Daytona 500 pole winner Alex Bowman (left) and second fastest qualifier Kyle Larson (right) locked up the front row for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Alex Bowman made it a front row lockout for Hendrick Motorsports for Sunday’s Daytona 500 on Wednesday night.
Bowman turned the fastest lap in the final round of pole qualifying with a lap at 181.686 mph (49.536 seconds) around the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway to earn the pole for Sunday’s 65th running of the “Great American Race.”
It marks the third career Daytona 500 pole position for the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet. He has yet to follow up with a victory in the 500-mile classic.
“It’s way more about my guys and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports,” said Bowman. “Just appreciative for all their hard work, the time and effort, whether it’s the engine shop or all the guys in the car shop. There’s a ton of effort that goes into trying to qualify well here. Most of it’s on their end. So definitely really appreciative.”
Bowman will be joined on the front by Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson, who turned a lap at 181.057 mph to lock in as second fastest.
“Just hats off to their team,” Larson said. “We were able to edge them out last year. I don’t remember what lap times were last year, but they clobbered us all this year. Hats off to the 48 team and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports because everybody has a hand in all of our cars going as fast as they do in qualifying here.”
The two quickest in Wednesday night’s qualifying are locked into Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series season opener, with the rest of the field to be set on Thursday night in a pair of qualifying races.
The pole marks six consecutive front row starts in the Daytona 500 for Bowman, who started second last year to Larson.
“Yeah, for me it’s a really interesting thing to be a part of because I have so little to do with it, right? Like obviously once you get five, man, it would be really cool to have six,” Bowman said. “Next year I’ll be like, ‘Man, it will be really cool to have seven.’”
For Hendrick Motorsports, it marks the 16th pole in the 500, and the organization has qualified on the front row for 40 percent of the Daytona 500s that they have competed in. The team has won eight of the last nine poles for the event, and has now swept the front row nine times.
William Byron timed in third fastest, followed by Aric Almirola in fourth and Joey Logano in fifth.
Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, defending Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric, and Harrison Burton rounded out the top nine.
Kyle Busch was relegated to 10th after his time was disallowed by NASCAR for going below the yellow line on the backstretch during his qualifying run.
Dawsonville, Georgia’s Chase Elliott did not make it to second round qualifying, turning in the 14th fastest time overall, and will start seventh in the second qualifying race on Thursday night.
Six non-chartered drivers were hoping to secure a spot in Sunday’s field, with the two fastest being locked in. Seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson was fastest of that group, locking himself into the Daytona 500 with a lap in 50.24 seconds in his first outing with the team he now co-owns, Legacy Motor Club. He was 23rd fastest overall, and will start Thursday’s first qualifier from the 12th starting spot.
“I’m just so thankful that the team put in the effort that they did to really help me,” Johnson said. “I’m not joking, when I was at the shop last week, the 42 team, the 43 team, were all on my car. Their cars were still sitting there with a lot of work to be done. This was a huge collaboration and effort I owe to the entire shop.”
Travis Pastrana, driving a third 23XI entry, also locked himself in with a lap at 50.208, 25th fastest overall, and will start 12th in the second qualifier.
“The launch was good,” said Pastrana. “I shifted a little bit early on two and didn’t lift enough shifting to fifth so I had to double let go and I thought I just blew it. I look at Bubba’s (Wallace) time and the car definitely had a little bit more. This team helped me to get there and like Kurt (Busch) just told me, now it’s time to learn. We’ll go to work tomorrow and then we’re in the 500, so cool.”
Talking Rock, Georgia’s Chandler Smith, Winston, Georgia’s Austin Hill, Connor Daly, and Zane Smith will all have to race their way in through Thursday’s qualifying races.
NASCAR Cup Series
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona 500 – February 15, 2023
Wednesday’s Qualifying Results
1. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 181.686 mph.
2. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 181.057 mph.
3. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 180.727 mph.
4. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 180.723 mph.
5. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 180.712 mph.
6. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 180.661 mph.
7. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 180.054 mph.
8. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 180.014 mph.
9. (21) Harrison Burton, Ford, 179.748 mph.
10. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
11. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 180.011 mph.
12. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 179.921 mph.
13. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 179.888 mph.
14. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 179.881 mph.
15. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 179.863 mph.
16. (41) Ryan Preece, Ford, 179.849 mph.
17. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 179.684 mph.
18. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 179.673 mph.
19. (54) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 179.616 mph.
20. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 179.612 mph.
21. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 179.497 mph.
22. (19) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 179.347 mph.
23. (84) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 179.276 mph.
24. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 179.265 mph.
25. (67) Travis Pastrana, Toyota, 179.254 mph.
26. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 179.154 mph.
27. (43) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 178.998 mph.
28. (42) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, 178.941 mph.
29. (36) Zane Smith(i), Ford, 178.862 mph.
30. (16) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 178.813 mph.
31. (31) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 178.763 mph.
32. (62) Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 178.660 mph.
33. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 178.525 mph.
34. (38) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 178.204 mph.
35. (47) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Chevrolet, 177.925 mph.
36. (78) B.J. McLeod, Chevrolet, 177.834 mph.
37. (51) Cody Ware, Ford, 177.169 mph.
38. (15) Riley Herbst(i), Ford, 176.849 mph.
39. (77) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 176.315 mph.
40. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 176.287 mph.
41. (13) Chandler Smith(i), Chevrolet, 175.022 mph.
42. (50) Conor Daly(i), Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
NASCAR Cup Series
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL
Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 – February 15, 2023
Thursday’s Starting Lineup
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
2. 24 William Byron RaptorTough.com Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
3. 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 0.000 0.000
4. 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Blue DEF/PEAK Ford 0.000 0.000
5. 21 Harrison Burton Motorcraft/DEX Imaging Ford 0.000 0.000
6. 23 Bubba Wallace McDonald’s Toyota 0.000 0.000
7. 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 0.000 0.000
8. 1 Ross Chastain AdventHealth Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
9. 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Light Ford 0.000 0.000
10. 54 Ty Gibbs # Monster Energy/Interstate Batteries Toyota 0.000 0.000
11. 20 Christopher Bell DeWalt/Rheem Toyota 0.000 0.000
12. 84 Jimmie Johnson Carvana Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
13. 34 Michael McDowell Love’s Travel Stops Ford 0.000 0.000
14. 43 Erik Jones GUNS N’ ROSES Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
15. 36 Zane Smith(i) Wellcare Ford 0.000 0.000
16. 16 A.J. Allmendinger Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
17. 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops Club Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
18. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
19. 51 Cody Ware Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford 0.000 0.000
20. 77 Ty Dillon Ferris Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
21. 13 Chandler Smith(i) Quick Tie Inc. Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
NASCAR Cup Series
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL
Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 – February 15, 2023
Thursday’s Starting Lineup
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
2. 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 0.000 0.000
3. 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 0.000 0.000
4. 2 Austin Cindric Discount Tire Ford 0.000 0.000
5. 8 Kyle Busch 3CHI Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
6. 99 Daniel Suarez Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
7. 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
8. 41 Ryan Preece HaasTooling.com Ford 0.000 0.000
9. 6 Brad Keselowski Nexlizet Ford 0.000 0.000
10. 45 Tyler Reddick Monster Energy Toyota 0.000 0.000
11. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 0.000 0.000
12. 67 Travis Pastrana Black Rifle Coffee Toyota 0.000 0.000
13. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx 50 Toyota 0.000 0.000
14. 42 Noah Gragson # Wendy’s Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
15. 31 Justin Haley Cirkul Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
16. 62 Austin Hill(i) Bennett Transportation/Beard Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
17. 38 Todd Gilliland gener8tor Skills Ford 0.000 0.000
18. 78 B.J. McLeod Power Slap Rumble Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
19. 15 Riley Herbst(i) SunnyD Ford 0.000 0.000
20. 7 Corey LaJoie Celsius Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
21. 50 Conor Daly(i) BitNile.com Chevrolet 0.000 0.000
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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