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Photo Stephen Furst/Myracenews
Alex Bowman won the Busch Light Pole Award for Saturday’s Cup Series playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway (7 p.m. ET, USA, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) with a hot lap of 126.720 mph. It’s the fifth career pole for the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Bowman bested all three of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates in the final round of Friday’s qualifying session, edging William Byron (126.695 mph), who will start third, while Kyle Larson (126.378 mph) will join Bowman on the front row.
Martin Truex Jr, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar, Denny Hamlin, Corey LaJoie and Chase Elliott completed the top 10 for tomorrow night’s Round of 16 finale.
RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos
Starting outside the top 10 among playoff drivers are Ty Gibbs (13th), Tyler Reddick (15th), Joey Logano (20th), Ryan Blaney (22nd), Brad Keselowski (23rd), Austin Cindric (27th), Harrison Burton (34th) and Daniel Suárez (35th).
Gibbs fastest in practice
The No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing driver put down the quickest lap of 124.719 mph during Friday afternoon’s 45-minute practice session. Blaney (124.018 mph), Larson (123.987 mph), Byron (123.987 mph) and Elliott (123.833 mph) put down the five fastest circuits.
MORE: Practice results
Blaney was fastest in 10, 15 and 20 consecutive lap averages, while Larson bested the field in 25 and 30 consecutive lap averages.
