BRISTOL, Tenn. -- A little ray of sunshine was all Alex Bowman needed to secure the pole position for Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Well, not quite all. Bowman also had to turn a blistering lap in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet during Saturday's time trials at the 0.533-mile short track, and he did just that.
Bowman covered the distance in 14.912 seconds (128.675 mph) -- the fastest lap ever run at Bristol in the NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen car. That was good enough to hold off fellow Chevrolet driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (128.563 mph) by 0.013 seconds to secure the top starting spot for the ninth Cup Series race of the season.
It wasn't just the Busch Light Pole Award that had Bowman salivating. Extensive tire wear in the practice session that preceded qualifying compared to last year's spring event in Thunder Valley, where tire fall-off was a crucial aspect of the competition.
"I think we're all much more prepared than we were last spring," said Bowman, who ran his lap under favorable cloud cover -- with the sun coming out shortly after his qualifying attempt and warming the track slightly on an otherwise chilly day.
"I'm excited for a tire management race. It's going to be a lot of fun. We'll see what we've got," he added.
"We started practice with rubber already on the track from the Xfinity cars, peeled it right up and sawed the tires right off. Yeah, confusing why we're doing it again when we didn't do it in the fall.
"It's going to be warmer tomorrow. Maybe that changes it. It's really difficult to say. I think it's going to be like that (the spring race), but we'll find out together, I think."
Kyle Larson (128.511 mph) qualified third, after winning the pole position for Saturday's Xfinity Series race earlier in the day. Denny Hamlin, winner of the last two Cup events, was fourth in the fastest Toyota at 128.460 mph, and Ryan Blaney topped all other Ford drivers with a fifth-place qualifying lap at 128.305 mph.
In seven of the last eight Cup races at Bristol, the winner has come from the top five spots on the starting grid -- two from the pole and two from the second starting position.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell claimed the sixth and seventh starting spots, with AJ Allmendinger, Carson Hocevar and Justin Haley claiming eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively.
Kyle Busch was 15th fastest in qualifying, but he spun off Turn 4 on his second lap and flat-spotted his tires. Joey Logano, who qualified immediately after Busch, broke loose off Turn 2 and smacked the outside wall with the right rear of his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Logano will start 38th on Sunday.
Xfinity Series regular Jesse Love qualified 19th for his Cup Series debut on Sunday in the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
Hyak Motorsports' Ricky Stenhouse Jr. topped the leaderboard in practice at 128.082 mph ahead of Team Penske drivers Blaney (127.571 mph) and Austin Cindric (127.140 mph).
Larson (126.737 mph) and Chase Elliott (126.520 mph) rounded out the top five for Hendrick Motorsports.
Brad Keselowski (126.495 mph), Hamlin (126.461 mph), Busch (126.337 mph), John Hunter Nemechek (126.187 mph) and Bowman (126.121 mph) completed the top 10.
--Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.
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Shane van Gisbergen qualified in the top ten at Dover this past weekend, as he looked to prove he can hang with the big boys at NASCAR’s more traditional tracks. However, he never got the chance, as he started the race with a punctured tire that set him behind the pace before he could ever get going. There wasn’t much SVG could do, and Kevin Harvick recognizes that. The former Cup Series champion believes Trackhouse Racing failed their driver last Sunday, as the No. 88 team didn’t handle the situation in the right way, never truly giving their driver a way to get back into the groove. “I think that some of this is just oval inexperience,” Harvick explained, regarding SVG on the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour. “Ultimately, it sounded like they had a flat right-front tire. I think, when you look at the pit stop right here, you’re coming to a competition caution. Let’s just minimize the damage and we’ll assess it at that point, and then just change the tires and send him back out on the racetrack right here. I think that his feedback on the radio was, ‘Hey, I’ve got something broke in the front end,’ and ultimately it was a flat tire. But I think they should have just changed the tires right there, instead of losing four laps. “Lose maybe two laps, at worst, and give yourself a chance to at least fight back, to get back on the lead lap. So, sucks right there for those No. 88 guys. Qualifying good, getting able to start at the front of the pack. A lot of enthusiasm about the things that he’s done. Doesn’t even get a chance to really fire off in the race.” At least SVG can afford a P30 run, like he had at Dover. With three wins on the season, he’s in a unique situation, where he can focus on learning and improving on ovals ahead of the playoffs, instead of pining for better finishes and taking chances to get there. Still, pride is a factor, and the New Zealander is trying to prove he can get the job done on tracks that aren’t road courses. He’s easily the class of the field when the Cup Series has to make some right turns, but that’ll only get you so far in a chase for a title under this current playoff format. Perhaps this weekend’s trip to Indianapolis will bode well for van Gisbergen. During his one race there in NASCAR, which came in the Xfinity Series in 2024, SVG finished P4, ahead of many more experienced racers on ovals. Riley Herbst won the race. That could mean he’s better suited for success this weekend in Indiana. Of course, it could also mean nothing — SVG wasn’t racing against NASCAR’s best, but if he wants to prove he has what it takes at the sport’s more traditional tracks, the Trackhouse Racing star will have to compete. Time will tell, but Kevin Harvick will have a keen eye on Shane van Gisbergen this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We’ll see if Trackhouse Racing can help make up for what went down at Dover, or if more disappointment is on the horizon for the No. 88 Chevrolet team.
