2023 Daytona 500 qualifying results: Alex Bowman earns pole again
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Alex Bowman continued his record streak in Daytona 500 qualifying, as he earned his sixth consecutive front-row starting spot for NASCAR's biggest race.
Bowman won the 2023 Daytona 500 pole on Wednesday night, earning his third career pole in the race, as Hendrick Motorsports swept the front row, with Bowman teammate Kyle Larson qualifying second. Last year, Larson won the pole and Bowman was second.
The remainder of the Daytona 500 will be set by the 150-mile qualifying races — "the duels" — on Thursday night.
Single-car speed at Daytona is typically attributed to car setup. Drivers say they have little impact because they typically don’t have to lift off the throttle. They just have to make sure they have no issues when they mash the gas on their warmup lap and that they shift at the right spots.
"I'd love to sit here and take a little bit of credit, ... but it's really all on the team guys," Bowman said. "They get the job done."
Hendrick Motorsports announced a contract extension for Bowman earlier on Wednesday, who is in his sixth full Cup season with the team and now has a seat there through 2026.
One of the reasons he has the extension is his ability to go fast, something he's proven at Daytona with his consistency in qualifying.
But there was a difference this year, as he has a new crew chief in Blake Harris, who replaced Greg Ives as Ives opted for a new job at Hendrick Motorsports that required less travel.
"There's a long season to go, and I'm really looking forward to it," Bowman said.
Bowman was fastest in both the first round of qualifying and the second round, which featured the fastest 10 cars from the first round to determine the Daytona 500 front row. His pole speed in the final round was 181.686 mph, while Larson posted a lap of 181.057 mph.
Read more: Jimmie Johnson, Travis Pastrana qualify for Daytona 500
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. No. 48 Alex Bowman
2. No. 5 Kyle Larson
3. No. 24 William Byron
4. No. 10 Aric Almirola
5. No. 22 Joey Logano
6. No. 14 Chase Briscoe
7. No. 12 Ryan Blaney
8. No. 2 Austin Cindric
9. No. 21 Harrison Burton
10. No. 8 Kyle Busch
11. No. 23 Bubba Wallace
12. No. 99 Daniel Suarez
13. No. 17 Chris Buescher
14. No. 9 Chase Elliott
15. No. 1 Ross Chastain
16. No. 41 Ryan Preece
17. No. 4 Kevin Harvick
18. No. 6 Brad Keselowski
19. No. 54 Ty Gibbs (R)
20. No. 45 Tyler Reddick
21. No. 20 Christopher Bell
22. No. 19 Martin Truex Jr.
23. No. 84 Jimmie Johnson
24. No. 34 Michael McDowell
25. No. 67 Travis Pastrana
26. No. 11 Denny Hamlin
27. No. 43 Erik Jones
28. No. 42 Noah Gragson (R)
29. No. 36 Zane Smith
30. No. 16 AJ Allmendinge
31. No. 31 Justin Haley
32. No. 62 Austin Hill
33. No. 3 Austin Dillon
34. No. 38 Todd Gilliland
35. No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
36. No. 78 B.J. McLeod
37. No. 51 Cody Ware
38. No. 15 Riley Herbst
39. No. 77 Ty Dillon
40. No. 7 Corey LaJoie
41. No. 13 Chandler Smith
42. No. 50 Conor Daly
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass, and sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass.
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