Bowman wins Daytona 500 pole

Alex Bowman put an familiar car on top of the Daytona 500 leaderboard, winning the pole in his debut as the official driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet that Dale Earnhardt Jr. made famous.

The 24-year-old from Arizona filled in for an injured Earnhardt in 2016 and impressed team owner Rick Hendrick enough that when Earnhardt retired after last season, Bowman got the job. Now he’ll run in his second Daytona 500 in NASCAR’s season opener.

Brad Keselowski, who opened as the 7-1 favorite to win the Daytona 500, led a 1-2 Team Penske sweep in the exhibition The Clash at Daytona International Speedway. Joey Logano finished second.

Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel is expected to miss four to six weeks with a sprained right ankle. Eichel leads Buffalo with 22 goals and 53 points in 55 games.

The Sacramento Kings waived guard Joe Johnson.