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Bass Pro Shops night race qualifying at Bristol

Rod Mullins

Erik Jones picked up his first career pole in qualifying for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night..

erik jonesJones was first with a speed of 128.082 mph, placing Kyle Larson in the second qualifying position with Hendrick Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne third, teammate Chase Elliott in fourth and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Matt Kenseth rounding out the top five.

Qualifying was a surprise and disappointment for several teams as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. did not qualify in the top tier of the elimination rounds and relegated to a 31st starting spot in his last Bristol night race.  Kyle Busch was looking for a triple sweep on the weekend when it came to the pole but was knocked out of contention in the second round of qualifying and forced to start 18th on Saturday night.

Erik Jones’ teammate and current Cup points leader Martin Truex Jr. qualified sixth, with Denny Hamlin in seventh, Joey Logano in eighth, Clint Bowyer in ninth and Ryan Blaney rounding out the top-10. Other notables included Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. qualifying 14th, Chris Buescher 15th, and Trevor Bayne rounding out the top 20.

The green flag drops on the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night at 7:30 PM.

Story by Rod Mullins/Augusta Free Press

Rod Mullins

Rod Mullins

Rod Mullins covers NASCAR for AFP, and co-hosts the mid-week “Street Knowledge” focusing on NASCAR with AFP editor Chris Graham. A graduate of UVA-Wise, Rod began his career in journalism as a reporter for The Cumberland Times, later became the program director/news director/on-air morning show host for WNVA in Norton, Va., and in the early 1990s served as the sports information director at UVA-Wise and was the radio “Voice of the Highland Cavaliers” for football and basketball for seven seasons. In 1995, Rod transitioned to public education, where he has worked as a high school English, literature, and creative writing teacher and now serves as a school program coordinator in addition to serving as a mentor for the robotics team.