BRISTOL, Tenn. – Alex Bowman grew up as a fan of Bristol Motor Speedway, but there was one big problem for the Tucson, Arizona native.
“I wanted to get tickets for the (Bristol Night Race), but I never could,” Bowman said. “The race was always sold out and we didn’t know anybody to get tickets from.”
Late Friday afternoon, Bowman earned a front row view for the Night Race by winning the pole with a lap of 126.720 mph.
“Our car was amazing,” Bowman said. ‘We struggled a little in practice, so I was pretty surprised that I had that much pace in qualifying. Our crew chief (Blake Harris) made great changes to the car.”
Three other Hendrick Motorsports drivers earned top 10 qualifying spots, with Kyle Larson (126.378) joining Bowman on the front frow.
William Byron (126.695 mph) will start third and fan favorite Chase Elliott earned the No. 10 spot for the Hendrick empire.
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“This was always the race I wanted to go, and that makes me want to win that much more,” Bowman said. “Hopefully, we can put on a show for the fans here like we did in the spring and bring home a trophy.
“Anytime you can start from the first pit stall, it’s going to be good. Our pit crew has been on it this year, so we hope to take advantage of that all night.”
Martin Truex Jr. qualified fourth. He will be followed by Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar, Denny Hamlin, Corey LaJoie and Elliott in the Round of 16 finale.
It’s the fifth career pole for Bowman, but his first outside of the two Daytona races since 2016.
“Qualifying has been one of our weaker links, so it’s nice to see that change,” Bowman said. “I didn’t do anything different today. We just have a fast car and it shows.”
SHOW TIME: The Food City 500 at BMS in March drew raves from fans due to the challenging nature of the tire management endurance test.
But Hamlin, who has won the past two Cup races at BMS, is not hoping for another high-speed test of tire durability.
“If I had a preference, I would prefer it not be that way, just because it is another variable that is thrown into the mix,” Hamlin said. “If you make the nice, conservative call to go ahead and pit before your tires go flat and someone else doesn’t and caution comes out and it traps you laps down, it could have some big implications.
“So, I would kind of let it be the natural fall race where the best cars and best drivers run their way to the front. But if it is a crazy race, we have to adapt. I feel like we are prepared for either.”
DRIVER SWITCH: Officials from Rick Ware Racing and Spire Motorsports announced Friday afternoon at BMS that that the two organizations will swap drivers Corey LaJoie and Justin Haley for the final seven races of the season. The switch begins with next week’s Cup event at Kansas Speedway.
BURTON BOUNCE: It’s been a busy month for Harrison Burton.
On Aug. 25, the 23-year-old earned win number 100 for the Wood Brother team at Daytona. On Friday, Burton announced that he will drive for the AM Racing Xfinity Series operation in 2025.
Burton drove for the Wood Brothers team for three years. Former short track racer Josh Berry will take over the famed No. 21 ride next season.
agregory@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports | (276) 645-2544
