Kyle Larson wins Bristol Dirt Race pole after heats

It goes without saying that Kyle Larson is going to be the favourite whenever he enters a race on dirt, and he continued to prove that in Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series heat races to set the starting order for the next day’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Assigned to the third heat, Larson started sixth but took the lead from pole sitter Erik Jones after just one lap and never looked back. By passing five cars, he earned fifteen total points (one point for each position gained from where a driver started plus ten points for winning), more than anyone else in the field.

Due to the passsing points caveat, which is only present for dirt races, simply winning a heat will not guarantee starting up front. For example, Bubba Wallace claimed Heat #4 but could only earn ten points at most as he started on the pole, meaning he could not improve from his starting position, and therefore will start the Dirt Race in eleventh.

On the other hand, J.J. Yeley impressed by finishing third in Heat #3 (eight points) and passing six cars for fourteen. His third-place starting spot is the first time he qualified in the top five for a Cup race since he started fourth at Phoenix in 2007. It is also Rick Ware Racing’s best starting spot since Joey Hand’s ninth at the 2022 Road America event.

“We obviously didn’t know what to expect. I tried to roll the bottom on our first two little hot laps, just judging off the previous heat race, the car didn’t feel very good,” said Yeley, a dirt track ace before entering NASCAR. “I’m a dirt guy by nature and I knew all of those guys were gonna fight for the bottom, so I said, ‘The heck with it, I was gonna go to the top’ and the car handled really, really good up there.

“It took me a couple of laps to get into a rhythm. It felt like I might have been just a little bit better than the leaders once we got into third, and then I started overdriving and it just takes one little mistake to give up everything that you gained. To come from the back and finish third, I think it’ll be good for points and put us somewhere near the front half, which I’m thinking anything can happen here tomorrow.”

His Rick Ware Racing partner Matt Crafton will start twenty-fourth in relief of Cody Ware.

The lone incident of the four heats was Josh Berry‘s spin in the first on lap seven.

Heat results

Heat #1

Finish	Start	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Status
1	5	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	15	Running
2	6	45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Toyota	15	Running
3	8	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	15	Running
4	2	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	15	Running
5	1	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	15	Running
6	4	31	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	15	Running
7	10	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing Team	Chevrolet	15	Running
8	7	9	Josh Berry*	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	15	Running
9	9	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	15	Running
10	3	78	B.J. McLeod	Live Fast Motorsports	Chevrolet	15	Running

Italics – Competing for Rookie of the Year
* – Ineligible for points

Heat #2

Finish	Start	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Status
1	1	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	15	Running
2	2	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	15	Running
3	5	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	15	Running
4	4	21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	15	Running
5	6	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	15	Running
6	9	38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	15	Running
7	3	16	A.J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	15	Running
8	8	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	15	Running
9	7	42	Noah Gragson	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet	15	Running

Heat #3

Finish	Start	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Status
1	6	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	15	Running
2	5	41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	15	Running
3	9	15	J.J. Yeley*	RIck Ware Racing	Ford	15	Running
4	1	43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Chevrolet	15	Running
5	8	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	15	Running
6	4	51	Matt Crafton*	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	15	Running
7	7	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford	15	Running
8	3	77	Ty Dillon	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	15	Running
9	2	7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	15	Running

Heat #4

Finish	Start	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Status
1	1	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	15	Running
2	6	8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	15	Running
3	7	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	15	Running
4	2	13	Jonathan Davenport	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	15	Running
5	8	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	15	Running
6	4	54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	15	Running
7	5	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	15	Running
8	9	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	15	Running
9	3	99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing Team	Chevrolet	15	Running

Starting lineup

Position	Number	Driver	Total Points
1	5	Kyle Larson	15
2	3	Austin Dillon	14
3	15	J.J. Yeley*	14
4	20	Christopher Bell	13
5	8	Kyle Busch	13
6	45	Tyler Reddick	13
7	2	Austin Cindric	11
8	41	Ryan Preece	12
9	12	Ryan Blaney	10
10	24	William Byron	10
11	23	Bubba Wallace	10
12	22	Joey Logano	9
13	34	Michael McDowell	9
14	14	Chase Briscoe	9
15	38	Todd Gilliland	8
16	1	Ross Chastain	7
17	48	Alex Bowman	7
18	43	Erik Jones	7
19	10	Aric Almirola	7
20	21	Harrison Burton	7
21	13	Jonathan Davenport	7
22	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	6
23	54	Ty Gibbs #	5
24	51	Matt Crafton*	5
25	31	Justin Haley	5
26	4	Kevin Harvick	4
27	19	Martin Truex Jr.	4
28	17	Chris Buescher	4
29	16	AJ Allmendinger	4
30	11	Denny Hamlin	3
31	9	Josh Berry*	3
32	77	Ty Dillon	3
33	6	Brad Keselowski	2
34	99	Daniel Suárez	2
35	7	Corey LaJoie	2
36	42	Noah Gragson #	2
37	78	B.J. McLeod	1