By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service
BRISTOL, Tenn.—Ryan Blaney, seeking his first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Bristol Motor Speedway, got off to a flying start in Saturday’s time trials at the 0.533-mile high-banked concrete track.
Finding the speed he needed on the second of two qualifying laps, Blaney covered the distance in 15.101 seconds (127.064 mph) to edge Tyler Reddick for the top starting spot in Sunday’s Food City 500 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Driving the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, Blaney was 0.023 seconds faster than Reddick (126.871 mph), who will try to win his fifth race of the season in the No.45 23XI Racing Toyota.
The Busch Light Pole Award was Blaney’s second at Bristol, his first of the season and the 13th of his career.
“I just kind of got free on Lap 1, landing into (Turn) 1,” said Blaney, who recovered through Turns 3 and 4 to set up his second lap. “Luckily, the rear tires came in better the second lap in (Turns) 1 and 2, and then 3 and 4 I thought was a really good corner…”
“Good start to the weekend. Now we’ve got to do 500 laps.”
Blaney has finished sixth or better in his last three starts at Bristol, but on Sunday, Cup Series drivers will be adjusting to both a new tire combination from Goodyear and a new short-track competition package featuring higher horsepower and lower downforce.
“I think just being ready for the track to change is the biggest thing for me,” Blaney said. “It’s going to run one way for a little bit, but it’s going to change eventually…”
“Tomorrow, we’re going to be everywhere, ‘cause the top (lane) is going to come in tomorrow, and that’s going to be completely different from what you need to run the bottom. It’s been a pretty decent place for us. Hopefully, tomorrow we can contend for the win.”
Chase Briscoe qualified third at 126.779 mph in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Riley Herbst (125.679 mph), the third driver to make a qualifying run, was fourth, giving 23XI two of the top four starting positions.
Ty Gibbs, who led 201 laps in his last Bristol start, was fifth, followed by Ross Chastain in the fastest Chevrolet. Chris Buescher, three-time Bristol winner Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric and Carson Hocevar filled out positions seven through 10 on the grid.
The cars of Larson and Chastain—along with those of Cole Custer and Chad Finchum—failed pre-race inspection twice, resulting in the ejection of their respective car chiefs and loss of pit selection for Sunday’s race.
The No. 71 Chevrolet of Michael McDowell also failed twice, resulting in the ejection of an engineer and loss of pit selection.
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – Food City 500
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol, Tennessee
Saturday, April 11, 2026
1. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 127.064 mph.
2. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 126.871 mph.
3. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 126.779 mph.
4. (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota, 126.679 mph.
5. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 126.537 mph.
6. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 126.445 mph.
7. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 126.320 mph.
8. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 126.303 mph.
9. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 126.237 mph.
10. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 126.229 mph.
11. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 126.030 mph.
12. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 125.980 mph.
13. (7) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 125.963 mph.
14. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 125.732 mph.
15. (38) Zane Smith, Ford, 125.601 mph.
16. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford, 125.584 mph.
17. (60) Ryan Preece, Ford, 125.559 mph.
18. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 125.535 mph.
19. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 125.486 mph.
20. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 125.322 mph.
21. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 125.313 mph.
22. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 125.224 mph.
23. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 125.158 mph.
24. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 125.052 mph.
25. (21) Josh Berry, Ford, 124.889 mph.
26. (88) Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 124.857 mph.
27. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 124.857 mph.
28. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota, 124.776 mph.
29. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 124.686 mph.
30. (41) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 124.565 mph.
31. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 124.058 mph.
32. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 123.810 mph.
33. (97) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 123.682 mph.
34. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 123.364 mph.
35. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 123.055 mph.
36. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 122.898 mph.
37. (66) Chad Finchum(i), Ford, 122.131 mph.
