Almirola on Pole at Bristol for Playoff Elimination Race

The first two races of the playoffs have been won by non-playoff drivers, and qualifying today at Bristol was more of the same. Almirola took the top spot in qualifying, just edging out his Stewart Haas Racing teammate Chase Briscoe. All four team cars qualified inside the top 11 positions.

This is the first pole of the season for Almirola, and just the fourth of his career.

I’m really proud of the effort by this team," Almirola said. "We had a really good car in practice and swapped over to qualifying trim and it still had a lot of speed. We were bummed out that we didn’t make the playoffs but we’re showing what we’re capable of. We can race with these guys. We’ll try to do it for 500 laps tomorrow night."

Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin will start from Row 2 tomorrow night with Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney behind them in Row 3. Kevin Harvick is in the most precarious situation, needing a win to advance to the Round of 12 tomorrow. He starts 7th, alongside Christopher Bell, who is the only driver currently locked in to the next round. Rookie Austin Cindric and Brad Keselowski completed the top-ten in qualifying.

It has been an eventful week for Kyle Busch, who announced on Tuesday that he will be taking over the No. 8 Chevrolet next season with Richard Childress Racing. Kyle is one of the drivers facing elimination tomorrow night, and is currently in the bottom four of the standings. His lone win came here earlier this season, but that was on a completely different racing surface and he starts 21st tomorrow.

"That was a completely different kind of race on the dirt, but never hurts to get a win no matter what the surface looks like," Busch said. "There are a lot of unknowns going into this race, since there hasn’t been a race with the NextGen car on the concrete surface, so a lot of unknowns, for sure. It’s always a great racetrack to circle on the calendar and know it’s a time when we can shine."

Kyle is not the only former champion in trouble this weekend. Harvick sits at the very bottom of standings after two tough DNFs to begin the playoffs. These two veterans have never been bounced from the first round, but that is a real possibility tomorrow night. Harvick essentially has to win, which is their team's mindset going into the race.

"There is so much on the line in these races, but our guys have been through that battle. Plus, we don’t have anything to lose. The Bristol Night Race has always been an event that seems to just bring the best out of everybody, as far as competition and chaos." There will certainly be plenty of that over the course of 500 laps tomorrow.

Harvick's teammate Briscoe is also at the bottom of the standings, but just nine points below the cutoff line. The second-year driver nearly won the race earlier this year, but it went up in dust when he and Tyler Reddick got together battling for the lead on the final lap. With a front row starting spot, he is hoping that tomorrow night goes a little better.

"We just need to have a clean race," Briscoe said. "We know what racing at Bristol is like. Bristol is chaotic and unpredictable. It’s a fast short track with a lot of banking and guys trying to figure out how to make passes without a lot of time to figure it out. We certainly can’t afford to have a bad race. We’ll need to be aware of what is going on with other guys but also be focused on just running our race."

Larson loves the dirt, but he is always excited to be racing at Bristol, no matter what type of surface. "I think Bristol is definitely higher paced, higher intensity and more chaotic than any other track we go to. I’m used to high-intensity racing almost every week, so maybe the action slows down a little bit for me here. I guarantee it doesn’t feel slow in the cockpit. It feels crazy and chaotic, and that’s why I love it." Earlier today, Larson signed a multi-year extension that will keep him in the No. 5 Chevrolet through at least the 2026 season.

Both Larson and his teammate Chase Elliott have had a rough opening round of the playoffs, and while they aren't in dire straits tomorrow, Elliott knows that you can't hide at Bristol. "No one is safe in this grid and this format. You have to be willing to accept a hard challenge or accept a must-win situation. We'll see what tomorrow brings.” Chase qualified 23rd today in his Chevrolet.

Hamlin and William Byron are in a solid position heading into the race. They can each clinch a spot in the Round of 12 by earning stage points, theoretically locking them in before the race ends. The key will be staying out of trouble and avoiding mistakes, says Byron.

"We need one more solid, smooth race to say that we’ve turned things around from the summer. It’s really about continuing to limit the damage and mistakes. It’s more about racing your own race and not the competition. We just need to make sure we continue to have the little details buttoned up and we’ll advance."

It has been a decade since the last time a Ford started on pole at Bristol. For some perspective, that 2012 race with Greg Biffle on pole was won by Keselowski, who was driving a Dodge.

The stage is set for the first elimination race in the playoffs. The lights will be bright tomorrow night, and the pressure will be intense. Four drivers will see their hopes of winning a championship this season come to an abrupt end. Coverage for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol begins at 7:30 ET on USA Network.