Passing points boost Cole Custer to Bristol Dirt pole

Passing points is a new concept for NASCAR introduced specifically for its dirt heat races such as the Cup Series‘ date at Bristol Motor Speedway, intended to reward drivers for moving through the field by giving a point for each position improved from their starting spot. The winner of their heat received ten qualifying points, second got nine, and so on, with the driver scoring the most combined finish and passing points claiming the pole for the feature.

After the 2021 heats were rained out, the first benefactor of the passing points was Cole Custer as he finished second in his heat race but did so after starting ninth, giving him sixteen total points and the pole for Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race.

The pole is Custer’s first in his third full-time Cup season. The sixteen points topped Christopher Bell‘s fourteen for winning Heat #2 after starting fifth. Tyler Reddick, who won Custer’s qualifying race in Heat #1, improved three spots for thirteen.

“I wish we qualified because I was nervous about starting ninth, but it worked out good,” said Custer. “They did a great job with the track today. It was really racy. Obviously, they added a little bit more moisture than yesterday and hopefully, we can have some more of that tomorrow. I think our car liked it, but overall, it was a good day to start ninth and pass some cars.

“I wouldn’t call myself a dirt racing expert whatsoever. I did it when I was younger. I raced some Ford Focus midgets when I was in my early teens and I always loved dirt, but I wouldn’t say that I’m an expert. I’m nowhere near Kyle Larson, so getting my first pole at a dirt race is pretty crazy.”

Larson, one of the top dirt racers in the country, will start fifth as one of three drivers with eleven qualifying points. Defending winner Joey Logano starts tenth after racking up nine points.

Justin Allgaier, an Xfinity Series regular making a one-off Cup start, qualified twenty-seventh. Starting last is series newcomer Josh Williams.

Race results

Heat #1

Finish	Start	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	4	8	Tyler Reddick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
2	9	41	Cole Custer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford
3	5	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
4	3	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford
5	1	38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
6	6	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford
7	8	7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet
8	7	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
9	2	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing Team	Chevrolet

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

Heat #2

Finish	Start	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	5	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
2	2	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota
3	7	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford
4	3	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford
5	8	43	Erik Jones	Petty GMS Motorsports	Chevrolet
6	4	77	Justin Allgaier*	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet
7	9	99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing Team	Chevrolet
8	1	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford
9	6	78	Josh Williams*	Live Fast Motorsports	Ford

Heat #3

Finish	Start	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	2	31	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet
2	1	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford
3	4	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford
4	6	45	Kurt Busch	23XI Racing	Toyota
5	8	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet
6	7	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota
7	3	15	J.J. Yeley*	Rick Ware Racing	Ford
8	9	16	Noah Gragson*	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet
9	5	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota

Heat #4

Finish	Start	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	2	42	Ty Dillon	Petty GMS Motorsports	Chevrolet
2	1	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
3	6	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
4	5	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet
5	4	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet
6	7	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford
7	9	21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford
8	3	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford
9	8	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Ford

Starting lineup and points

Start	Driver	Total Points
1	Cole Custer	16
2	Christopher Bell	14
3	Tyler Reddick	13
4	Chase Briscoe	12
5	Kyle Larson	11
6	Justin Haley	11
7	Ty Dillon	11
8	Alex Bowman	10
9	Chase Elliott	9
10	Joey Logano	9
11	Kyle Busch	9
12	Austin Dillon	9
13	Kurt Busch	9
14	Erik Jones	9
15	Chris Buescher	9
16	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	8
17	Michael McDowell	7
18	Brad Keselowski	7
19	William Byron	6
20	Austin Cindric	6
21	Daniel Suárez	6
22	Bubba Wallace	6
23	Todd Gilliland	6
24	Harrison Burton	6
25	Ryan Blaney	5
26	Corey LaJoie	5
27	Justin Allgaier*	5
28	Noah Gragson*	4
29	J.J. Yeley*	4
30	Martin Truex Jr.	3
31	Aric Almirola	3
32	Kevin Harvick	3
33	Ross Chastain	2
34	Denny Hamlin	2
35	Cody Ware	2
36	Josh Williams*	2