Alex Bowman claims Homestead-Miami pole with last-minute qualifying surge
Alex Bowman secured the pole position for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a blazing lap speed of 168.845mph (31.982s). This marks Bowman's sixth career pole and his first both of the season and at Homestead-Miami.
Purple racecar speeds on circuit
Josh Berry claimed second place with 168.460mph, matching his career-best start from Bristol 2024. Noah Gragson took third at 168.219mph, also tying his career-best qualifying performance from Kansas 2024.
Top 10 Qualifiers:
- Alex Bowman: 168.845mph
- Josh Berry: 168.460mph
- Noah Gragson: 168.219mph
- Chase Briscoe: 168.140mph
- William Byron: 168.046mph
- Ryan Blaney: 168.010mph
- John Hunter Nemechek: 167.853mph
- Austin Cindric: 167.738mph
- Bubba Wallace: 167.645mph
- AJ Allmendinger: 167.629mph
Notable qualifying positions include Christopher Bell (16th), who won at Miami in 2023, and defending race winner Tyler Reddick (20th). Veterans Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin will start from 22nd and 23rd positions respectively.
"We've overcome a lot this year," Bowman reflected after qualifying. "We just need to have everything go right and execute all day. We've got some work to do for tomorrow on the long run, but starting up front with a good pit stall puts us in a strong position."
NASCAR Homestead Cup qualifying results
The Straight Talk Wireless 400 begins at 3 p.m. ET Sunday.