Bowman puts 88 on Daytona pole

Alex Bowman put a familiar car on the pole for the Daytona 500. Bowman made his debut as the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet, piloted until last season by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Six of Earnhardt’s 17 career wins at Daytona International Speedway came in that car, including one of his Daytona 500 titles. Earnhardt was a seven-time pole winner at Daytona. Now retired, the seat in the No. 88 went to Bowman, and he wasted little time making the Camaro his own with a 195.644 mph lap to earn the top starting spot for the Daytona 500.

Denny Hamlin, the 2016 winner, qualified second in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing with a lap at 195.092. Only the top two cars locked in spots for Sunday’s season-opening race in this round of qualifying. The remainder of the field will be set by a pair of qualifying races Thursday.

Danica Patrick was 28th in her final NASCAR single-car qualifying session. She’s racing in only the Daytona 500 and then the Indianapolis 500 in May before she retires.