Alex Bowman continues to show great momentum in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by winning pole for Saturday’s Bristol Night Race.
Bowman was only 0.003 faster than Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron
Because Bowman and Byron both qualified in Group B, Byron will start third, with fellow Hendrick driver Kyle Larson on the front row beside Bowman.
It’s an important time for Bowman to start executing because Justin Haley is positioning himself for the No. 48 car as soon as 2026 and he very well could be racing for his spot as a result. He has opened his playoff run with a fifth at Atlanta and 18th at Watkins Glen, good for fourth in the standings and 41 points above the cutline before the first round eliminations following Bristol on Saturday.
After Saturday’s race, the bottom four winkess drivers in points will be eliminated from championship eligibility.
“In qualifying, I had a lot of grip,” said Bowman, who won his first pole at Bristol and the fifth of his career. “I was a little bit too tight. It was one of those situations where you run a lap, and it’s either going to be really good or really slow. When you’re tight, you slow down so you can turn.
“Obviously, after the first round, I felt really good about it. Thankful to start up front and qualify well. Obviously, qualifying has been not our strongest suit over the years, so being the cutoff race and everything, starting up front is really important.”
Martin Truex Jr., who starts the Night Race 15th in the standings and 14 points below the cut line, helped his chances with a qualifying effort that earned the fourth starting spot.
Similarly, teammate Denny Hamlin—six points on the wrong side of the bubble—hopes to make good use of his eighth-place qualifying effort. Hamlin has won the last two races at Bristol.
Briscoe will start fifth, one position ahead of points leader Christopher Bell. Non-Playoff drivers Carson Hocevar and Corey LaJoie, both of Spire Motorsports, will take the green flag from the seventh and ninth positions, respectively.
Other Playoff drivers qualified as follows: Ty Gibbs 13th, Tyler Reddick 15th, Joey Logano (already locked into the Round of 12 with a victory at Atlanta) 20th, defending series champion Ryan Blaney 22nd, Austin Cindric 27th, Harrison Burton 34th and Daniel Suarez 35th.
Burton has the toughest figurative hill to climb. He’s 16th in the Playoff standings, 20 points below the cutoff with elimination looming.
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
- Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
- Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
- Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
- A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
- Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
- Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
- Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
- Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
- Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
- Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
- Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
- Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
- Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
- Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
- Kaz Grala, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
- Josh Bilicki, No. 66 MBM Motorsports Ford