Bowyer narrowly beats out Johnson for Fontana pole

Bowyer bolted to the top of the speed chart late in the qualifying session with an average lap speed of 179.614 mph and held off challenges, first from Alex Bowman – who was fastest in both practice sessions Friday – and hometown favorite Jimmie Johnson.

The pole is just the fourth in Bowyer’s career with two coming in the last two seasons.

Johnson, who leads all drivers with six wins at the track, ended up second (179.582 mph) while Bowman was third (179.359 mph). Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick round out the top-five starters.

“I was freaking out, actually, that the sun kept coming out because the track was building temperature,” Bowyer said. “Everybody, you could see in the data, kept getting looser and looser down in (Turns) 1 and 2.

“I knew coming to the green was important, tried to stay out high, try to get up through the gear box as good as you can, but that’s what it was. It stuck down there (in Turns 1 and 2) and everybody else had to kind of chase it up the track and lost speed and momentum.

“Then (Johnson), I’m thinking, ‘Man, if it comes down and I get beat by the last car on the race track, I’m going to freak out.’ I got a pole baby! Looking forward to tomorrow. It’s going to be a hell of a race.”

Completing the top-10 starters will be Aric Almirola, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The No. 19 Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. failed pre-qualifying inspection three times Saturday morning and he was not allowed to make a qualifying attempt. He will start from the rear of the field in Sunday’s race.

In addition, the No. 1 Chevrolet of Kurt Busch failed pre-qualifying inspection twice. His car chief was ejected for the weekend and the team will lose 15 minutes of practice at Phoenix next weekend.

Cla	#	Driver		Manufacturer	Time	Gap	Mph
1	14	Clint Bowyer		Ford	40.086		179.614
2	48	Jimmie Johnson		Chevrolet	40.093	0.007	179.582
3	88	Alex Bowman		Chevrolet	40.143	0.057	179.359
4	1	Kurt Busch		Chevrolet	40.233	0.147	178.958
5	4	Kevin Harvick		Ford	40.250	0.164	178.882
6	10	Aric Almirola		Ford	40.280	0.194	178.749
7	22	Joey Logano		Ford	40.284	0.198	178.731
8	34	Michael McDowell		Ford	40.304	0.218	178.642
9	42	Kyle Larson		Chevrolet	40.341	0.255	178.478
10	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.		Chevrolet	40.351	0.265	178.434
11	17	Chris Buescher		Ford	40.367	0.281	178.364
12	21	Matt DiBenedetto		Ford	40.428	0.342	178.094
13	9	Chase Elliott		Chevrolet	40.485	0.399	177.844
14	43	Darrell Wallace Jr.		Chevrolet	40.487	0.401	177.835
15	2	Brad Keselowski		Ford	40.491	0.405	177.817
16	12	Ryan Blaney		Ford	40.503	0.417	177.765
17	18	Kyle Busch		Toyota	40.516	0.430	177.708
18	41	Cole Custer		Ford	40.519	0.433	177.694
19	8	Tyler Reddick		Chevrolet	40.583	0.497	177.414
20	37	Ryan Preece		Chevrolet	40.587	0.501	177.397
21	24	William Byron		Chevrolet	40.610	0.524	177.296
22	95	Christopher Bell		Toyota	40.698	0.612	176.913
23	38	John Hunter Nemechek		Ford	40.699	0.613	176.909
24	13	Ty Dillon		Chevrolet	40.738	0.652	176.739
25	3	Austin Dillon		Chevrolet	40.750	0.664	176.687
26	32	Corey Lajoie		Ford	40.761	0.675	176.639
27	6	Ross Chastain		Ford	40.783	0.697	176.544
28	11	Denny Hamlin		Toyota	40.790	0.704	176.514
29	20	Erik Jones		Toyota	40.955	0.869	175.803
30	52	J.J. Yeley		Ford	41.484	1.398	173.561
31	96	Daniel Suarez		Toyota	41.511	1.425	173.448
32	15	Brennan Poole		Chevrolet	41.819	1.733	172.171
33	77	Reed Sorenson		Chevrolet	41.975	1.889	171.531
34	53	Joey Gase		Ford	42.375	2.289	169.912
35	00	Quin Houff		Chevrolet	42.657	2.571	168.788
36	51	Garrett Smithley		Chevrolet	42.842	2.756	168.059
37	66	Timmy Hill		Toyota	43.729	3.643	164.650
38	19	Martin Truex Jr.		Toyota