Harvick Tops Bowman in BofA 500 Qualifying

Kevin Harvick Starts from pole by .004 second over Alex Bowman

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(CONCORD, NC – OCT 6, 2016 – RIS) [Track release] Kevin Harvick won the pole for Saturday’s Bank of America 500 in Bojangles’ Pole Night Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway; Harvick’s 27.547-second, 196.029-mph lap topped Alex Bowman, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s substitute driver, by .004 seconds

Rookie Chase Elliott will start third with Kyle Busch fourth and Tony Stewart fifth in the only Saturday night race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

Fans can buy tickets to the Bank of America 500 – which includes kids’ race-day tickets starting at just $10 – by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267) or by visiting online at charlottemotorspeedway.com/tickets

CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 6, 2016) – Kevin Harvick made great strides in his bid for a second Bank of America 500 win in the last three years when the 2014 race winner rocketed around Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday with a 27.547-second, 196.029-mph lap to win the pole for the only Saturday night race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Alex Bowman, substituting for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr., qualified second with a 27.551-second lap at 196 mph. Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott was third on Bojangles’ Pole Night with defending Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch fourth and Tony Stewart – in his final NASCAR start at Charlotte – fifth.

A.J. Allmendinger was sixth on the speed chart with Coca-Cola 600 winner Martin Truex Jr. seventh, Carl Edwards eighth, Denny Hamlin ninth and defending Bank of America 500 winner Joey Logano 10th.

Pole Winner – Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Busch Hunting Chevrolet): “I think any time you can eliminate track position (from being a problem) that is definitely a bonus for us. (Qualifying) hasn’t really been our strongest point all year. To see the speed the car had today, through all three rounds, tonight the car was just spot-on. I’m just really proud of the guys. We started in the right direction. There are just so many good teams in this deal. I think the way practice is going to go (Friday) is going to be a bit of a guess where the car needs to be for Saturday night. There are a lot of good engineers who can get it spot-on.”

Outside Pole – Alex Bowman (No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet): “I’m just so thankful to be here. It means a lot to me for Hendrick Motorsports to take a chance to let me run these races. It’s been a lot of fun and I’m trying to make the most of it. We made huge gains all through practice. I’m just really happy with our car.”

TICKETS: Fans can buy tickets to the Bank of America 500 by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267), or visiting http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/tickets/. Tickets are also available at the speedway ticket office. Weekend passes start at just $99 and Chase University passes for college students cost just $24. Children 13 and under get in FREE to the Oct. 7 Drive for the Cure 300 presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. Kids’ tickets start at only $10 for the Bank of America 500.

KEEP TRACK: Fans can connect with Charlotte Motor Speedway by following on Twitter and Instagram or become a Facebook fan. Keep up with all the latest news and information with the Charlotte Motor Speedway mobile app.

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Starting Line Up, 57th Annual Bank of America 500, Charlotte Motor Speedway

Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed
1) Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Hunting Chevrolet, 27.547 sec, 196.029 mph
2) Alex Bowman(i), No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet, 27.551, 196.000
3) Chase Elliott #, No. 24 3M Chevrolet, 27.585, 195.759
4) Kyle Busch, No. 18 Interstate Batteries/ABC Toyota, 27.660, 195.228
5) Tony Stewart, No. 14 Mobil 1/Rev the Vote Chevrolet, 27.660, 195.228
6) AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger/Stouffer's/Stouffer's FitKitchen , 27.680, 195.087
7) Martin Truex Jr, No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, 27.717, 194.826
8) Carl Edwards, No. 19 Stanley Toyota, 27.756, 194.553
9) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, 27.811, 194.168
10) Joey Logano, No. 22 Pennzoil Ford, 27.828, 194.049
11) Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, 28.033, 192.630
12) Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet, 28.640, 188.547
13) Danica Patrick, No. 10 Aspen Dental Chevrolet, 27.812, 194.161
14) Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford EcoBoost Ford, 27.834, 194.007
15) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, No. 17 SunnyD Ford, 27.840, 193.966
16) Jamie McMurray, No. 1 McDonald's Chevrolet, 27.854, 193.868
17) Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, 27.865, 193.791
18) Ryan Blaney #, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 27.873, 193.736
19) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow Coating Materials Chevrolet, 27.875, 193.722
20) Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Wurth Ford, 27.889, 193.625
21) Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 27.949, 193.209
22) Michael McDowell, No. 95 Thrivent Financial Chevrolet, 27.978, 193.009
23) Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet, 28.095, 192.205
24) Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Pink Cosmo Motors Online Toyota, 28.200, 191.489
25) Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target/Belkin QP Chevrolet, 28.128, 191.980
26) Chris Buescher #, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 28.150, 191.829
27) Trevor Bayne, No. 6 AdvoCare Ford, 28.192, 191.544
28) Paul Menard, No. 27 Valvoline/Menards Chevrolet, 28.194, 191.530
29) Casey Mears, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 28.203, 191.469
30) Brian Scott #, No. 44 Jacob Companies Ford, 28.216, 191.381
31) Clint Bowyer, No. 15 5-hour Energy Chevrolet, 28.279, 190.954
32) Landon Cassill, No. 38 Rev the Vote/Snapchat Ford, 28.329, 190.617
33) Aric Almirola, No. 43 Smithfield Ford, 28.337, 190.564
34) David Ragan, No. 23 Dr Pepper Toyota, 28.413, 190.054
35) Regan Smith, No. 7 Nikko RC/Toy State Chevrolet, 28.592, 188.864
36) Cole Whitt, No. 98 Vydox Plus Chevrolet, 29.032, 186.002
37) Michael Annett, No. 46 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, 29.036, 185.976
38) Jeffrey Earnhardt #, No. 32 Can-Am Ford, 29.183, 185.039
39) Reed Sorenson, No. 55 Vydox Plus Chevrolet, 29.400, 183.673
40) Josh Wise, No. 30 Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet, 29.453, 183.343

#: non-franchise team
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series