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.

TOP CONSECUTIVE 10-LAP AVERAGES FOR CHARLOTTE

Practice 1: Results

Pos	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg Speed
1	5	Kasey Kahne	1	10	188.561
2	18	Kyle Busch	1	10	187.616
3	11	Denny Hamlin	1	10	187.460
4	21	Ryan Blaney	1	10	187.142
5	10	Danica Patrick	1	10	186.963
6	2	Brad Keselowski	24	33	186.583
7	20	Matt Kenseth	22	31	185.711
8	19	Carl Edwards	15	24	185.626
9	42	Kyle Larson	25	34	184.807
10	24	Chase Elliott	16	25	184.422
11	16	Greg Biffle	18	27	184.151
12	1	Jamie McMurray	20	29	184.030
13	27	Paul Menard	19	28	184.012
14	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	20	29	183.871
15	38	Landon Cassill	26	35	183.391
16	34	Chris Buescher	16	25	181.431

* Car must run 10 consecutive laps on the track to be included in the above charts.

HARVICK LEADS FIRST CHARLOTTE SPRINT CUP PRACTICE

RELATED: Complete practice results | Best 10 consecutive lap averages

Kevin Harvick topped the leaderboard in Thursday’s first Sprint Cup Series practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway at 193.757 mph in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

Right behind him was Alex Bowman, subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 192.885 mph.

Rounding out the top five were Sprint Cup Series points leader Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota at 192.623 mph, Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 192.548 mph and Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 192.219 mph.

Coors Light Pole Qualifying is the next scheduled Sprint Cup event at 7:20 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App). The next Sprint Cup practice session is scheduled for Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN, NBC Sports App).

LOGANO LOOKING FOR MORE THAN 'BASE HITS' IN ROUND HE SWEPT IN '15

CONCORD, N.C. -- Joey Logano, driver of the Team Penske No. 22 Ford, is the defending winner of Saturday night's Bank of America 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Logano is also the defending race winner of next weekend's stop at Kansas Speedway.

A week later, when the series rolls into Talladega? Yep, Logano will be the defending race winner there, too.

His sweep of last year's Round of 12 in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup was remarkable. In addition to earning Logano the right to advance to the following round, the sweep also kept others from doing the same. For everyone except Logano, crew chief Todd Gordon and the No. 22 team, the round suddenly became a three-race points battle.

"Last year we talked a lot about not making mistakes in the first round," Logano said earlier this week. "I feel like we were able to do that last year.

"This round coming up, (it) was obviously incredible sweeping it. We want to be able to do that again, right?"

The elimination element has only been a part of the Chase format since 2014. Winning consecutive Chase races isn't unheard of, but Logano has been the only driver to do it under the current format. Tony Stewart won five of 10 Chase races en route to the title in 2011; Jimmie Johnson won three in a row in '04, then four straight in '07.

Outside of another sweep, choice No. 2 for Logano and his team would be to win one of the first two races in the round, anything that would guarantee a spot in the Round of 8. Hopefully before the round-ending stop at wildcard Talladega.

"Winning one of these next two races before Talladega, we all know, is very important," he said. "You won't get much sleep if you don't.

"These next two races, a lot of times we talk about them as the most important races in the Chase because in this round someone always gets knocked out that has a chance and is a threat. … Someone that you think you're going to see in the final four most likely is going to get knocked out in this round. Because there have been unknowns in each race … you never know what's going to happen.

"We have to go out there and race aggressively; that's the way the 22 car races and we're not going to change that. But I think also eliminating mistakes and execution becomes key."

Logano managed three top-10 finishes in the opening round a year ago before going on his second-round tear. The results have been similar this time around, which, according to Logano, has been according to plan.

"The first round, Todd has preached to me and to the whole team, I think at least a thousand times -- base hits," he said. "And we did that.

"We had a second, an 11th and a sixth which would be in the base-hit category, which gets you through to the next round. And that's the goal. The goal is to get through rounds and get to Homestead and race for a championship.

"As the Chase goes on, base hits don't do it anymore. You've got to be hitting some … triples and home runs.

"I think we're ready for that."

Saturday's Bank of America 500 is scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET start (NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR).

