BRISTOL, Tenn. — Chandler Smith was the last qualifier on Friday afternoon for the evening’s Food City 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway and he put his Joe Gibbs Racing machine on the pole.
It was Smith’s fifth career pole.
Smith’s Toyota turned a best lap of 15.81 seconds (121.266 mph) to knock reigning series champion Cole Custer’s Ford from the top spot. Custer ran a lap of 15.925 seconds on the .533-mile concrete oval.
Chevrolet drivers qualified third through fifth, with Anthony Alfredo, last year’s Bristol winner Justin Allgaier and A.J. Allmendinger taking those positions.
Jeffrey Earnhardt was sixth, while his uncle Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified 12th in his only Xfinity Series race of the season.