JUNIOR CELEBRATES 'JEANSBORO DAY,' SAYS HE EXPECTS TO RACE '17 DAYTONA

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. may not be competing in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series as the 2016 season begins to wind down, but the series' most popular driver still has plenty to keep him busy.

"Going to the races, doing all my (sponsor) appearances, doing everything I was doing before, just not driving," Earnhardt said Wednesday during a stop at the corporate headquarters of Wrangler.

"Take the driving part out of it and everything else I'm still doing."

Earnhardt was joined by team owner Richard Childress to help kick off the second annual "Jeansboro Day" celebration and reminisce about the long relationship Wranger has enjoyed with Childress and Earnhardt.

Earnhardt has been sidelined since midseason after suffering concussion-like symptoms following a pair of crashes. In his absence, drivers Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman have handled the driving duties in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet.

MORE: See: Bowman in the No. 88 car

After missing two races in 2012, this marks the second time in his premier series career that Earnhardt has missed races due to a concussion or concussion-like symptoms. 

Although he won't be back behind the wheel this season, Earnhardt told the crowd that he plans to be back in the car when the 2017 season gets underway atDaytona International Speedway.

"It's coming along pretty good," Earnhardt said when asked about his recovery. "We got dinged up, had a lot of wrecks this year, got dinged up pretty good. …

"(I'm) starting to feel real good, starting to be able to get out and do things, enjoy myself.

"I miss being in the car but we have every expectation of being in the car come February for the Daytona 500."

The Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend for Sunday's Hellman's 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It is the final race of the Round of 12 in this year's Chase, with only the top eight advancing to the next round.

Earnhardt, who has six career victories on the 2.66-mile track, said he plans to be at Talladega "all three days."

But just watching. Not driving, yet.

NASCAR America: Dale Jr: Alex Bowman battled through adversity

Alex Bowman was sick last weekend yet still managed to finish in the top 10 at Kansas for a career-best finish. Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared what he thought about Bowman’s gutsy performance in his podcast. Jeff Burton, Kyle Petty and Parker Kligerman discuss Bowman’s career trajectory and what he can expect passed 2016.

Matt Kenseth laments how good race turned bad; lucky to finish ninth

It was a bittersweet day for Matt Kensethin Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

The good part was he maintained his second-place position in the standings, just eight points behind series leaderJimmie Johnson.

But that was about the only thing good that came out of Sunday’s race, said Kenseth, who started from the pole, led a race-high 116 of 267 laps but finished what he considered a disappointing ninth.

“It was really bad,” Kenseth said of his overall race. “We had a good car and not sure how I did it, but I hit the wall getting into turn one and then in the middle of the race I started losing some handle a little bit when the track changed.

“I lost track of where I was and hit the wall. It was an uphill battle from there and then at the end I thought we still had a shot at a top-five out of it but (Alex Bowman) just hung a left as hard as he could and knocked our right fender off and then I was just dead in the water.”

With the way he dominated the first half of the race, it appeared this would be Kenseth’s race to win. But things didn’t work out that way.

Trying to put together a complete race is “never easy,” Kenseth said. “We got off a little bit. We led early and as the track rubbered up we got off on our handle a little bit and lost a few spots to (Chase Elliott) and (Kevin Harvick). Some of those guys had some real good short-run speed.

“Then I got into the wall right after I lost a couple spots and that really put us behind. But, I thought we were going to come back from it and I’m not sure what (Bowman) was doing. He came right across the track and cleaned the right front fender off. We were lucky to finish, so thankful we still got ninth out of it after that.”

Alex Bowman earns best result of career while dealing with ‘stomach bug’

The best finish of Alex Bowman‘s Sprint Cup career took a lot out of him.

The replacement driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway with what Earnhardt called a “stomach bug,” and managed put the No. 88 in seventh place.

Afterward, Bowman had to be taken to the infield medical center.

The seventh-place finish is Bowman’s best in 77 career Sprint Cup starts. He has two top 10s in his six races in the No. 88 as Earnhardt recovers from a concussion.

