{"id":2961,"date":"2018-02-11T22:47:57","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T03:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=2961"},"modified":"2018-02-11T22:59:30","modified_gmt":"2018-02-12T03:59:30","slug":"alex-bowman-wins-first-daytona-500-pole-position","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2018\/02\/11\/alex-bowman-wins-first-daytona-500-pole-position\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Bowman Wins His First Daytona 500 Pole Position"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new driver for Hendrick Motorsport<\/strong>\u2019s #88 car, Alex Bowman<\/strong>, picked up the Daytona 500<\/strong> Pole Position. Bowman made it through the first round of qualifying in the #1 spot. He clocked in a 46.002 in the second round to officially get pole position. <\/span>Bowman won the pole for “The Great American Race<\/strong>” in his debut as the official driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet, which Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove before retiring at the end of last season.<\/p>\n

For the first half of qualifying, #48 Jimmie Johnson<\/strong> lead the group with a time of 46.217. Denny Hamlin<\/strong> bumped Johnson down a spot by getting a lap time of 46.132. Alex Bowman of course bettered both of their times, putting the #48 in third and the #11 in second. <\/span><\/p>\n

Despite not grabbing the desired pole position, Denny Hamlin was happy with his front row start. \u201cI literally am so ecstatic. It was so out of the blue \u2018cause I thought today would be a tough day of qualifying\u201d<\/em> said Denny Hamlin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Martin Truex Jr.<\/strong>, who won the MENCS Championship last year, will line up 26th on the grid after an unlucky lap during the early stages of qualfying. Danica Patrick<\/strong> will run her final Daytona 500 starting in 28th. <\/span>Defending Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch<\/strong> will be in the back half of the pack, starting in 17th.<\/span><\/p>\n

Drivers will get their last bits of practice during The Clash and Can-Am Duels, as the last practice sessions were on Saturday. Practice time has been split in half this year in comparison to how much time they were given in 2017. <\/span><\/p>\n

Pole position only means so much, as anything can happen at any time during the race. But to say that Alex Bowman has a better chance at winning than ever before, would be an understatement. <\/span><\/p>\n

Final Qualifying Positions: https:\/\/www.nascar.com\/results\/race_center\/2018\/monster-energy-nascar-cup-series\/daytona-500\/stn\/qualifying\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/strong>
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>