NASCAR News: Bowman wins pole for Bristol Cup playoff race
Alex Bowman won the Busch Light Pole Award for Saturday’s Cup Series playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway with a hot lap of 126.720 mph. It’s the fifth career pole for the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Bowman bested all three of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates in the final round of Friday’s qualifying session, edging William Byron (126.695 mph), who will start third, while Kyle Larson (126.378 mph) will join Bowman on the front row.
Martin Truex Jr, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar, Denny Hamlin, Corey LaJoie and Chase Elliott completed the top 10 for tomorrow night’s Round of 16 finale.
Starting outside the top 10 among playoff drivers are Ty Gibbs (13th), Tyler Reddick (15th), Joey Logano (20th), Ryan Blaney (22nd), Brad Keselowski (23rd), Austin Cindric (27th), Harrison Burton (34th) and Daniel Suárez (35th).
Starting Lineup
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 48 | Alex Bowman (P) | Ally Chevrolet | 15.142 | 126.720 |
| 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 15.183 | 126.378 |
| 3 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Z HP Chevrolet | 15.145 | 126.695 |
| 4 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 15.202 | 126.220 |
| 5 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (P) | Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford | 15.170 | 126.486 |
| 6 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | DEWALT Toyota | 15.242 | 125.889 |
| 7 | 77 | Carson Hocevar # | Delaware Life Chevrolet | 15.217 | 126.096 |
| 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | FedEx Toyota | 15.269 | 125.666 |
| 9 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Mattress Warehouse Chevrolet | 15.330 | 125.166 |
| 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | LLumar Chevrolet | 15.320 | 125.248 |
| 11 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Toyota Genuine Parts/Mobil 1 Toyota | 15.292 | 125.477 |
| 12 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 15.384 | 124.727 |
| 13 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (P) | He Gets Us Toyota | 15.298 | 125.428 |
| 14 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Old Armor Ford | 15.404 | 124.565 |
| 15 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (P) | McDonald’s Toyota | 15.310 | 125.330 |
| 16 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Bass Pro Shops Winchester Ford | 15.430 | 124.355 |
| 17 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 15.319 | 125.256 |
| 18 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love’s Travel Stops Ford | 15.434 | 124.323 |
| 19 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger(i) | Barger Precast Chevrolet | 15.356 | 124.954 |
| 20 | 22 | Joey Logano (P) | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 15.443 | 124.250 |
| 21 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Doritos/Mtn Dew by Food City Chev | 15.357 | 124.946 |
| 22 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Wurth Ford | 15.467 | 124.058 |
| 23 | 6 | Brad Keselowski (P) | Castrol Edge Ford | 15.364 | 124.889 |
| 24 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Frontline Enterprises Inc Ford | 15.480 | 123.953 |
| 25 | 4 | Josh Berry # | Bed Bath & Beyond Ford | 15.378 | 124.776 |
| 26 | 51 | Justin Haley | Pinnacle Home Improvement Ford | 15.506 | 123.746 |
| 27 | 2 | Austin Cindric (P) | Menards/Monster Ford | 15.392 | 124.662 |
| 28 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota | 15.538 | 123.491 |
| 29 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet | 15.393 | 124.654 |
| 30 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet | 15.554 | 123.364 |
| 31 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/Dasani Chevrolet | 15.467 | 124.058 |
| 32 | 43 | Erik Jones | Dollar Tree Toyota | 15.555 | 123.356 |
| 33 | 71 | Zane Smith # | Ambetter Health Chevrolet | 15.530 | 123.554 |
| 34 | 21 | Harrison Burton (P) | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 15.565 | 123.277 |
| 35 | 99 | Daniel Suarez (P) | Freeway Insurance Chevrolet | 15.548 | 123.411 |
| 36 | 15 | Kaz Grala # | Meat N’ Bone Ford | 15.717 | 122.084 |
| 37 | 66 | Josh Bilicki(i) | Arby’s Ford | 16.190 | 118.518 |