Bowman was one of three non-Chase drivers in the top 10. A.J. Allmendingerfinished eighth. It’s his sixth of the year and his first since the August Bristol race.

“It felt like the best 1.5-mile race we put together there” Allmendinger said. “Good solid top-10 car all day. I made a mistake and sped on pit road (on Lap 117) and got us behind a little bit. Just kind of tough call there at the end. You don’t know how many people are going to pit and good track position and everybody behind me came. I was pretty happy to hold most of them off. I felt like we had about a fifth or sixth-place car and we finished eighth with it. Just a solid day. We need to keep doing work like this.”

Allmendinger has 44 top 10s in 294 Sprint Cup starts, with nine in the last two seasons.

Kasey Kahne finished 10th for his sixth top 10 in seven races. He has 12 top 10s this year, his most since 2013.

Kevin Harvick outruns Carl Edwards to win Hollywood Casino 400

Kevin Harvick took advantage of Carl Edwards dueling with a teammate to lead the final 30 laps and win the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Harvick clinches a spot in the third round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup with the win.

The No. 4 was followed by Edwards, Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch.

Harvick, who led 74 laps, has won the second race in both rounds of the Chase so far. He won at New Hampshire in the first round.

“These races are hard to win and these guys are so good at the details,” Harvick told NBC Sports. “You put their backs against the wall and they get better.”

Harvick first took the lead on Lap 126 from Matt Kenseth, who led 116 laps before the halfway point before fading to finish ninth. Harvick then led 43 laps. In the middle of the race, a slow pit stop sent Harvick deep into the top 10, but Harvick returned to the point on the final restart. Edwards got into a tense battle with Busch, allowing Harvick to jump out to a 2.5-second lead.

Since the elimination format of the Chase debuted in 2014, Harvick has never been eliminated from a round.

“It’s hard to keep yourself motivated and perform at a high level, so to be able to come out and do it for three years says a lot about the character of this team and the things that they do,” Harvick said. “I’ve done a poor job (on restarts) the first half of the year. We struggled with some ratios and timing. We came up with some good ratios and things that really fit what we are doing.”

Harvick’s fourth win of the year gives him 35 Sprint Cup victories.

MORE: Race results

MORE: Point standings

HOW KEVIN HARVICK WON: Harvick overtook Carl Edwards on the final restart with 30 to go and led the rest of the way unchallenged.

WHO HAD A GOOD DAY: Carl Edwards led 61 laps and earned his first top five since Kentucky in July … Joey Logano finished third a week after placing 36th at Charlotte … Jimmie Johnson followed up his Charlotte win with a fourth-place finish … Alex Bowman bounced back from early contact with Jamie McMurray and an unscheduled pit stop to finish seventh for his career-best finish and his second top 10 … A.J. Allmendinger finished eighth for his sixth top 10 of the season and his first since Bristol in August …Kasey Kahne‘s 10th-place finish gives him six top 10s in the last seven races.

WHO HAD A BAD DAY: Aric Almirola andDavid Ragan caused a caution on Lap 37 when they got together. Almirola finished 40th, Ragan in 36th … Jamie McMurray hit the wall on Lap 44 after making contact with Alex Bowman. McMurray finished 37th … Kyle Larson hit the outside wall on Lap 177 to bring out the caution. Larson finished 30th … Brad Keselowski was turned by Denny Hamlinas they exited Turn 4 on Lap 190. Keselowski went sliding through the frontstretch grass, receiving significant damage. Keselowski finished 38th, earning his first DNF since the 2015 Daytona 500 … Denny Hamlin finished 15th after having to pit three times under one caution for splitter damage and being called for three pit road penalties late.

Notable: The last four Kansas races have been won by a different driver … Chevrolet has won 11 of the 22 Sprint Cup races held at Kansas.