NASCAR, CHARLOTTE KEEPING EYE ON HURRICANE MATTHEW

RELATED: Truex discusses weather's impact on game plan | Weather updates


NASCAR officials said they are closely monitoring the track of Hurricane Matthew ahead of Saturday night's race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

No decision has been made that would potentially alter the status of Saturday night's Bank of America 500 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the fourth event in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs.


Weather outlooks for Thursday's on-track activity are encouraging, but rain is currently forecast Friday and early Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. The next race in the XFINITY Series Chase -- the Drive for the Cure 300 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC -- is scheduled for Friday (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

As of noon ET Thursday, Matthew was a Category 4 hurricane lashing the Bahamas and threatening landfall on Florida's Eastern coastline. Hurricane warnings stretched from just north of Miami to southern South Carolina.

Charlotte Motor Speedway is located in Concord, North Carolina, roughly 200 miles inland. The latest proposed track for the storm projects a looping course away from North Carolina, which could spare the state from the brunt of its damage.

The looming hurricane leaves teams plotting strategies for Thursday's on-track action, particularly the first afternoon practice.

"I feel like we're going to race Saturday night, but you never know with the weather," Martin Truex Jr. said. "We're definitely going to do a little race trim (Thursday), which is uncharacteristic for our group."


Daytona International Speedway, located in the heart of the storm's potential route, faces a more imminent hurricane threat. The 2.5-mile track closed its track tour and ticketing operations Thursday and Friday in advance of the worsening weather in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The National Weather Service's Thursday morning forecast for Daytona and its vicinity called Matthew the strongest hurricane to affect Florida's eastern central region in decades.

"We are working closely with local officials here in Volusia County and throughout the region to monitor Hurricane Matthew and to ensure that our facility is as secured as possible," track officials said in a statement. "While it is too early to predict the effect and exact path of the storm, our team has prepared extensively for weather systems such as this and our emergency safety procedures are in place."

Atlanta Motor Speedway is doing its part to help with the relief efforts. The 1.54-mile Georgia track has opened its campgrounds as a free-of-charge refuge for storm evacuees.

Cain: For breast cancer survivors, Charlotte is 'their race'

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The good vibes were easy to feel as one pink shirt after another crowded around the Charlotte Motor Speedway Victory Lane and pit road, where NASCAR stars mingled with breast cancer survivors and their families.

Six-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson joined United States soccer legend Mia Hamm greeting people and ultimately delivering encouraging words to the crowd of nearly 500 gathered to kick off October's Breast Cancer Awareness campaign.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina -- for whom Johnson and Hamm are "ambassadors" -- along with the track brought everyone together to paint the speedway's pit wall pink in a visible reminder of this disease that has affected so many people on some level.

"The NASCAR industry has always been so supportive of these kind of causes and teams have adopted the pink color for October for years," the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet driver Johnson explained between posing for photos, painting the pit wall pink and delivering an inspiring message to those attending. "We have pink trim on our hats and it's been on race cars. The support has been there. It's important to be a part of this and raise awareness.

"The great thing is if you detect it early there really is something you can do about it. And this event also raises awareness for kids so they grow up knowing it's a priority. As a father (of two young girls), that's definitely something on my radar."

Drivers Elliott Sadler, Blake Koch and Jeb Burton were also among the sport's stars there generously offering a friendly smile or gentle hug to survivors and greeting others who came to show support for family members and friends. These drivers are all too familiar with the devastating effects of this disease because their mothers have fought through diagnosis and treatment.

Being trackside with so many people who care was a transformative event for so many patients, who for at least one morning could take a deep breath and replace their pain and worry with the feeling of gratitude and hope.

And that is the whole reason behind this. Drivers who spend their weekends so tense and focused were at the track last Wednesday able to show how much they genuinely care, just in taking the time to be there, posing for a photo or sharing a paintbrush dripping pink.

"This is very personal to me and my family," said XFINITY Series Chase participant Sadler. "To see what our NASCAR community does for breast cancer awareness, for all the pink race cars, the uniforms, the pink trophies, the pink pace car and Charlotte Motor Speedway taking it a step further today. Look at all the breast cancer survivors we have here today. To paint the wall means so much to people affected by it.

