(Patrick Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR photo)
DOVER, Del. — In one of his limited appearances this season with JR Motorsports in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, Alex Bowman is proving that he refuses to let the chance of being in top equipment go to waste.
Preparing for his seventh series start of the year in the No. 88 Chevrolet, Bowman rocketed to the top of the speed charts with a time of 23.637 seconds (152.304 mph) on his 15th of 16 laps in final practice on Friday.
The time just edged out opening practice leader Kyle Busch for the top spot and led a field of 38 cars for the Drive Sober 200 (3 p.m. ET Saturday, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).
Bowman has finished in the top 10 in all six of his starts for JRM this season, with a best effort of third at Dover in May.
Busch went second-fastest in the 85-minute session, posting a best lap of 23.656 seconds (152.181 mph) that was just .019 of a second slower than Bowman’s time. The defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion will seek his sixth Dover XFINITY win this weekend.
Joey Logano was third-quick and his Ford gave all three manufacturers representation among the top three positions in final practice.
Bowman’s teammates, points leader Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier, completed the ‘Fast Five’.
Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Sieg and Daniel Suarez were the remainder of the top 10.
Chase contenders outside that threshold in Happy Hour included Brendan Gaughan (11th), Blake Koch (12th), Ty Dillon (14th), Brandon Jones (15th), Brennan Poole (16th), Darrell Wallace Jr. (17th) and Ryan Reed (18th).
Dillon had the fastest 10-lap average of the session at 148.547 mph. 38 cars made at least one timed practice lap.
Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series is slated for 11:45 a.m. Saturday, with live coverage on CNBC and the NBC Sports App.