Quote of the Day: “With this format I had a big points gap coming in. With this format it is probably the smart thing to do but I don’t want to race like that. I want to race my guts out and go for wins. I don’t want to points race. I don’t care what the damn format is, I am going to give it my best.” – Brad Keselowski after finishing 38th

NEXT: Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Sprint Cup race results from Kansas Speedway

Kevin Harvick scored his fourth win of the season, capturing Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway to advance to the Round of 8.

Carl Edwards placed second, tying his best finish at Kansas and scoring his first top-five result since Kentucky on July 9.Joey Logano was third. He was followed by Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch.

Alex Bowman, driving in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr., placed a career-high seventh. Kasey Kahne placed 10th for his sixth top-10 in the last seven races.

Click here for Hollywood Casino 400 results

Kenseth wins first pole of year for Hollywood Casino 400

Matt Kenseth will start from the pole for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Kenseth qualified first for the first time this season with a lap at 192.089 mph for the 18th pole of his career.

“It’s nice to get a pole, I feel like our qualifying hasn’t been nearly as good this year, as consistent as it has been in the years since I’ve been at JGR,” Kenseth told NBCSN. “We barely got it … obviously our Camry’s have been fast, our DeWalt Flexvolt Camry’s being driving good. Jason Ratcliff made all the right adjustments. Round One we were pretty decent, Round Two it was off a little bit off, and Round Three it was just right.”

Joe Gibbs Racing-affiliated Toyotas captured the top four starting spots with Kenseth followed by Kyle Busch (192.084), Carl Edwards (191.015) and Martin Truex Jr. (190.786). Alex Bowman (190.315) will start fifth in the No. 88 Chevrolet.

Kenseth’s pole is the 10th of the year for JGR. All four of its drivers have won a pole. Kenseth had four in 2015.

The only three Chase drivers who didn’t reach the third round were Chase Elliott(13th), Kurt Busch (15th) and Jimmie Johnson (21st).

“From round one to round two the car was much tighter,” Johnson told NBCSN. “We attempted to free it up, and I’m not sure if some of those adjustments might have changed the ride height of the car, affected the splitter’s orientation to the ground. A ton tighter than what we had in the opening round.”

This will be Johnson’s fifth start of 20th or worse this season. Johnson, who won last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway to secure a spot in the Round of 8, never has made the final round of group qualifying at Kansas.

“I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing,” Johnson said. “I’m not accustomed to qualifying well all the time. I’m used to racing through traffic.”

The first round briefly was red-flagged after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made contact with the wall exiting Turn 4. Stenhouse advanced to the second round and qualified 18th.

Click here to see full qualifying results.

JOHNSON WINS AT CHARLOTTE, LOCKS IN ROUND OF 8 SPOT

Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday. The victory locks in Johnson's spot in the Round of 8 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Johnson had to overcome the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Matt Kenseth on a late restart to take the lead back for good on Lap 317.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver led 155 laps en route to his eighth victory at the 1.5-mile track and his 78th victory in the sport's top series. Since the Chase moved to an elimination format in 2014, Johnson had never advanced out of the Round of 12.

Kenseth finished second, while Kasey Kahne finished third. Ryan Newman and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five. Of the top five, only Johnson and Kenseth are in the Chase.

Several Chase contenders had issues on this day. Martin Truex Jr. (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota) came to pit road in the top three for his final stop under caution on Lap 311, but his car stalled leaving pit road. That trouble led him to finish 13th.

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) was running in second and had led 52 laps before his engine expired on Lap 307. Hamlin finished in 30th.

Polesitter Kevin Harvick had an electrical issue with his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet just shy of the midway point of the 334-lap event that brought his day to an early end. Harvick had spent much of his run in the top five before trouble hit; he finished 38th.

Joey Logano also had problems, smacking the wall twice due to tires going down over the course of runs. He went to the garage before returning 77 laps down and ultimately finishing in 36th. Last year, Logano swept all three races in the Round of 12.

A big wreck on a Lap 258 restart involving Austin Dillon's No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, Chase Elliott's No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and several others shook up the running order late and brought out a red flag. Both Dillon and Elliott were in the top five at the time and Elliott had led 103 laps on the day. The RCR driver finished 32nd, while Elliott finished 33rd.

