NASCAR playoffs at Bristol starting lineup: Alex Bowman leads Hendrick 1-2-3 with fifth career pole

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Alex Bowman won the pole for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway in qualifying on Friday evening, posting a lap of 15.142 (126.720 MPH) in the final round to earn his first pole of the 2024 season and the fifth of his Cup career. For Bowman, this marks the first time he has won a pole for a race that isn’t the Daytona 500 since Phoenix in the fall of 2016.

Bowman will lead a trio of Hendrick Motorsports drivers at the front of the field, as he is flanked by teammates Kyle Larson in second and William Byron in third. Eight of the top 10 qualifiers were drivers in the Round of 16 of the NASCAR playoffs, including Martin Truex Jr. in fourth and Denny Hamlin in eighth — both of whom enter this race below the Round of 12 cut line and facing elimination.

The other playoff drivers to qualify in the top 10 included Chase Briscoe in fifth, Christopher Bell in sixth, and Chase Elliott in 10th. Playoff drivers who qualified outside the top 10 included Ty Gibbs in 13th, Tyler Reddick in 15th, Joey Logano in 20th, Ryan Blaney in 22nd, Brad Keselowski in 23rd, Austin Cindric in 27th, Harrison Burton in 34th and Daniel Suarez in 35th.

Bass Pro Shops Night Race starting lineup

1. #48 – Alex Bowman
2. #5 – Kyle Larson
3. #24 – William Byron
4. #19 – Martin Truex Jr.
5. #14 – Chase Briscoe
6. #20 – Christopher Bell
7. #77 – Carson Hocevar (R)
8. #11 – Denny Hamlin
9. #7 – Corey LaJoie
10. #9 – Chase Elliott
11. #23 – Bubba Wallace
12. #1 – Ross Chastain
13. #54 – Ty Gibbs
14. #41 – Ryan Preece
15. #45 – Tyler Reddick
16. #10 – Noah Gragson
17. #17 – Chris Buescher
18. #34 – Michael McDowell
19. #16 – A.J. Allmendinger
20. #22 – Joey Logano
21. #31 – Daniel Hemric
22. #12 – Ryan Blaney
23. #6 – Brad Keselowski
24. #38 – Todd Gilliland
25. #4 – Josh Berry (R)
26. #51 – Justin Haley
27. #2 – Austin Cindric
28. #42 – John Hunter Nemechek
29. #8 – Kyle Busch
30. #3 – Austin Dillon
31. #47 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
32. #43 – Erik Jones
33. #71 – Zane Smith (R)
34. #21 – Harrison Burton
35. #99 – Daniel Suarez
36. #15 – Kaz Grala (R)
37. #66 – Josh Bilicki