Michael McDowell set the fast lap to claim the Cup Series pole at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway with a speed of 138.598 mph, his third pole award of the season. Austin Cindric was second (138.134 mph) completing a Ford front-row sweep; Ryan Blaney (137.982 mph), Christopher Bell (137.669 mph) and Tyler Reddick (137.585 mph) rounded out the top five for the Enjoy Illinois 300.

The Fords show the way early at Gateway as they take three of the first five starting spots for Sunday’s Cup Series event. Joey Logano also posted the fastest practice time Saturday morning with a speed of 138.024.

Quietly, steadily but surely, Alex Bowman is back to proving why Hendrick Motorsports signed him to a three-year extension in February 2023 through 2026.

The results may not be the flashiest, but Bowman is in the midst of a series-best five-race streak of top-10 finishes dating back to a fifth-place finish at Talladega in late April, followed by finishes of eighth at Dover, seventh at Kansas, eighth at Darlington and ninth at Charlotte. That upswing is a far cry from where the No. 48 team ended the 2023 campaign when Bowman and Co. collected just two top 10s in the final 10 races of the year as Bowman was recovering from a back injury suffered during the spring.

Bowman’s work is not done yet. The 31-year-old Arizona native is still seeking his first victory since March 2022, when he won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on a late-race restart. But his four top fives this season already equal his 2023 total, and it appears consistency is finally on his side — a reminder of why he was leading the points prior to his 2023 injury.

Gateway may not be the site of an expected breakthrough. Through two starts, Bowman has finished 13th (2022) and 26th (2023) at the 1.25-mile, asymmetrical oval. Tides are turning for the No. 48 team, however. So maybe Bowman can offer one more surprise this weekend.