Alex Bowman Grabs His First Career NASCAR Nationwide Series Pole at Texas

       With a time of 29.441 seconds (183.418 mph), Alex Bowman was able to grab the pole for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas. It was his first career NASCAR Nationwide Series pole. Many people were shocked at how fast he was and the competition he had to beat. Not only did he have to surpass Kyle Busch, but he had to beat Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, and many others. It was definitely a record setting qualifying session that was one for the ages. 

        The first driver out on the track was Juan Carlos Blum. He ran the slowest lap of the day, but he was locked into the race. The first change in the qualifying order was with Blake Koch. His crew had trouble getting the car through inspection, but they were able to get it through and he made a qualifying run. The second change in the qualifying order was with Austin Dillon. His crew also had trouble getting his car through inspection, but he was able to make a qualifying run and grab the temporary pole. Up to that point the pole had been switching back and forth between drivers, but Dillon ended that. Kyle Busch was the first to unseat him and it looked like Busch would start on the pole. But Alex Bowman changed all that. With only one driver left to go after him, Bowman laid down the quickest lap and Regan Smith, the last driver out, was not able to out-do him. Just like that, Alex Bowman had his first career NASCAR Nationwide Series pole. 

         Bowman has been doing extremely well this year with a top 5, but this pole will definitely let the fans and other drivers know that Alex Bowman is a serious contender. With this pole, Bowman will hope he can grab his first career NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. He has the tools, but thirty nine other drivers hope they end up in victory lane. It will be a good show tonight at the Texas Motor Speedway.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Top 5 Qualifiers (With Times):
1st: Alex Bowman    29.441 (183.418 mph)
2nd: Kyle Busch    29.478 (183.187 mph)
3rd: Austin Dillon    29.483 (183.156 mph)
4th: Sam Hornish Jr.    29.519 (182.933 mph)
5th: Brad Keselowski    29.526 (182.890 mph)

Notables Not in Top 5 (With Times):
7th: Kevin Harvick    29.572 (182.605 mph)
9th: Matt Kenseth    29.598 (182.445 mph)
11th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.    29.614 (182.346 mph)
13th: Brian Vickers    29.710 (181.757 mph)
16th: Kasey Kahne    29.812 (181.135 mph)
21st: Travis Pastrana    30.046 (179.724 mph)

Go-or-Go Homers (With Times):
9th: Matt Kenseth    29.598 (182.445 mph)
11th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.    29.614 (182.346 mph)
17th: Kevin Swindell    29.850 (180.905 mph)
23rd: Chris Buescher    30.125 (179.253 mph)
24th: Johanna Long    30.147 (179.122 mph)
26th: Landon Cassill    30.280 (178.336 mph)
28th: Mike Wallace    30.314 (178.136 mph)
29th: Jeff Green    30.325 (178.071 mph)
31st: Jamie Dick    30.498 (177.061 mph)
40th: J.J. Yeley    30.641 (176.234 mph)
41st: Scott Riggs    30.772 (175.484 mph)
42nd: Joey Gase    30.828 (175.165 mph)
43rd: Chase Miller    30.942 (174.520 mph)
44th: Jason White    31.232 (172.900 mph)
45th: Michael McDowell    31.607 (170.848 mph)

DNQs: Michael McDowell, Jason White, Chase Miller, Joey Gase, and Scott Riggs

Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-qualification.html
-Image:
https://twitter.com/NASCAR