Aric Almirola leads SHR, Ford charge in Bristol qualifying
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BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — Aric Almirola continued NASCAR’s trend of non-playoff drivers stealing the show with a pole-winning run Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Saturday night race at Bristol is the first playoff eliminator and the 16-driver field will be cut by four. Christopher Bell is the only driver locked into the next round because non-playoff drivers Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace won the first two rounds. Now it will be Almirola leading the field to the green flag after Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Chase Briscoe couldn’t knock him from the pole in Friday final run.