Alex Bowman is hoping to continue the trend of drivers whose surnames start with the letter 'B' winning every race this year, and he certainly improved his chances via his Saturday qualifying effort. Thanks to a helpful cloud, he was able to put the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on pole position.
Noah Gragson, who was just the fifth driver out on track, held onto the top spot for most of the session while several contenders struggled. As the track warmed up in the Florida sun, no one could match the No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford as Gragson came closer and closer to collecting his first career NASCAR Cup Series pole after 80 tries.
Perfect timing
However, as clouds moved over the track in the final few minutes, the asphalt began to cool and the last drivers out were able to capitalize on it. Bowman rocketed to P1, beating Gragson by over a tenth of a second. A visibly frustrated Gragson marched back to the garage area as Berry then claimed 2nd, displacing Gragson on the front row. Bowman ended up beating last week's race winner, Berry, by just 0.073s for the top spot, earning his sixth career Cup Series pole and his first at a 1.5-mile intermediate track.
"Looking up, looks like we got some clouds. But yeah, I feel like we struggled a little bit in practice on the long run but were really fast on the short run," said Bowman in his interview to FOX Sports 1.
"We've overcome a lot this year. I think people don't realize the amount of things we've had go wrong throughout our races ... just need to have everything go right and execute all day. I feel like we've got some work to do for tomorrow on the long run for sure, but at least we're starting up front and will have a good pit stall."
Berry will start second, in his third career front row start, the best qualifying effort for the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford since winning pole at Dover in 2020. Berry is currently in the playoffs after earning his first career victory last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but now he has the chance to possibly earn the historic Wood Brothers team their first multi-win season since 1981.
"Just so happy with everyone on this No. 21 team," said Berry. "They're making me look good right now. We got really good cars. Just thank you to everyone at Wood Brothers Racing and Team Penske ... it's been a fun start to the season."
Gragson ended up third, Chase Briscoe fourth, and William Byron fifth. Ryan Blaney, John-Hunter Nemechek, Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace, and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top-ten.
But due to the ever-changing conditions, there are various star drivers starting deeper in the pack than expected. Friday night's Truck Series winner Kyle Larson qualified 14th as he aims to complete the weekend sweep while Christopher Bell -- who has the best average finish here of all active drivers -- was 16th. Tyler Reddick, who won at Homestead just a few months ago, timed in 20th. Other notable names such as Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, and Brad Keselowski will all have some work to do on Sunday as well.
Photos from Homestead-Miami: Practice & Qualifying
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| Cla | Driver | # | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Interval | Mph | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports | 48 | Chevrolet | 1 |
31.982 |
168.845 | ||
| 2 |
J. BerryWood Brothers Racing
|
21 | Ford | 1 |
+0.073 32.055 |
0.073 | 168.460 | |
| 3 | N. GragsonFront Row Motorsports | 4 | Ford | 1 |
+0.119 32.101 |
0.046 | 168.219 | |
| 4 | C. BriscoeJoe Gibbs Racing | 19 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.134 32.116 |
0.015 | 168.140 | |
| 5 | W. ByronHendrick Motorsports | 24 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.152 32.134 |
0.018 | 168.046 | |
| 6 | R. BlaneyTeam Penske | 12 | Ford | 1 |
+0.159 32.141 |
0.007 | 168.010 | |
| 7 | J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club | 42 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.189 32.171 |
0.030 | 167.853 | |
| 8 | A. CindricTeam Penske | 2 | Ford | 1 |
+0.211 32.193 |
0.022 | 167.738 | |
| 9 | B. Wallace23XI Racing | 23 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.229 32.211 |
0.018 | 167.645 | |
| 10 | A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing | 16 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.232 32.214 |
0.003 | 167.629 | |
| 11 | C. BuescherRFK Racing | 17 | Ford | 1 |
+0.296 32.278 |
0.064 | 167.297 | |
| 12 | J. LoganoTeam Penske | 22 | Ford | 1 |
+0.306 32.288 |
0.010 | 167.245 | |
| 13 | T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing | 54 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.315 32.297 |
0.009 | 167.198 | |
| 14 | K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports | 5 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.320 32.302 |
0.005 | 167.172 | |
| 15 | C. HocevarSpire Motorsports | 77 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.325 32.307 |
0.005 | 167.146 | |
| 16 | C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing | 20 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.327 32.309 |
0.002 | 167.136 | |
| 17 | Z. SmithFront Row Motorsports | 38 | Ford | 1 |
+0.335 32.317 |
0.008 | 167.095 | |
| 18 | C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports | 9 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.349 32.331 |
0.014 | 167.022 | |
| 19 | R. Herbst23XI Racing | 35 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.352 32.334 |
0.003 | 167.007 | |
| 20 | J. HaleySpire Motorsports | 7 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.368 32.350 |
0.016 | 166.924 | |
| 21 | T. Reddick23XI Racing | 45 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.368 32.350 |
0.000 | 166.924 | |
| 22 | K. BuschRichard Childress Racing | 8 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.387 32.369 |
0.019 | 166.826 | |
| 23 | D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.397 32.379 |
0.010 | 166.775 | |
| 24 | C. CusterHaas Factory Team | 41 | Ford | 1 |
+0.400 32.382 |
0.003 | 166.759 | |
| 25 | R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing | 1 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.409 32.391 |
0.009 | 166.713 | |
| 26 | R. Stenhouse JrHyak Motorsports | 47 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.413 32.395 |
0.004 | 166.692 | |
| 27 | M. McDowellSpire Motorsports | 71 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.413 32.395 |
0.000 | 166.692 | |
| 28 | E. JonesLegacy Motor Club | 43 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.414 32.396 |
0.001 | 166.687 | |
| 29 | T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports | 34 | Ford | 1 |
+0.463 32.445 |
0.049 | 166.436 | |
| 30 | A. DillonRichard Childress Racing | 3 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.471 32.453 |
0.008 | 166.394 | |
| 31 | R. PreeceRFK Racing | 60 | Ford | 1 |
+0.478 32.460 |
0.007 | 166.359 | |
| 32 | B. KeselowskiRFK Racing | 6 | Ford | 1 |
+0.529 32.511 |
0.051 | 166.098 | |
| 33 | D. SuarezTrackHouse Racing | 99 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.531 32.513 |
0.002 | 166.087 | |
| 34 | T. DillonKaulig Racing | 10 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.536 32.518 |
0.005 | 166.062 | |
| 35 | S. van GisbergenTrackHouse Racing | 88 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.758 32.740 |
0.222 | 164.936 | |
| 36 | C. WareRick Ware Racing | 51 | Ford | 1 |
+1.202 33.184 |
0.444 | 162.729 | |
| 37 | J. YeleyNY Racing Team | 44 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+2.139 34.121 |
0.937 | 158.260 |
