Ryan Blaney beats Josh Berry to NASCAR Cup pole at Bristol

Blaney, who was fastest in practice and in the first round of qualifying, backed it up with an average lap speed of 124.954 mph in the final round to earn his first pole since the 2022 season.

The reigning series champion’s most recent pole came at Richmond in April 2022. It’s the 10th pole of his career.

“I’m proud of this whole group. Our Ford Mustang was fast all day,” said Blaney, who ran just one qualifying lap in the first round. “We were really good in Round 1, made some adjustments for the second round.

“The track kind of caught everybody by surprise, honestly. The time fall-off, the grip loss behind the wheel was incredible. It was huge. So, it was like who can not mess up a lap and still put a decent time down.

“It was fun working through it. I wish I could even do it over again and make our car go better because I think there was still some more out there.”

Rookie Josh Berry ended up a surprising second (124.792 mph) while Denny Hamlin was third (124.178 mph). Joey Logano and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five.

Completing the top 10 starting lineup are Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell, William Byron, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson, who got loose during his final round qualifying attempt and nearly spun out.

Round 1 / Group B

Hamlin and Briscoe tied for the fastest lap in Group B (126.528 mph) with Hamlin gaining the position based on points.

Larson ended up third fastest (126.162 mph) and was one of just a handful of drivers to go quicker on their second lap.

Also advancing to the final round were Elliott and Berry.

“We lost a lot of grip really quick in practice. Luckily, we were able to get a lap fast enough to make it to the second round,” Berry said.

Among those who failed to move on were Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs and Tyler Reddick.

Round 1 / Group A

Blaney, who was fastest in Saturday’s practice, continued his quick pace in the first round of qualifying, leading the way at 126.787 mph.

Wallace was second quick (125.740 mph) while McDowell was third (124.727 mph).

Also advancing to the final round were Logano and Byron.

Among those who failed to move on: Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez and Ross Chastain.

Both Chris Buescher and Chastain got extremely loose during their qualifying laps, but they were able to recover before hitting the wall. The bobble proved costly, and both drivers will start Sunday's race from outside the top-30.