The driver that started second, Alex Bowman, (who was filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Chevrolet) was involved in a Lap 61 wreck with Casey Mears that saw the Hendrick Motorsports machine suffer major damage to the right side and call it a day early with a 39th-place finish.

Sunday's race was initially scheduled for Saturday night but rain and remnants of Hurricane Matthew led to the race being moved to Sunday as part of a doubleheader with the NASCAR XFINITY Series race, which was postponed from Friday night to Sunday.

The Round of 12 will continue next Sunday at Kansas Speedway with the Hollywood Casino 400 (Oct. 16, 2:15 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

This story will be updated.

Cut tire ends Alex Bowman’s day early at Charlotte (video)

CONCORD, N.C. — Alex Bowman‘s impressive run in the No. 88 Chevrolet at Charlotte Motor Speedway came to an end on Lap 62 of the Bank of America 500.

Bowman was running third when his left-front tire failed as he entered Turn 3. It shot the Axalta Chevrolet up the racetrack and into Casey Mears‘ No. 13 Chevrolet. The two then made contact with the outside wall before Bowman brought the car on pit road and toward the garage.

“Blew a tire I guess,” Bowman said. “It’s really unfortunate. I hate it for these Axalta guys. Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports worked so hard. They brought a great race car here, brand new, and destroyed it. Really unfortunate, but it’s not anybody’s fault. We didn’t hit nothing. We just must have run over something.”

Sunday was Bowman’s fifth start substituting for Dale Earnhardt Jr. He started the weekend by qualifying a career-best second to Kevin Harvick and had not fallen outside the top five in the running order at the time of the accident.

Bowman’s best finish with Hendrick Motorsports in four starts was a 10th place at Chicagoland Speedway two weeks ago. He will be behind the wheel for five of the season’s six remaining races.

“They knew we were here; that’s all that matters,” Bowman said. “There is nothing more I can do, nothing more anybody on the race team can do. They all do a great job and did everything right, just bad luck.”

Kevin Harvick fastest in first Bank of America 500 practice

Kevin Harvick had the fastest speed in the first Sprint Cup practice session for the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Harvick posted a speed of 193.757 mph around the 1.5-mile track. He was the only driver to top 193 mph.

The No. 4 team was followed by Alex Bowman (192.885), Coke 600 winner Martin Truex Jr. (192.623), Kyle Busch (192.548) and Denny Hamlin (192.219).

Danica Patrick (45) and Kyle Larson (42) recorded the most laps in the session.

Kasey Kahne had the best 10-lap average at 188.561 mph.

HARVICK EARNS FIRST POLE AWARD OF YEAR AT CHARLOTTE

CONCORD, N.C. – Kevin Harvick may have won the pole for Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (7 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), but Alex Bowman continued to open eyes as a substitute driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Touring the 1.5-mile speedway in 27.547 seconds (196.029 mph), Harvick knocked Bowman (196.000 mph) off the pole by a scant .004 seconds in the final round of Thursday evening’s knockout qualifying.

The pole was Harvick's first at Charlotte, his first of the 2016 season and the 16th of his career.

"It was good in (Turns) 1 and 2, but I felt like I gave up a little something in (Turns) 3 and 4 coming to the checkered," Harvick said of his lap in the money round. "This has just been a fun car to drive today. Hopefully we can get it dialed in race trim."

Where Harvick gave up speed in the final two corners, Bowman likely lost the pole in the first two turns, where he drifted up the track slightly and scrubbed off just enough speed to fall short of Harvick by the minute fraction of a second.

Nevertheless, driving in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in six of the last seven races of the season while Earnhardt recovers from a concussion, Bowman stole the show.

"The Showman Bowman was fast tonight," Earnhardt tweeted after the final round. "Great job @AlexBRacing and @AxaltaRacing gang. P2 @CLTMotorSpdwy."

