BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Alex Bowman will lead the field to the green flag Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver won his first pole of the season with a lap of 15.142 seconds. This was the fastest lap of the day across all rounds.
Teammate Kyle Larson qualified second with a lap of 15.183 seconds. Larson was one of eight playoff drivers to reach the final round of qualifying.
MORE: Bristol night race starting lineup
William Byron (15.145 seconds), Martin Truex Jr. (15.202 seconds), Chase Briscoe (15.170 seconds), Christopher Bell (15.242 seconds), Carson Hocevar (15.217 seconds), Denny Hamlin (15.269 seconds), Corey LaJoie (15.330 seconds), and Chase Elliott (15.320 seconds) all qualified inside the top 10.
People are going to be studying this lap till the green flag tomorrow. 👀@Alex_Bowman | #BuschLightPole pic.twitter.com/cY8Ay0izy1
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 20, 2024
The pole win could be crucial for Bowman, who enters the weekend 41 points above the cutline. He has three top-five finishes and four top-10s in 14 starts at the Tennessee short track where track position is king. Starting up front will help him try to add to this stat line while trying to secure a spot in the Round of 12.
Multiple playoff drivers missed the second round of qualifying in Group A, which buried them in the field. Joey Logano posted the 20th-fastest lap at 15.443 seconds. Ryan Blaney was just behind him with a lap of 15.467 seconds.
Harrison Burton, who nearly lost control of his No. 21 Ford during qualifying, posted the 34th-fastest time at 15.565 seconds.
The issues for playoff drivers continued into Group B. Ty Gibbs qualified 13th after nearly losing control on his laps. His best lap time was 15.298 seconds. Tyler Reddick qualified 15th with a lap of 15.310 seconds while Brad Keselowski qualified 23rd with a lap of 15.364 seconds.
Austin Cindric in 27th (15.392 seconds) and Daniel Suarez in 35th (15.548 seconds) were the other two playoff drivers from Group B to miss the final round of qualifying.
The Bristol night race will take place at 7:30 p.m. ET. The command to fire engines will be at 7:26 p.m. ET and then the green flag will wave at 7:35 p.m. ET. USA Network will provide coverage for the elimination race.