"This is by far my mom's favorite race of the year, by far all because we get to run a pink car. I have an amazing sponsor, OneMain Financial, that lets me run a pink car for this race giving up their colors. What I've learned from my mom and other breast cancer survivors, this is their race. They've been through so much, this is a celebration of life, a time to forget about the bad and cherish the good. And that is a neat concept and a neat way to look at it."

Driver Jeb Burton's mother Tabitha is another breast cancer patient. She and I were diagnosed at similar times and have been supportive of one another while going through painful treatment and navigating the reality of this disease.

"She went through a lot and it's definitely hit home for us," said Burton who will drive the No. 98 Biagi-DenBeste Ford in Friday's XFINITY Series race at Charlotte. "This is a great cause and I'm thankful to be out here and paint the wall pink. Hopefully we can find a cure soon."


That is certainly the hope behind the easy smiles and loving hugs we all shared that day.

RELATED: Battling cancer, NASCAR.com writer finds strength in numbers

In the year since I finished my own harsh chemotherapy and radiation, I have lost a half dozen "chemo" friends to this disease. Some I was still too sick to attend their funerals.

The NASCAR community suffered incredibly sad losses to cancer in the last year including 10-year old Elijah Aschbrenner to Epithelioid Sarcoma cancer last November and Scott Zipadelli's 19-year old step-daughter Torie Costa to the disease (Rhabdomyosarcoma) last Christmas Day. Steve Byrnes, a popular broadcaster and my friend, passed away from cancer in April 2015; and another friend, longtime NASCAR journalist Bob Margolis, lost his three-time cancer battle just weeks ago.

Sherry Pollex, the longtime girlfriend of Sprint Cup Series points leader Martin Truex Jr., has battled ovarian cancer for the past two years.

Today, one of my dear friends is having breast cancer surgery. The follow-up and treatment of the disease afterward remains unknown at this point. Her children attend middle school with my daughter. And she was one of the people who immediately and lovingly cared for me and for my children when I was too sick to function during my own chemo. She brought dinner and comfort to us even when I was too sick to answer the door.

And now her diagnosis feels like a punch in the gut, such a cruel twist.

It's my turn to be her source of strength and optimism. So many people cared when I was at my sickest. And now it's an opportunity for me to be there for them.

I am aware like I've never been before. This disease has a way of humbling you and simultaneously motivating you to be a better person. It opens your mind to think more broadly, to act more swiftly. To realize you can care more.

When I left Charlotte last week after the event at the track I was full of gratitude, it was as if I had received a present for my soul. And judging by the smiles, hugs, even tears shared among the group, it was widespread feeling and greatly appreciated. 

"These amazing women, their stories and their fight, honoring them and their families and obviously the women that have passed, too," Hamm said of her time at the speedway. "It's important to continue telling their story of hope and determination and really empowering these women that are here to be proactive in their health. That's one of the reasons I feel so strongly to be a Blue Cross Blue Shield ambassador. It's really about empowering them to take care of themselves."


"This is one of the wonderful things that all the hard work I did in my career was able to do -- to inspire people. And in the end you pass it off to this incredible (NASCAR) race that millions of people will be watching to help spread the message of continued work and awareness for breast cancer."

By the end of the morning, it was truly, truly difficult to tell who was being motivated and who was doing the motivating.

And what an incredibly positive feeling to carry on.

Furniture Row Racing, Maaco team up for sponsorship

Martin Truex Jr. will return to the site of his history-making Coca-Cola 600 win with the same car, but with a new sponsor on board.

Furniture Row Racing announced Thursday that Maaco has signed on as a sponsor of its No. 78 Toyota entries in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The partnership with the auto painting and collision repair company starts with Saturday night's Bank of America 500 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM) at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"This has been such a great season for Furniture Row Racing, bringing on new partners," Truex said. "This is just another step in that direction."

Truex has a career-best four Sprint Cup victories this season, kicked off by the most dominant win in Coca-Cola 600 history at Charlotte in May. Truex won the Coors Light Pole Award and led 392 of the 400 laps.

Truex said during his media availability Thursday that the Colorado-based team will use the same car from their Memorial Day romp this weekend.