Bowman, the fastest of the non-Chase drivers in time trials, recently posted his career-best NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finish, a 10th at Chicagoland Speedway. Though Bowman continues to show excellent speed as a substitute, he has no definite plans for next year.

But he came tantalizingly close to a monumental achievement on Thursday night.

"Honestly, we didn't put the greatest lap together," said Bowman, who ran the fastest lap of the day in the second round (196.200 mph). "In (Turns) 1 and 2, we were a little free in (into the corner) and didn't really keep it on the bottom like I needed to.

"Turns 3 and 4 were really good. It means so much for Hendrick Motorsports to take a chance on me for these races. I'm really thankful to be here. I hate that we didn’t get the pole. We were so close. It's definitely my best starting spot by a bunch, but you'd always like that pole."

Chase drivers claimed eight of the top-12 starting positions, with Chase Elliott qualifying third, Kyle Busch fourth, Martin Truex Jr., seventh, Carl Edwards eighth, Denny Hamlin ninth, Joey Logano 10th and Jimmie Johnson 11th.

Chase drivers Matt Kenseth (17th), Austin Dillon (19th), Brad Keselowski (20th) and Kurt Busch (23rd) failed to advance to the final round.

"I don't think anybody knew that we could go as fast as Bowman went in that second round," Edwards said. "That kind of raised the stakes for everyone."

Notes: Danica Patrick will start 13th, her second-best effort this year after qualifying 11th at Sonoma in June. Patrick just missed advancing to the final round; Johnson edged her for the 12th and final position by .012 seconds… Hendrick Motorsports continued to show improved speed, putting all four of its cars in the top 12 (with Kasey Kahne in 12th joining Bowman, Elliott and Johnson). Hendrick-powered cars claimed four of the top five spots on the grid, with Harvick on the pole and Tony Stewart fifth.

Entry list for Sprint Cup’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte

There are 40 cars on the entry list for the Sprint Cup Series’ Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

After Jeff Gordon ran the No. 88 at Dover, Alex Bowman returns to continue as a substitute for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Martin Truex Jr. won the last visit to Charlotte when he led 392 laps and won the Coca-Cola 600. Joey Logano won the fall race last year to start a sweep of the second round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Click here for the Bank of America 500 entry list.

Results from the Xfinity Series race at Richmond

Kyle Busch took the lead on Lap 51 and never looked back Friday night at Richmond en route to his eighth Xfinity win of the season.

It was the 84th win of Busch’s career and his sixth at Richmond.

Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Erik Jones, finished second followed by Brad Keselowski, Elliott Sadler, and Justin Allgaier.

Ty Dillon, Austin Dillon, Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman, and Brennan Poole rounded out the top 10.

Results:

NO. 88 DRIVER SCHEDULE

Following Friday's announcement that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will sit out for the remainder of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season as he continues to recover from concussion-related symptoms, Hendrick Motorsports officials said that Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman would split time behind the wheel in a fill-in role.

Gordon, 45, will be the interim driver in four of the remaining 12 races this year. A four-time series champion, Gordon has driven in four races in Earnhardt's stead already this season. Bowman, 23, will handle driving duties for the No. 88 team for eight of the 10 races in the season-ending Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs. Bowman, a part-time driver for the JR Motorsports operation in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, has two fill-in starts already under his belt in 2016.

"Jeff and Alex will give us a great opportunity over the rest of the season," team owner Rick Hendrick said in a release provided by the organization. "Jeff is one of the best of all time and knows our system. He brings things to the table that no one else can. Alex is a young driver with a lot of talent, and he will give us a fresh perspective. We know they're not only capable of running up front and giving us a chance to win, but they'll help us get better."

