Sept. 21 – BRISTOL, Tennessee – Alex Bowman continued his work to advance to Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoffs by taking pole position Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Pro Shops Night Race.
On the final lap of time trials on the 0.533-mile-long, hilly concrete track, Bowman completed the world’s fastest half-mile—the fastest lap of the day—in 15.142 seconds (126.720 mph) and received his first Busch Award by 0.003 seconds ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron (126.695 mph) to win the Lamp Pole Award for the season.
With Bowman and Byron both qualifying for Group B, Byron will start third while fellow Hendrick driver Kyle Larson (fastest in Group A at 126.378 mph) will sit on the front row next to Bowman.
After finishing fifth at Atlanta and 18th at Watkins Glen, Bowman enters the playoffs fourth in the playoff standings, 41 points above the current Big 12 qualifying line. After Saturday’s race, the bottom four drivers in the 16-place playoff field will be eliminated and disqualified from the championship.
“I had really good grip in qualifying,” said Bowman, who won his first pole position at Bristol and the fifth of his career. “I was a little too tight. It’s one of those situations where you go around a turn and it’s either too good or too slow. When you’re too tight, you slow down so you can turn.”
“Obviously, after the first round (when he tied Chase Briscoe and set the fastest lap), I felt really good that I was able to get into the lead and obviously get good results in the last two rounds. Qualifying wasn’t our strongest point this year, so with the cutoffs and everything, it’s really important to start at the front.
All four Hendrick drivers advanced to the final round, with Chase Elliott starting from 10th on the grid.
Martin Truex Jr. started the night race in 15th place, 14 points below the cut line, and his efforts in qualifying improved his chances for a fourth-place finish.
Similarly, teammate Denny Hamlin is currently six points behind the bubble and will be looking to make the most of his eighth-place finish in qualifying. Hamlin has won the last two races at Thunder Valley.
Briscoe will start fifth, one spot ahead of point leader Christopher Bell. Spire Motorsports non-playoff drivers Carson Hocevar and Corey LaJoie will start seventh and ninth, respectively.
Other drivers who advanced to the playoffs were: Ty Gibbs (13th), Tyler Reddick (15th), Joey Logano (moved into the top 12 after winning at Atlanta) in 20th, defending champion Ryan Blaney (22nd), Austin Cindric (27th), Harrison Burton (34th) and Daniel Suárez in 35th.
Burton still has the highest climb to his name. He sits 16th in the playoff standings, 20 points behind the cutoff and on the brink of elimination.
— By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Particularly suited for live-level media.
