Jones claims first career Cup pole at Bristol

Rookie Erik Jones will lead the field to the green flag at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Jones saved his best for last in qualifying Friday night to jump to the top of the leaderboard in the final round. The fastest lap for the No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was 128.082 mph. The pole is the first of Jones' Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career.

• Starting lineup

"It's awesome. It's cool anytime you get your first pole in a series, but to do it at Bristol, that's pretty cool," said Jones. "We had a good week last week, and we've done a good job of keeping momentum so far. Hoping for a good day tomorrow night. Obviously really excited to get the race going now; see what we can do."

Kyle Larson will start alongside Jones on the front row. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver thought he had outsmarted the competition by going to the high-side of the track during his qualifying attempt, but ultimately came up short. Larson's lap was 128.057 mph.

Kasey Kahne (127.877 mph), Chase Elliott (127.656 mph), and Matt Kenseth (127.563 mph) were the rest of the top five. Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Blaney completed the top 10.

Hamlin looked to be the favorite for the pole. The No. 11 Toyota was fastest in the opening practice session earlier in the day before being second-quickest in the first round of qualifying, and the fastest in the second round.

Kyle Busch, who was fastest in the first round, failed to advance to the final round. Busch will start from the 18th position Saturday night as he looks for his sixth Bristol win. Defending race winner Kevin Harvick did not advance out of the first round, and will start 29th.

A win is something Jones will be working hard toward. Sitting on the outside of the playoff grid, Jones can only lock up a spot in the postseason with a victory in one of the next three races.

Next Up: The Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Saturday night.