Alex Bowman wins Cup Series pole ahead of Bristol Night Race and playoff eliminations
With a 41-point cushion in the NASCAR Playoffs, Alex Bowman wins the pole for the Bristol Night Race and is having himself a heck of a Round of 16. He has been consistent and is the top driver for Hendrick Motorsports through the first two races of the playoffs.
Alex Bowman had folks calling for his job. They were saying he was getting replaced by Justin Haley. Today, all of that got put to bed, officially. Haley is getting the No. 7 ride at Spire, Bowman is on the pole, and more importantly, he is staying in the 48 car for the foreseeable future.
All four Hendrick drivers made the top-10. In fact, Bowman, Kyle Larson, and William Byron are the first three drivers to take the green flag. Chase Elliott qualified P10.
Hendrick Motorsports showed that they mean business tomorrow night. Joe Gibbs Racing had three drivers in the top-10. So, they, as usual, will be ones to watch as well. Denny Hamlin needs a good race, he’s six points underwater in terms of elimination. Martin Truex Jr. needs to be solid. None of them can afford an early mistake, that’s for sure.
Alex Bowman has stepped up in recent weeks. During the year he has had a few rough patches. However, there are few drivers who haven’t had a stretch of tough races this season. While
In the first 17 races of the season, Bowman had four top-5s and six additional top-10s. While he has a win and two top-5s in the 11 races since, he has had some of the worst finishes of his season.
That has changed once again since the NASCAR Playoffs began.
Alex Bowman picked up big points in first two weeks of playoffs
By putting up 79 points in the first two races of the Round of 16, Alex Bowman has positioned himself to advance to the Round of 12. In 2020, Bowman was able to advance to the Round of 8 and finished sixth overall on the season.
So, there is precedent for Bowman having a postseason run. He’s in Hendrick equipment, why wouldn’t he be able to? Coming off a concussion in 2022 and a broken back in 2023, Bowman had a lot of time out of the car. He also had a lot of time recovering.
Before the season started this year, I spoke with Bowman. During that interview, he mentioned that he believed he was in the best shape of his career coming into the season. Perhaps his fitness is coming into play as the Cup Series enters the 28th race of the season.
Whatever Alex Bowman and his team are doing right now, it’s working. Starting on the pole, Bowman will be given an option to take stage points unless he has an issue on track or with the speed in his car. He should advance to the Round of 12.