Alex Bowman earned his seventh career pole and second consecutive at Bristol on Saturday. The Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) driver lapped the half-mile in 14.911s, beating Hyak Motorsports and fellow Chevrolet driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 0.014s. This is Stenhouse's first front row start since qualifying second at Auto Club Speedway two years ago.
"Yeah, it feels really good," said Bowman, who was the tenth driver to make a lap in qualifying. "Honestly, I'm just excited about a tire management race, but definitely want to dedicate this to Jon Edwards (HMS director of racing communications who passed away this week). Huge loss for everybody at HMS and for his family and everybody that was close to him. He was probably my favorite person at HMS. One of the good guys, for sure, and definitely gonna be missed a lot. So just proud of our 48 team and, yeah, excited for a tire management race. It's gonna be a lot of fun. Let's see what we've got."
Speaking further on the expected tire wear, Bowman said, "it's gonna be tricky for sure. I think, knowing where you want your (brake) bias to go and how you're gonna manage that from the front. It's probably pretty difficult to manage because you don't have anybody in front of you. it's easy to run too hard sometimes. But, yeah, we'll wait and see."
During the session, Kyle Busch went for a spin on his second lap while trying to get a little bit more out of the car. Immediately afterwards, Joey Logano spun sideways and hit the wall with the right rear fender. He carried on, but repairs will be needed to his Team Penske Ford.
Spun him right round 🤯 @KyleBusch pic.twitter.com/csaiWObz6s
— Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) April 12, 2025
Several other drivers had nervous moments, but Busch and Logano -- both former Bristol winners -- were the only ones to lose control.
Behind Bowman and Stenhouse, Kyle Larson qualified third, Denny Hamlin fourth, and Ryan Blaney fifth. Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, Carson Hocevar, and Justin Haley rounded out the top ten.
Photos from Bristol - Practice & Qualifying
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| Cla | Driver | # | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Interval | Mph | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports | 48 | Chevrolet | 2 |
14.912 |
128.675 | ||
| 2 | R. Stenhouse JrHyak Motorsports | 47 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.013 14.925 |
0.013 | 128.563 | |
| 3 | K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports | 5 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.019 14.931 |
0.006 | 128.511 | |
| 4 | D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.025 14.937 |
0.006 | 128.460 | |
| 5 | R. BlaneyTeam Penske | 12 | Ford | 2 |
+0.043 14.955 |
0.018 | 128.305 | |
| 6 | T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing | 54 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.052 14.964 |
0.009 | 128.228 | |
| 7 | C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing | 20 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.057 14.969 |
0.005 | 128.185 | |
| 8 | A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing | 16 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.090 15.002 |
0.033 | 127.903 | |
| 9 | C. HocevarSpire Motorsports | 77 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.107 15.019 |
0.017 | 127.758 | |
| 10 | J. HaleySpire Motorsports | 7 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.118 15.030 |
0.011 | 127.665 | |
| 11 |
J. BerryWood Brothers Racing
|
21 | Ford | 2 |
+0.146 15.058 |
0.028 | 127.427 | |
| 12 | T. DillonKaulig Racing | 10 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.162 15.074 |
0.016 | 127.292 | |
| 13 | M. McDowellSpire Motorsports | 71 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.163 15.075 |
0.001 | 127.284 | |
| 14 | C. BriscoeJoe Gibbs Racing | 19 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.176 15.088 |
0.013 | 127.174 | |
| 15 | K. BuschRichard Childress Racing | 8 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.185 15.097 |
0.009 | 127.098 | |
| 16 | B. KeselowskiRFK Racing | 6 | Ford | 2 |
+0.186 15.098 |
0.001 | 127.090 | |
| 17 | A. DillonRichard Childress Racing | 3 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.187 15.099 |
0.001 | 127.081 | |
| 18 | Z. SmithFront Row Motorsports | 38 | Ford | 2 |
+0.218 15.130 |
0.031 | 126.821 | |
| 19 |
J. LoveRichard Childress Racing
|
33 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.225 15.137 |
0.007 | 126.762 | |
| 20 | C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports | 9 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.226 15.138 |
0.001 | 126.754 | |
| 21 | A. CindricTeam Penske | 2 | Ford | 2 |
+0.237 15.149 |
0.011 | 126.662 | |
| 22 | B. Wallace23XI Racing | 23 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.281 15.193 |
0.044 | 126.295 | |
| 23 | D. SuarezTrackHouse Racing | 99 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.292 15.204 |
0.011 | 126.204 | |
| 24 | C. BuescherRFK Racing | 17 | Ford | 2 |
+0.334 15.246 |
0.042 | 125.856 | |
| 25 | R. Herbst23XI Racing | 35 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.335 15.247 |
0.001 | 125.848 | |
| 26 | W. ByronHendrick Motorsports | 24 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.351 15.263 |
0.016 | 125.716 | |
| 27 | T. Reddick23XI Racing | 45 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.356 15.268 |
0.005 | 125.675 | |
| 28 | E. JonesLegacy Motor Club | 43 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.362 15.274 |
0.006 | 125.625 | |
| 29 | R. PreeceRFK Racing | 60 | Ford | 2 |
+0.378 15.290 |
0.016 | 125.494 | |
| 30 | T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports | 34 | Ford | 2 |
+0.385 15.297 |
0.007 | 125.436 | |
| 31 | N. GragsonFront Row Motorsports | 4 | Ford | 2 |
+0.389 15.301 |
0.004 | 125.404 | |
| 32 | J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club | 42 | Toyota | 2 |
+0.392 15.304 |
0.003 | 125.379 | |
| 33 | C. CusterHaas Factory Team | 41 | Ford | 1 |
+0.410 15.322 |
0.018 | 125.232 | |
| 34 | C. WareRick Ware Racing | 51 | Ford | 2 |
+0.529 15.441 |
0.119 | 124.267 | |
| 35 | R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing | 1 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.536 15.448 |
0.007 | 124.210 | |
| 36 | S. van GisbergenTrackHouse Racing | 88 | Chevrolet | 2 |
+0.657 15.569 |
0.121 | 123.245 | |
| 37 | C. LajoieRick Ware Racing | 01 | Ford | 2 |
+0.729 15.641 |
0.072 | 122.678 | |
| 38 | J. LoganoTeam Penske | 22 | Ford | 2 |
+1.363 16.275 |
0.634 | 117.899 | |
| 39 | J. BilickiGarage 66 | 66 | Ford | 2 |
+1.436 16.348 |
0.073 | 117.372 |
