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NASCAR Xfinity Series Food City 300: Qualifying, Justin Allgaier’s Pole Position, Lineup At Bristol Motor Speedway

Jeff Hawkins Written by Sports EditorJeff Hawkins
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NASCAR Xfinity Series Food City 300: Qualifying, Justin Allgaier’s Pole Position, Lineup At Bristol Motor Speedway

During Friday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying session at Bristol Motor Speedway, Justin Allgaier decided to drive “in traffic.” That way, the JR Motorsports driver could experiment with how the No. 7 Chevrolet handled.

The extra study helped Allgaier earn the pole position for Friday night’s Food City 300, the playoff-opening event. Allgaier turned a hot lap of 121.113 mph, edging runner-up Sam Mayer by 0.094 seconds.

After qualifying in the day light, the teams understand the 0.533-mile high-banked oval will handle differently during the night race.

“The track’s going to be totally different when the sun goes down,” Jesse Love told CW Sports before this qualifying run.

Allgaier agreed.

“The difference between day and night is a big deal,” said Allgaier, the series’ reigning champion. “To set the tone … there’s not a better way to start the playoffs than get a pole.”

Can Connor Zilisch Carry Momentum Into Postseason?

Xfinity Series regular-season champion Connor Zilisch has visited Victory Lane following seven of the past eight events. And he’s been competing with a broken collarbone.

Can Zilisch, 19, carry the momentum into the opening of the postseason? Entering the Round of 12, Zilisch is 59 points above the first-round cutoff line. He qualified P4 for Friday night’s race.

“This No. 88 team has been on a run this year and four wins in a row is a rare feat, but we aren’t going take any of that for granted,” Zilisch said via press release.

With four straight wins, Zilisch tied Noah Gragson (2022) and Sam Ard (1983) for the most consecutive wins.

Starting Lineup for NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Food City 300

Here is a look at the lineup for Friday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway:

Starting Position, Driver, Car No.

  • 1, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 Chevrolet
  • 2, Sam Mayer, No. 41 Ford
  • 3, Aric Almirola, No. 19 Toyota
  • 4, Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Chevrolet
  • 5, Taylor Gray, No. 54 Toyota
  • 6, William Sawalich, No. 18 Toyota
  • 7, Harrison Burton, No. 25 Ford
  • 8, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Ford
  • 9, Jesse Love, No. 2 Chevrolet
  • 10, Sheldon Creed, No. 00 Ford
  • 11, Carson Kvapil, No. 1 Chevrolet
  • 12, Christian Eckes, No. 16 Chevrolet
  • 13, Stefan Parsons, No. 35 Chevrolet
  • 14, Sammy Smith, No. 8 Chevrolet
  • 15, Parker Retzlaff, No. 4 Chevrolet
  • 16, Dean Thompson, No. 26 Toyota
  • 17, Corey Day, No. 17 Chevrolet
  • 18, Brennan Poole, No. 44 Chevrolet
  • 19, Jeb Burton, No. 27 Chevrolet
  • 20, Nicholas Sanchez, No. 48 Chevrolet
  • 21, Austin Hill, No. 21 Chevrolet
  • 22, Brandon Jones, No. 20 Toyota
  • 23, Leland Honeyman, No. 79 Chevrolet
  • 24, Jeffrey Earnhardt Jr., No 24 Toyota
  • 25, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 99 Chevrolet
  • 26, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Chevrolet
  • 27, Anthony Alfredo, No. 51 Chevrolet
  • 28, Brenden Queen, No. 11 Chevrolet
  • 29, Ryan Ellis, No. 71 Chevrolet
  • 30, Kyle Sieg, No. 28 Ford
  • 31, Daniel Dye, No. 10 Chevrolet
  • 32, Josh Bilicki, No. 91 Chevrolet
  • 33, Josh Williams, No. 45 Chevrolet
  • 34, Logan Bearden, No. 14 Chevrolet
  • 35, Carson Ware, No. 07 Chevrolet
  • 36, Joey Gase, No. 53 Chevrolet
  • 37, Austin Green, No. 32 Chevrolet
  • 38, Blaine Perkins, No. 31 Chevrolet

 

Jeff Hawkins Written by Sports EditorJeff Hawkins
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.  
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