BRISTOL, Tenn. — AJ Allmendinger upstaged the NASCAR Cup Series playoff drivers at Bristol Motor Speedway, capturing the pole for Saturday night’s first-round cutoff race on the 0.533-mile oval.

The Kaulig Racing driver qualified first for the first time in 10 years, turning a 15.117-second lap (126.930 mph) on Friday in his No. 16 Chevrolet. With his fifth career pole in a Cup race and first since August 2015 at Watkins Glen, the 43-year-old Allmendinger became the oldest driver to win a pole at Bristol since Mark Martin, who was 50 in 2009.

“To get a pole at Bristol, that’s pretty awesome,” said Allmendinger, whose previous pole on an oval was at Kansas in April 2012. “Hopefully, we can do that for 500 laps. I know it’s Friday night qualifying and doesn’t pay any points or money, but it’s small victories like this for our race team that’s continually trying to grow. Days like today are enjoyable and give me confidence because I feel like I can still do it. It proves I can be here.”

Ryan Blaney will start second after missing the pole by 0.003 seconds in his No. 12 Ford, but the Team Penske driver is in solid position to gain the 15 points needed to clinch a spot in the second round from his fourth front-row start this season.

“I think our race car is really good over the long haul and just looking forward to (Saturday) night,” Blaney said. “Overall proud of the effort and to be that close to the pole, it’s a good day.”

Teammate Austin Cindric qualified third, followed by Ty Gibbs and Kyle Larson, who is aiming for his third consecutive victory at Bristol.

Cindric is ranked 12th in the standings and 11 points above the cutline heading into the 500-lap race that will eliminate four of 16 drivers from the playoffs.

“It’s the first box checked, but nothing is guaranteed from here,” Cindric said. “I feel like we’ve done our job for Friday. This sets us up well to try and continue to control our destiny for the end of the race.”

Playoff drivers rounded out the rest of the top 10 in qualifying with Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Josh Berry and Christopher Bell.

The starting positions of the other playoff drivers were: Ross Chastain 13th, Tyler Reddick 14th, Alex Bowman 15th, Chase Elliott 16th, Joey Logano 22nd, Austin Dillon 23rd and Shane van Gisbergen 28th.

After an awkwardly handled replay late in the first half of last weekend’s game between UConn and Syracuse, a longtime ACC official has quit his post over frustration with the way the review was handled, sources told ESPN on Friday.

Gary Patterson, who served as the head referee for Saturday’s matchup between the Huskies and the Orange and has worked as an official with the ACC since 2002, abruptly terminated his contract with the conference after the game.

The ACC confirmed Patterson’s departure from the conference’s roster of officials Friday but said that adjustments to officiating crews have already been made and that there will be no disruption to league officiating. Patterson had been scheduled to referee Saturday’s game between Pitt and West Virginia.

The sequence that reportedly led to Patterson’s departure began with 1:02 remaining in the half and UConn leading 14-3. Syracuse opened a drive at the Huskies’ 25-yard line, and on first down, quarterback Steve Angeli dropped back to pass. His arm was hit as he threw, and the ball went forward about 8 yards, landing on the turf.

The officials immediately ruled the pass incomplete. Syracuse then snapped the ball again with 58 seconds left on the clock, though about 25 seconds of real time passed between plays. The second-down throw was nearly intercepted before two UConn players collided and the pass fell incomplete, bringing up a third-and-10 with 53 seconds to go.

A flag was thrown after the play, however, and Patterson could be seen talking on his headset to the ACC’s command center for nearly 90 seconds before announcing that “replay had buzzed in prior to the previous play.”

Sources who have reviewed numerous camera angles of the sequence said there was no physical indication by any official on the field that they had been buzzed by the replay booth before the second-down snap. An ACC spokesperson said that officials were buzzed to initiate the review but that the timing was not ideal for it to be a seamless replay. The conference has addressed the handling of this sequence internally, the spokesperson said.

Officials reviewed the first-down play to see whether Angeli had fumbled, negating the second-down play, before ultimately upholding the original call of an incomplete pass.

Syracuse and UConn officials were told the referee had simply “not heard” the initial request from the replay booth before the second-down snap.

ESPN rules expert Bill LeMonnier, who has decades of experience as an official, said the series of events was uncharacteristic of how a replay would normally be handled.

“Let’s say they’re right up at the line, the ball’s being snapped, and the buzzers go off,” LeMonnier said. “It’s the referee’s discretion to shut the play down vs. saying it’s too late. It’s supposed to be in the referee’s hands.”

LeMonnier also said a flag thrown after the second-down play, which was presumably due to a high hit on Angeli by a UConn defender, was ignored, despite rules saying a personal foul would be enforced even during a dead ball period.

“The mistakes were completely created by either the replay booth or the command center,” LeMonnier said. “It’s not the fault of the officials on the field.”

Every play is subject to review. When officials are buzzed to begin the process, they get on the headset with the replay booth in the stadium and the ACC command center and the review is initiated.

Two sources with knowledge of the situation said the directive came from the ACC command center.

One source said Patterson was upset at the ACC’s interference in forcing a replay after the next play had already occurred, instigating his resignation. Patterson did not respond to requests by ESPN for comment.

After the second-down incompletion was wiped out, Syracuse went 61 yards on its next seven plays and kicked a field goal as time expired in the half. The Orange went on to win the game 27-20 in overtime.

For select games this season, the ACC has allowed cameras and audio access to the review process, offering transparency into the discussions between on-field officials and replay officials at the command center. Last week’s game between UConn and Syracuse, however, was not among those with command center coverage.

The Backyard Brawl is set to continue until at least 2036 after Pitt and West Virginia agreed to an extension of the series.

The two schools will face off Saturday for the 108th time in their history before taking a three-year break. The series will begin again in 2029 and be played each year thereafter until 2036.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled for what this means for both Pitt and West Virginia,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said in a statement. “But this goes far beyond four more games and the 75 miles separating us. This paves the way for future Panthers to carry on the history of this rivalry, while current ones get to forge new legacies for years to come. This extension isn’t just for Pitt and West Virginia, but for college football fans everywhere.”

The rivalry dates back to 1895, but it was interrupted after the 2011 meeting when West Virginia departed the Big East for the Big 12. Pitt joined the ACC a year later. The Brawl disappeared for 10 years until it was reignited as a nonconference matchup in 2022. Pitt holds an all-time edge, 63-41-3, and has won two of the past three.

The two schools had already scheduled games from 2029 through 2032 before Friday’s announcement of an extension.

West Virginia, which hosts Saturday’s showdown, will also welcome the Panthers in 2030, 2032, 2034 and 2036. Pitt will host the game in 2029, 2031, 2033 and 2035

Narduzzi was critical of West Virginia earlier this week, suggesting the Mountaineers could have added Pitt in 2026, too, after a home-and-home series against Alabama was shelved. Instead, the Mountaineers will face Coastal Carolina next season.

“I think our athletic director has reached out to them, and they already got it filled up, which means maybe they didn’t want to play us,” Narduzzi said. “I don’t know. They filled it up. I know if we knew that was going to happen, that would be our first call. Whatever. Can’t do anything about it. Stay in my lane.”

Narduzzi told ESPN earlier this week that “nobody’s chicken” and he may have gotten bad information but that he is eager to keep the rivalry alive, adding Pitt will “take Penn State, too” — referring to another heated rivalry that’s been played just four times since 2000.