’ve got to do it for 500 laps. Should be fun. I think we’re going to have a handful, and everyone’s going to be like that keeping up with the racetrack.”<\/p>\n Reddick, who won four of the first six races this season, qualified a career-best second at Bristol, where he had started no better than 12th in nine previous starts.<\/p>\n “We got into Turn 3 on the money lap pretty good, and I just oversent it a little bit with a big correction,” said the 23XI Racing driver, who has 12 career wins but is seeking his first victory at a short track in NASCAR’s premier series. “I was concerned that I left some on the table there, and that’s definitely where we gave it up to (Blaney).”<\/p>\n Chase Briscoe<\/a> qualified third, followed by Riley Herbst<\/a> and Ty Gibbs<\/a> as Toyotas took the four starting spots behind Blaney’s No. 12 Ford.<\/p>\n Ross Chastain<\/a> qualified sixth but lost his choice of pit selection and had a crew member ejected because his No. 1 Chevrolet failed inspection twice. The same penalty befell Kyle Larson<\/a>, who qualified eighth after his No. 5 Chevy failed inspection twice.<\/p>\n