NASCAR starting lineup for Bristol: Alex Bowman secures pole for Sunday race; Kyle Larson third

BRISTOL, Tenn. - The last time the NASCAR Cup Series was on track at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson turned in one of the most dominant performances in the sport's history, leading 462 of 500 laps to claim a win back in September. 

That race was a relatively clean one. Last spring's event was anything but, with massive tire falloff nearly stopping cars in their tracks, setting up a war of attrition. 

Saturday's practice hinted at a possible repeat of last spring, but whatever Sunday's race presents, there's always an importance on starting position at the 0.533-mile, high-banked oval. With that in mind, the starting lineup was on the line on Saturday afternoon as the Cup Series held practice and qualifying sessions. 

Nobody will have a better view from the windshield than Alex Bowman, whose lap of 14.912 seconds was good enough to earn a pole award. It's Bowman's second pole of the year after he started on the point at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The run also gave Bowman his second straight pole award at Bristol. 

Bowman dedicated the pole to Jon Edwards, Hendrick Motorsports' director of racing communications who passed away earlier this week. 

"It feels really good," Bowman said. "Definitely want to dedicate this to Jon Edwards. Huge loss for everybody at (Hendrick Motorsports) and for his family and everybody close to him. He was probably my favorite person at (Hendrick Motorsports), one of the good guys for sure. Definitely going to be missed a lot. Just proud of our Ally 48 team." 

Hendrick Motorsports teammate Larson isn't far behind. He'll start third after laying down a lap of 14.931 seconds. To round out the organization's stable of drivers, Chase Elliott will start 20th and William Byron, 26th. 

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Larson led Hendrick Motorsports in practice with a lap of 15.14 seconds, the fourth-best time. Elliott was right behind with the fifth-best time at 15.166 seconds and Bowman's best circuit of 15.214 seconds was 10th on the board. 

Next on Saturday evening was the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, slated for 5 p.m. Larson is behind the wheel of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet this weekend and earned the pole for the race earlier on Saturday. 

Sunday's race is set for 3 p.m. and will air on FS1. 

NASCAR qualifying lineup for Sunday

1. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 14.912
2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47, 14.925
3. Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 14.931
4. Denny Hamlin, No. 11, 14.937
5. Ty Gibbs, No. 54, 15.964
6. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16, 15.002
7. Christopher Bell, No. 20, 14.986
8. Carson Hocevar, No. 77, 15.019
9. Ryan Blaney, No. 12, 15.022
10. Justin Haley, No. 7, 15.03
11. Josh Berry, No. 21, 15.058
12. Ty Dillon, No. 10, 15.074
13. Michael McDowell, No. 71, 15.075
14. Chase Briscoe, No. 19, 15.088
15. Kyle Busch, No. 8, 15.097
16. Brad Keselowski, No. 6, 15.098
17. Austin Dillon, No. 3, 15.099
18. Zane Smith, No. 38, 15.13
19. Jesse Love, No. 33, 15.137
20. Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet, 15.138
21. Austin Cindric, No. 2, 15.149
22. Bubba Wallace, No. 23, 15.193
23. Daniel Suarez, No. 99, 15.204
24. Chris Buescher, No. 17, 15.246
25. Riley Herbst, No. 35, 15.247
26. William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 15.263
27. Tyler Reddick, No. 45, 15.268
28. Erik Jones, No. 43, 15.274
29. Ryan Preece, No. 60, 15.29
30. Todd Gilliland, No. 34, 15.297
    
31. Noah Gragson, No. 4, 15.301
32. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42, 15.304
33. Cole Custer, No. 41, 15.322
34. Cody Ware, No. 51, 15.441
    
35. Ross Chastain, No. 1, 15.448
36. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88, 15.569
    
37. Corey LaJoie, No. 01, 15.64
38. Joey Logano, No. 22, 16.275
39. Josh Bilicki, No. 66, 16.348

NASCAR Cup practice results

1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47, 14.981
2. Ryan Blaney, No. 12, 15.041
3. Austin Cindric, No. 2, 15.092
4. Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 15.14
5. Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 15.166
6. Brad Keselowski, No. 6, 15.169
7. Denny Hamlin, No. 11, 15.173
8. Kyle Busch, No. 8, 15.188
9. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42, 15.206
10. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 15.214
11. Noah Gragson, No. 4, 15.219
12. Justin Haley, No. 7, 15.231
13. Chase Briscoe, No. 19, 15.232
14. Austin Dillon, No. 3, 15.242
15. Cole Custer, No. 41, 15.244
16. Joey Logano, No. 22, 15.245
17. Michael McDowell, No. 71, 15.251
18. Tyler Reddick, No. 45, 15.267
19. Ty Gibbs, No. 54, 15.268
20. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16, 15.28
21. Bubba Wallace, No. 23, 15.291
22. Christopher Bell, No. 20, 15.292
23. Riley Herbst, No. 35, 15.313
24. Zane Smith, No. 38, 15.313
25. Carson Hocevar, No. 77, 15.319
26. Erik Jones, No. 43, 15.326
27. Corey LaJoie, No. 01, 15.363
28. Daniel Suarez, No. 99, 15.377
29. Chris Buescher, No. 17, 15.394
30. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88, 15.411
31. Jesse Love, No. 33, 15.433
32. Ross Chastain, No. 1, 15.473
33. Ryan Preece, No. 60, 15.487
34. Todd Gilliland, No. 34, 15.534
35. William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 15.536
36. Josh Berry, No. 21, 15.538
37. Cody Ware, No. 51, 15.588
38. Josh Bilicki, No. 66, 15.63
39. Ty Dillon, No. 10, 15.697

What time is the NASCAR race on today?

(All times listed in eastern time)

Saturday, April 12

5 - Xfinity Series race, CW

Sunday, April 13

3 p.m. - Cup Series race, FS1

NASCAR points standings