A detailed list of who will wheel Earnhardt's No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at each race during his absence.
NO. 88 DRIVER SCHEDULE
TRACKDATEDRIVERNOTE
Darlington RacewaySept. 4Jeff Gordon  Gordon is a seven-time Darlington winner
Richmond International RacewaySept. 10Jeff Gordon  Gordon has won twice at Richmond in his career
Chicagoland SpeedwaySept. 18Alex BowmanBowman will make his third Chicagoland start
New Hampshire Motor SpeedwaySept. 25Alex Bowman  Bowman ran well early, but had car trouble and finished 26th in his first start in the No. 88 earlier this year
Dover International SpeedwayOct. 2Jeff Gordon  Gordon is a five-time Dover winner and last won this race in 2014.
Charlotte Motor SpeedwayOct. 8Alex Bowman  Bowman will make his fifth Charlotte start
Kansas SpeedwayOct. 16Alex Bowman  Bowman's previous four Kansas starts yielded a best finish of 31st
Talladega SuperspeedwayOct. 23Alex Bowman  Bowman's second-best career finish (16th) came at Talladega in 2015
Martinsville SpeedwayOct. 30Jeff Gordon Martinsville is home of Gordon's last win, an iconic moment in 2015 that clinched his spot in the Championship Round at Homestead
Texas Motor SpeedwayNov. 6Alex Bowman  Bowman will make his fifth career Texas start
Phoenix International RacewayNov. 13Alex Bowman  Bowman finished 30th here in the spring of 2015, his best showing in four starts
Homestead-Miami SpeedwayNov. 20Alex BowmanThe season finale will be Bowman's third career start at the Miami-based track

Preliminary Sprint Cup entry list for Darlington

Forty cars are entered for this weekend’s Bojangles Southern 500 Sprint Cup race at Darlington Raceway.

This will be Darlington’s second consecutive “Throwback Weekend,” where numerous Sprint Cup cars will carry paint themes primarily from the 1975-84 era.

With Dale Earnhardt Jr. still sidelined for a sixth consecutive race due to a concussion, Jeff Gordon will return for the fourth race to drive the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Gordon was unable to race this past Sunday at Michigan due to previous commitments.

Alex Bowman filled in at MIS for the second time for Earnhardt during his absence, having previously raced at New Hampshire.

This will be the 113th time the Sprint Cup Series has raced at the unique, egg-shaped oval in South Carolina. Carl Edwards is the defending race winner from last year’s event.

Here’s the preliminary entry list:

Joey Logano earns Sprint Cup Series pole at Michigan

Joey Logano won the pole by posting the fastest time in the third round of Sprint Cup Series qualifying on Friday at Michigan International Speedway with a lap of 201.698 mph. It was Logano’s third pole at Michigan and his third of the season, which ties him for the second in the series this season.

The Team Penske driver enters the Pure Michigan 400 as the most recent winner at Michigan, having won from the pole in June. He will lead the field to the green flag alongside Jimmie Johnson, who posted a lap of 201.523 mph.

“I hope so, track position is a big deal here,” Logano told NBCSN of following up his June performance. “That pit stall number one is a big deal as well, so being able to give our pit crew the advantage of trying to keep the track position throughout the race is going to be key. Obviously, this race turns into a strategy fest but awesome for our Shell/Pennzoil team to get another pole here.”

The top five were Logano, Johnson, Denny Hamlin (201.416 mph), Kevin Harvick (201.382 mph), and Chase Elliott (201.303 mph).

With his third-place qualifying effort, Hamlin will have started in the top 10 in the last 22 races. That is the longest streak by a driver since Mark Martin went 22 straight between 1988-1989.

With Johnson second, Elliott fifth, Alex Bowman (in for Dale Earnhardt Jr.) sixth and Kasey Kahne 11th, it marks only the second time this season that all four Hendrick Motorsports cars have started in the top 12. The only other time that happened was at Talladega in May.

Here is how qualifying played out:

Sprint Cup starting lineup at Michigan International Speedway

Joey Logano will attempt to complete the season sweep of Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. Just as he did in June, Logano will start on the pole in the Pure Michigan 400. The No. 22 was the only Ford to qualifying in the top five.

Kevin Harvick, seeking his second consecutive win, will start fourth. Alex Bowman, driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88, starts sixth.

The 200-lap race can be seen on NBCSN, beginning with Countdown to Green at 1:30 p.m. ET.

