Alex Bowman grabs pole for Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway

Hendrick driver Alex Bowman continued his strong performance in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on Friday by grabbing the pole for Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bowman set the fastest lap of the day during the final round of qualifying at the 0.533-mile concrete oval, with a lap of 15.142 seconds (126.720 mph) in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Bowman edged out teammate William Byron by just 0.003 seconds to earn his first Busch Light Pole Award of the season.

Currently sitting fourth in the Playoff standings, Bowman enters the elimination race with a 41-point cushion above the cut line for the Round of 12. After Saturday’s race, the bottom four of the 16 Playoff drivers will be eliminated.

Since Bowman and Byron both qualified from Group B, Byron will start in third, with Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson (fastest in Group A at 126.378 mph) lining up on the front row alongside Bowman. All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers made it to the final round, with Chase Elliott securing the 10th spot on the grid.

“In qualifying, I had a lot of grip,” said Bowman, who earned his first pole at Bristol and the fifth of his career. “The car was tight, and you either hit a really good lap or a slow one when that happens. Fortunately, after the first round, I felt confident. Starting up front in a cutoff race is important, so I’m thankful to qualify well.”

Martin Truex Jr., who is 15th in the Playoff standings, 14 points below the cut line, gave his chances a boost with a strong fourth-place qualifying result.

Chase Briscoe will start fifth, just ahead of points leader Christopher Bell in sixth. Non-Playoff drivers Carson Hocevar and Corey LaJoie of Spire Motorsports qualified seventh and ninth, respectively. Denny Hamlin, six points below the elimination line, also improved his outlook by qualifying eighth. Hamlin, who has won the last two races at Bristol, aims for another win and or strong performance.

Other Playoff driver qualifying positions: Ty Gibbs 13th, Tyler Reddick 15th, Joey Logano (who has already advanced to the Round of 12 with a win at Atlanta) 20th, defending series champion Ryan Blaney 22nd, Austin Cindric 27th, Harrison Burton 34th, and Daniel Suarez 35th.

Sitting 16th in the standings, 20 points below the cut line with elimination looming, Harrison Burton faces the biggest task of all drivers on Saturday night.

The Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Starting Lineup

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Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway
Saturday September 21, 2024

1. Alex Bowman
   2. Kyle Larson
   3. William Byron
   4. Martin Truex Jr.
   5. Chase Briscoe
   6. Christopher Bell
   7. Carson Hocevar
   8. Denny Hamlin
   9. Corey LaJoie
   10. Chase Elliott
   11. Bubba Wallace
   12. Ross Chastain
   13. Ty Gibbs
   14. Ryan Preece
   15. Tyler Reddick
   16. Noah Gragson
   17. Chris Buescher
   18. Michael McDowell
   19. AJ Allmendinger
   20. Joey Logano
   21. Daniel Hemric
   22. Ryan Blaney
   23. Brad Keselowski
   24. Todd Gilliland
   25. Josh Berry
   26. Justin Haley
   27. Austin Cindric
   28. John Hunter Nemechek
   29. Kyle Busch
   30. Austin Dillon
   31. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
   32. Erik Jones
   33. Zane Smith
   34. Harrison Burton
   35. Daniel Suarez
   36. Kaz Grala
   37. Josh Bilicki