NASCAR News: Bowman shows the way in Bristol Cup qualifying

Alex Bowman led the field in Bush’s Beans Qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, earning the pole position for Sunday’s Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race.

Bowman’s second career Bristol pole position and seventh of his career came on an afternoon where tire health was the dominant topic, promising an exciting conclusion to this weekend’s NASCAR tripleheader weekend at The Last Great Colosseum.

“It feels really good,” said Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’ll see what we got. It’s going to be tricky for sure on how you manage [your tires] from the front. I think it’ll be really good for us. It’ll be a ton of learning on the go.”

Bowman dedicated the pole victory to the family of the late Jon Edwards, a longtime staple for Hendrick Motorsports’ public relations team who passed away suddenly earlier this week.

Bowman turned a lap in 128.675 mph (14.912 seconds) for the pole on a chilly, cloudy afternoon, the fastest speed to win a Bristol pole since the advent of the Gen-7 era car in 2022.

“It wasn’t even the best lap for me,” Bowman said. “I was watching the clouds at the end [as other drivers went out]. I’m happy I held on.”

Ricky Stenhouse, driving the No. 47 Chevrolet for HYAK Motorsports, notched the top speed in Bush’s Beans Practice earlier Saturday and was second in the later qualifying session at 128.563 mph (14.925 seconds).

“It’s going to be treacherous,” Stenhouse said. “My Camaro is super-fast. We’ve struggled the last couple of years trying to get good starting positions. This is my favorite racetrack so I’m looking forward to staying in that top 5 and trying to get to Victory Lane.”

Kyle Larson, racing in all three Bristol races this weekend, qualified third, followed by Denny Hamlin in fourth and Ryan Blaney in fifth.

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Among other notables, NASCAR Xfinity Series star Jesse Love will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut Sunday, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. The 20-year-old from Menlo Park, Calif., said he may have logged 2,000 laps in various simulators while preparing for the .533-mile concrete oval at The Last Great Colosseum.

“It’s one of my better racetracks,” said Love, who will start 19th on Sunday. “I’m comfortable with the racetrack and the banking. The night [Xfinity Series] race here last year was probably the coolest one of my life.

“There’s definitely nerves but I’ve been working my whole life to be nervous on a Sunday,” Love continue After the race I’ll try to soak it all in. I’m just focused on running all the laps and leaving the track feeling like I did a good job.”

Love’s teammate, Kyle Busch, the active leader among all drivers with nine Bristol victories, spun entering Turn 4 during his second qualifying lap. Busch qualified 15th.

Immediately after Busch’s spin defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano tagged the backstretch wall with the back right bumper of the No. 22 Ford for Team Penske, ruining his chances for a top starting spot at one of his favorite tracks.

“When you walk in I like to cross over the track instead of going through the tunnel because you get the full experience,” said Logano, who will start 38th on Sunday. It’s the wow factor, it’s the badass factor of what this place is. It’s the Last Great Colosseum, that’s what it is and it puts on great racing.”

The all-time qualifying record at BMS is held by Ryan Blaney, who turned a lap at 132.075 mph (14.528 seconds) in April 2019.

Starting Lineup