LOGANO LEAPS TO COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD AT MICHIGAN

Joey Logano drove to the Coors Light Pole Award in Friday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying at Michigan International Speedway.

Logano powered the Team Penske No. 22 Ford to a best lap of 201.698 mph around the 2-mile track, securing the first starting position for Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).

Logano's third pole of the season is the 17th of his Sprint Cup career. He also won from the pole position in the series' most recent trip to Michigan in June.

Jimmie Johnson will start second after posting a lap of 201.523 mph in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet. Denny Hamlin (201.416 mph) was third-fastest in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota.

Kevin Harvick, last week's winner at Bristol Motor Speedway, grabbed the fourth starting spot at 201.382 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevy. Rookie Chase Elliott (201.303 mph) completed the top five in the Hendrick No. 24 Chevrolet.

Alex Bowman, making his second substitute start for the sidelined Dale Earnhardt Jr., landed the sixth starting spot in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet.

Defending race winner Matt Kenseth just missed the cutline for the final 12-driver round, running Round 2's 13th-fastest lap (200.390 mph) in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota. Defending Sprint Cup champ Kyle Busch qualified 16th in JGR's No. 18 Toyota.

The three-round session was a prelude to Sunday's 400-miler, which is expected to be the last live-race deployment this season of a reduced downforce aerodynamic package. The rules setup, which also decreases the stabilizing effect of sideforce, is likely the fore-runner to the base rules that will be used in NASCAR's premier series next season.

Two practice sessions are scheduled Saturday ahead of the 24th of 36 points-paying Sprint Cup races this year.

Jeff Gordon will not drive No. 88 car for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Michigan

Jeff Gordon says he will not drive the No. 88 car for Dale Earnhardt Jr. next weekend at Michigan International Speedway because of a prior commitment.

“I didn’t know I was going to be doing all of this,” Gordon said.

Gordon would not say what the commitment was but said he would only be at Michigan on race day. Hendrick Motorsports confirmed that Alex Bowman will drive the No. 88 car at Michigan if Earnhardt is unable to race. Bowman drove for Earnhardt last month at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and finished 26th.

Earnhardt has not said what his status for Michigan is. Thursday, Earnhardt posted a series of pictures and videos on his Instagram account showing some of the physical and mental exercises he is doing to aid his recovery.

Gordon said it’s simple why he’s not driving at Michigan.

“I can’t be there all weekend,” he said.

Asked if he could drive on race day only at Michigan, Gordon said: “It doesn’t make sense. I’ve not driven that (reduced downforce) package. I think it’s only fair, and I’m pretty sure that Alex Bowman would be in the car, it wouldn’t be fair to him, it wouldn’t be fair to this team. I’m not so sure I’m even the best choice for that package at that race anyway to get the most points for the car owner (standings). That’s my primary goal.”

The Sprint Cup Series will use the reduced downforce package at Michigan that was run there earlier this year and at Kentucky. That package is expected to be set for next season.

Gordon qualified 11th for Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway. This will be his fourth race filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has been out because of a concussion suffered in June at Michigan. The symptoms, though, did not show up until weeks later. Bristol will be the fifth race Earnhardt has missed. Gordon drove for him at Indianapolis (finished 13th), Pocono (27th), Watkins Glen (14th) and Bristol.

Watkins Glen marked Gordon’s 800th career Sprint Cup start.

Gordon said he would be available to run in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway if Earnhardt was still unable to be back in the car by the Sept. 4 race.

Preliminary Sprint Cup entry list for Michigan

Forty cars are entered for this weekend’s Pure Michigan 400 Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.

No driver is listed for the No. 88 car. Hendrick Motorsports tweeted Monday that an announcement on who will drive the car is not expected before Wednesday afternoon. The team has stated that if Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not cleared by doctors to race, Alex Bowman will drive the car this weekend.

Michael Annett is listed in the No. 46 car after missing last weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway for what the team called flu-like symptoms. Justin Allgaier drove for Annett at Bristol.