Alex Bowman Tops Opening Cup Practice at Bristol’s Dirt Track

Alex Bowman was not the Hendrick Motorsprots driver that was expected to top the speed charts in the NASCAR Cup Series’ opening practice for the Food City Dirt Race.

Bowman put down a lap of 20.155 (89.307mph) in his Ally Financial Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, with Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson rounding out the top-five speeds.

Bowman, along with Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson, William Byron and Chase Elliott all clocked laps inside the top-10.

The 50-minute session featured a total of five cautions, one for debris, one to end the session and three for single-car spins by JJ Yeley and Martin Truex Jr.

NCS Bristol Dirt Practice #1:

1. No. 48 – Alex Bowman – 20.155 – 89.307mph
2. No. 20 – Christopher Bell – 20.225 – 88.998mph
3. No. 18 – Kyle Busch – 20.248 – 88.897mph
4. No. 11 – Denny Hamlin – 20.266 – 88.818mph
5. No. 5 – Kyle Larson – 20.314 – 88.608mph
6. No. 9 – Chase Elliott – 20.334 – 88.521mph
7. No. 22 – Joey Logano – 20.434 – 88.088mph
8. No. 41 – Cole Custer – 20.523 – 87.706mph
9. No. 24 – William Byron – 20.535 – 87.655mph
10. No. 14 – Chase Briscoe – 20.548 – 87.599mph

Notables:

No. 1 – Kurt Busch – 22nd
No. 2 – Brad Keselowski – 26th
No. 3 – Austin Dillon – 32nd
No. 4 – Kevin Harvick – 14th
No. 10 – Aric Almirola – 20th
No. 12 – Ryan Blaney – 31st
No. 19 – Martin Truex Jr. – 13th
No. 21 – Matt DiBenedetto – 19th
No. 47 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 35th

10-Lap Averages:

1. No. 5 – Kyle Larson – 87.167mph
2. No. 48 – Alex Bowman – 86.604mph
3. No. 19 – Martin Truex Jr. – 86.520mph
4. No. 9 – Chase Elliott – 86.469mph
5. No. 41 – Cole Custer – 86.339mph
6. No. 11 – Denny Hamlin – 86.146mph
7. No. 22 – Joey Logano – 86.118mph
8. No. 8 – Tyler Reddick – 86.103mph
9. No. 12 – Ryan Blaney – 85.931mph
10. No. 34 – Michael McDowell – 85.787mph

Most Laps Run:

1. No. 9 – Chase Elliott – 68 Laps
2. No. 99 – Daniel Suarez – 66 Laps
3. No. 22 – Joey Logano – 58 Laps
4. No. 37 – Ryan Preece – 58 Laps
5. No. 18 – Kyle Busch – 57 Laps
6. No. 34 – Michael McDowell – 55 Laps
7. No. 47 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 53 Laps
8. No. 1 – Kurt Busch – 50 Laps
9. No. 3 – Austin Dillon – 50 Laps
10. No. 51 – Cody Ware – 50 Laps

NCS Practice #1 Incident Tracker / Log:

1. 09:00 – Debris in turn one.
2. 18:00 – Martin Truex Jr. (No. 19) spins in turn two.
3. 22:00 – JJ Yeley (No. 53) spins in turn four.
4. 45:50 – JJ Yeley spins once again.
5. 50:00 – Conclusion of NASCAR Cup Series Practice.

NCS Practice #1 Video Highlights:

Phoenix winner Martin Truex Jr. spins his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry in turn two at Bristol Motor Speedway’s Dirt Track.

https://t.co/LmOhX9NxkQ pic.twitter.com/chfTRgNI4s

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 26, 2021

Go for a ride around the @BMSupdates dirt track with @StenhouseJr! pic.twitter.com/ln2VdyVsIb

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 26, 2021