I AM SPEED: Alex Bowman started the DAYTONA 500 from the front row for sixth consecutive time – the most of all drivers in NASCAR Cup Series history. His fast lap in Wednesday night’s qualifying session garnered his third pole in “The Great American Race.” With a finish of fifth (his best result in the event) in the crown jewel race, Bowman became the first driver to win the pole and finish in the top five since Bill Elliott in 2001. The result places him and the No. 48 team in fifth, 11 points behind Cup Series regular season points leader Joey Logano.
FUN IN FONTANA: Bowman has one win to his name at Auto Club Speedway (ACS), site of Sunday’s race. He led 110 laps – the third-highest total for him in a single race and the most he has led in a race he won – en route to the victory in the 2020 event at the Fontana, California, track. In six Cup Series starts there, the Tucson, Arizona, native has completed 1,212 laps of the possible 1,215 circuits, or 99.8%. Last year, Bowman had an average running position of 11th and was in fourth-place on lap 179 when the No. 48 Ally Chevy had a flat tire, resulting in a 25th-place finish. However, he ran in the top five for 45 of those laps – ninth-most of all drivers in the 2022 event.
WILD, WILD WEST: Bowman is no stranger to success on the West Coast, taking home wins at ACS in March 2020 and finding victory lane again at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2022. His two victories rank him as the eighth-winningest active driver at events that occur out west.
MAKING A POINT: With 96 points earned on the West Coast swing in 2022, Bowman scored the eighth-most points. His win at Las Vegas was the best result over that three-race stretch.
DAY ‘N’ NITE: The No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will adorn two versions of its primary scheme during the 2023 Cup Series season. The No. 48 Ally Chevy "day" scheme will host a white base with bright plum, grapefruit, and seafoam stripes down the side. This version of the primary scheme will appear at races that take place during the day. When the lights come on over the racetrack, the black-based No. 48 Ally Chevy "night" scheme will be sported with a similar design to its daytime counterpart. This weekend, the No. 48 machine will adorn the “day” scheme. Check out all the angles of the new look here.
SAVE THEM ALL: In 2023, Bowman and primary sponsor Ally are bringing back the Best Friends Animal Society’s year-long donation effort. Ally and Bowman are committed to donating $4,800 each week to Best Friends and a local network partner in the race market. If the No. 48 team wins, Ally will increase its donation to $10,000. Bowman and Ally donated $4,800 to the Halifax Humane Society after kicking off the season at the DAYTONA 500.
Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on his fast start to the 2023 season: "I think this team has a lot of momentum right now. With bringing on Blake (Harris, crew chief), Ally re-signing with Hendrick Motorsports, my extension, two really solid finishes and another pole at the DAYTONA 500, there are a lot of reasons to be excited. It is easy to get ahead of yourself. However, Blake does a great job of keeping the team focused on the details and not letting other things around us take away from what we need to do to be successful on Sundays. We are going to keep focused, get the details right and hopefully go compete for a win this Sunday in Fontana."
Blake Harris, crew chief of the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the momentum the team has heading to Auto Club: "Auto Club (Speedway) is a track that Alex (Bowman) has won at and dominated in 2020. I have had a lot of success there in the past with other drivers and it’s honestly one of my favorite tracks on the schedule. Coming off the momentum we have had the last couple of weeks with back-to-back top-fives, we are looking to continue to build on it. It will be interesting to see how the weather impacts the weekend. Hopefully we get on track Saturday, because if we don’t, it will be straight into the race on Sunday. If that’s the case, it will be all about hitting on all the small details. I am just ready to get into the more normal processes that our team will have this season. This weekend will start the foundation for the 2023 season."
No comments:
Post a Comment