Alex Bowman received an early advantage to his lone NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the 2025 season by claiming the pole position for the GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, March 8.
A standard practice and qualifying procedure determined the event’s starting lineup. The field was split into two 25-minute practice sessions apiece. Next, they joined forces to participate in one single-lap qualifying session (impound). The groups and qualifying order were determined by metrics that included 70% based on previous race finish by owner and 30% based on owner points standings, with the best-scoring competitors placed in the second group.
During the qualifying session, Bowman, who was the sixth-fastest competitor overall when the practice speeds and times were combined between the groups at 128.255 mph in 28.069 seconds, clocked in a pole-winning lap at 131.984 mph in 27.276 seconds, which was enough to achieve the top-starting spot in front of his home crowd at the desert state.
With the pole, Bowman, a three-time Daytona 500 pole winner and eight-time Cup Series race winner from Tucson, Arizona, notched his fourth Xfinity Series career pole and his first since Michigan International Speedway in June 2016. He also recorded the 41st Xfinity pole overall for Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) and the organization’s first since teammate Kyle Larson achieved the previous feat at Circuit of the Americas in March 2024.
The pole was also Bowman’s second at Phoenix across NASCAR’s top three national touring series. Previously, the Arizona native recorded his first Cup Series career pole at Phoenix in November 2016 while serving as an interim competitor for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Having recorded his lone Xfinity victory to date at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October 2017, Bowman will attempt to steer the No. 17 HMS/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry to a second series’ victory on Saturday afternoon at Phoenix and gain another early advantage in preparation for Sunday’s Cup Series event at his home track.
“Honestly, I didn’t feel like [my run] was the greatest lap,” Bowman said on the CW Network. “I missed my entry to [Turn] 1 a little bit, got myself a little bit tight, but just really happy with the HendrickCars.com Camaro so far. These Xfinity cars are really fun to drive. I think we’re a little tighter than we need to be, but we’ll make some adjustments and go from there.”
Bowman will share the front row with Sheldon Creed, the latter of whom clocked in the second-fastest qualifying lap session for the event at 131.584 mph in 27.359 seconds. Sammy Smith, who won the spring Phoenix event in 2023, will start in third place with his best qualifying lap occurring at 131.315 mph in 27.415 seconds. Smith will share the second-starting row with teammate Connor Zilisch, the winner of last weekend’s event at Circuit of the Americas. Zilisch posted his best-qualifying lap at 131.124 mph in 27.455 seconds
Jesse Love will start in fifth place as rookie William Sawalich, rookie Nick Sanchez, Aric Almirola, rookie Taylor Gray and Austin Hill completed the top-10 starting spots.
Notably, Jeb Burton, Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Jeremy Clements, rookie Christian Eckes, Harrison Burton and rookie Carson Kvapil will start 11th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 19th, 20th, 21st and 24th, respectively.
With 38 competitors vying for 38 starting spots, all of the competitors made the main event.
Qualifying position, best speed, best time:
1. Alex Bowman, 131.984 mph, 27.276 seconds
2. Sheldon Creed, 131.584 mph, 27.359 seconds
3. Sammy Smith, 131.315 mph, 27.415 seconds
4. Connor Zilisch, 131.124 mph, 27.455 seconds
5. Jesse Love, 130.828 mph, 27.517 seconds
6. William Sawalich, 130.624 mph, 27.560 seconds
7. Nick Sanchez, 130.501 mph, 27.586 seconds
8. Aric Almirola, 130.473 mph, 27.592 seconds
9. Taylor Gray, 130.416 mph, 27.604 seconds
10. Austin Hill, 130.251 mph, 27.639 seconds
11. Jeb Burton, 130.034 mph, 27.685 seconds
12. Dean Thompson, 129.997 mph, 27.693 seconds
13. Sam Mayer, 129.702 mph, 27.756 seconds
14. Justin Allgaier, 129.608 mph, 27.776 seconds
15. Josh Williams, 129.320 mph, 27.838 seconds
16. Brandon Jones, 129.310 mph, 27.840 seconds
17. Daniel Dye, 129.134 mph, 27.878 seconds
18. Blaine Perkins, 129.065 mph, 27.893 seconds
19. Jeremy Clements, 129.028 mph, 27.901 seconds
20. Christian Eckes, 128.958 mph, 27.916 seconds
21. Harrison Burton, 128.898 mph, 27.929 seconds
22. Josh Bilicki, 128.848 mph, 27.940 seconds
23. Brennan Poole, 128.516 mph, 28.012 seconds
24. Carson Kvapil, 128.475 mph, 28.021 seconds
25. Anthony Alfredo, 128.452 mph, 28.026 seconds
26. Parker Retzlaff, 128.150 mph, 28.092 seconds
27. Thomas Annunziata, 128.050 mph, 28.114 seconds
28. Ryan Ellis, 127.718 mph, 28.187 seconds
29. Nick Leitz, 127.673 mph, 28.197 seconds
30. Ryan Sieg, 127.664 mph, 28.199 seconds
31. Matt DiBenedetto, 127.605 mph, 28.212 seconds
32. Kyle Sieg, 126.908 mph, 28.367 seconds
33. Kris Wright, 126.872 mph, 28.375 seconds
34. Mason Massey, 124.654 mph, 28.880 seconds
35. Dawson Cram, 124.138 mph, 29.000 seconds
36. Garrett Smithley, 123.711 mph, 29.100 seconds
37. Joey Gase, 123.258 mph, 29.207 seconds
38. Greg Van Alst, 121.840 mph, 29.547 seconds
The 2025 GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway is set to occur on Saturday, March 8, and air at 5 p.m. on the CW Network.