Texans wide receiver Tank Dell is likely to miss the entire 2025 season as he continues his recovery from last year’s brutal knee injury, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. Dell dislocated his knee and tore his ACL, MCL and LCL in a Week 16 loss to the Chiefs in December. With such a severe injury, Houston’s focus is on Dell’s health and long-term career outlook. The team wants him to get healthy rather than rushing back to play this year. Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said (via Wilson) that Dell is “crushing the rehab,” but declined to offer a specific timeline. His comments hinted that the team is not counting on Dell to return this season. Injuries were always the biggest concern surrounding Dell. His 5-foot-7, 165-pound frame was already undersized by college standards; in the NFL, it’s minuscule. Sitting out this season will set up a major contract year in 2026. Dell will need to prove that he is back at full health and can remain there for an entire season while maintaining his production. Dell was placed on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, along with teammates Trent Brown and Jimmie Ward.
The Golden State Warriors have had an underwhelming offseason thus far and the main headline surrounding the franchise remains the future of young forward Jonathan Kuminga. Kuminga remains a restricted free agent and after falling out of Steve Kerr’s rotation last season, his role entering next season is up in the air. Due to this, many believe that Kuminga’s time in Golden State is set to come to an end this offseason but the young forward is still deciding on what his next move will be, which will also be reliant on the Warriors due to them likely having to move him in a sign-and-trade deal. With Kuminga’s time in Golden State likely nearing an end, Sports Illustrated’s Jackson Caudell and Rohan Raman recently came up with a three-team mock trade that would send Kuminga to the Phoenix Suns. In the trade, the Suns would receive Kuminga and Moses from the Warriors and they would send Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neal and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick to Golden State. The Atlanta Hawks are the third team in this mock trade and they would acquire Nick Richards from Phoenix. This would be an interesting move for the Warriors as they would not only be moving on from a young player in Kuminga, but Moses Moody as well. Despite this, adding a sharpshooting guard in Grayson Allen, who also excels on the defensive end, could be a massive boost that the Warriors need. O’Neal would also give the Warriors a solid scorer and defender at the forward position that would allow them to upgrade their bench. By making this move, the Warriors would get older as they would swap two young players for two veterans but the additions of Allen and O’Neal, along with potential free agent signings, could help them compete for a title next season with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler leading the way.
The Dallas Cowboys were part of several trades this offseason, with the addition of wide receiver George Pickens getting the most attention. They also acquired cornerback Kaair Elam from the Buffalo Bills, a move that has been discussed quite a bit. That one, of course, is due to the injuries at the position, which may force Elam into a starting role. One move that's largely flown under the radar, however, was the trade for linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. A veteran linebacker who signed a two-year deal with the Tennessee Titans in 2024, Murray was added for a late-round pick. This addition could prove to be a steal, however, especially if the praise from head coach Brian Schottenheimer proves to be warranted. Ahead of Wednesday's practice, Schottenheimer raved about Murray's leadership and ability to make impact plays. "Size, power, ability to tackle, wrap up, get guys to the ground. He's a very good blitzer. And what I'm finding out as I'm getting to know K9 a little bit better, that's his nickname, K9, is the leadership that he possesses," Schottenheimer said. He then added that Murray is a "grown ass man out there" who "takes charge." Schottenheimer also said Murray was the most disruptive inside piece when the Cowboys played against the Chargers a couple of seasons ago. Heading into his sixth season in the league, Murray has 416 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and three interceptions. In Dallas, he says he's going to be focused on fixing their run defense, which is where help is sorely needed.