BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Last Great Coliseum will be the site of an epic battle on Saturday night, indeed, as 16 NASCAR Cup Series drivers compete for 12 spots.
Thanks to some fast qualifying runs on Friday evening, Hendrick Motorsports drivers will have the high ground.
Alex Bowman took the pole position in his No. 48 Ally Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL 1 with a lap time of 15.142 seconds, leading all four Hendrick Motorsports cars to top-10 starting spots for Saturday's night race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
It marked Bowman's first pole of the season, first at Bristol and the fifth of his career.
"We qualified like 400th here in the spring so definitely studied hard and worked hard to try and come here and be better," Bowman said. "We were OK in practice. I feel like I struggled on the top of (turns) one and two a little bit but had a really awesome car in qualifying.
"Just really proud of everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. They gave me a really fast Ally (number) 48 Camaro, that's what mattered today."
He won't need to look hard for his teammates.
Kyle Larson just missed his sixth pole of the season in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet with a lap of 15.183 seconds and will start second, with William Byron just behind, earning the third spot in his No. 24 Z by HP Chevy. Chase Elliott rounded out the group and will start 10th in his No. 9 LLumar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
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All four Hendrick Motorsports wheelmen are very much still alive in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Bowman enters tied for third in the standings, 41 points above the cutline and needing just 19 markers on Saturday night to lock himself into the Round of 12 regardless of what any other driver does. In his previous five playoff appearances, Bowman advanced through the first round each time.
Elliott is currently tied for sixth as he pursues his second career Cup Series championship. The Dawsonville, Georgia, native is 30 points to the good ahead of the green flag on Saturday. He earned a win at Bristol in the All Star Race in 2020 en route to a title.
Next is Larson in ninth in the standings, 26 points clear of the cutline. Larson won this race in 2021, also in his championship-winning year.
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Finally, Byron looms in 10th place, 25 points above the elimination line.
In nine of the 14 years Hendrick Motorsports has claimed a championship, it also scored a win at Bristol.
Coverage of Saturday night’s race is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. and will air on USA Network.
NASCAR starting lineup for Bristol
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- William Byron, No. 24 Z by HP Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11
- Corey LaJoie, No. 7
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 LLumar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23
- Ross Chastain, No. 1
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54
- Ryan Preece, No. 41
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45
- Noah Gragson, No. 10
- Chris Buescher, No. 17
- Michael McDowell, No. 34
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Daniel Hemric, No. 31
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6
- Todd Gilliland, No. 38
- Josh Berry, No. 4
- Justin Haley, No. 51
- Austin Cindric, No. 2
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
- Kyle Busch, No. 8
- Austin Dillon, No. 3
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
- Erik Jones, No. 43
- Zane Smith, No. 71
- Harrison Burton, No. 21
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99
- Kaz Grala, No. 15
- Josh Bilicki, No. 66
NASCAR practice results
All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers also posted top-10 practice times in a 45-minute session prior to qualifying.
Larson led the way, posting a lap of 15.487 seconds to come in third-fastest. Byron (15.487) and Elliott (15.495) were on his heals in fourth and fifth respectively with Bowman rounding out the organization with the ninth-fastest lap at 15.54 seconds.
NASCAR playoff standings
- Joey Logano (ADV)
- Christopher Bell (+46)
- Austin Cindric (+43)
- Alex Bowman (+41)
- Daniel Suarez (+36)
- Tyler Reddick (+30)
- Chase Elliott (+30)
- Ryan Blaney (+29)
- Kyle Larson (+26)
- William Byron (+25)
- Chase Briscoe (+6)
- Ty Gibbs (+6)
- Denny Hamlin (-6)
- Brad Keselowski (-12)
- Martin Truex Jr. (-14)
- Harrison Burton (-20)
Where is the NASCAR race this weekend?
This weekend's finale in the Round of 16 is at Bristol Motor Speedway.