Bowman sweeps Friday’s Cup practices at Auto Club Speedway
Coming off of what might’ve been a close battle for the win before a late race caution at Las Vegas turned that battle into heartbreak, Alex Bowman was quickest in both practice sessions for the NASCAR Cup Series at Auto Club Speedway.
Bowman, no. 88, posted a time of 40.125 seconds (179.439 MPH average) in first practice, bettering Kyle Larson by nearly four tenths of a second. Larson posted the second fastest time of 40.517 seconds (177.703 MPH average).
The rest of the top ten in first practice were Tyler Reddick, Kurt Busch, Matt DiBenedetto, Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski.
Bowman backed that up with a leading time of 40.764 seconds (176.626 MPH average) in final practice, bettering Ryan Blaney by just over a tenth of a second. Blaney posted the second fastest time of 40.866 seconds (176.186 MPH average).
The rest of the top ten in final practice were Darrell Wallace Jr., Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell, Clint Bowyer, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Matt DiBenedetto and Kyle Busch.
Just missing the top ten in final practice was Ross Chastain who posted a time of 41.067 seconds (175.323 MPH average).
Sunday will mark the second race that Chastain will be filling in for Ryan Newman with the no. 6 Ford. Chastain was 14th fastest in first practice.
Last week’s winner, no. 22 Joey Logano, was 13th fastest in first practice with a time of 40.999 seconds (175.614 MPH average).
Logano was 16th fastest in final practice with a time of 41.112 seconds (175.131 MPH average).
Cup qualifying will take place Saturday at 2:35pm EST (TV: FS1; Radio: MRN). Sunday’s race is 3:30pm EST (TV: FOX; Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
SOURCES:
Racing-Reference.info
NASCAR
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com