Only the first two spots of the Daytona 500 are decided by the single-car lap times while the rest will battle it out in the Cam-Am Duels to decide the rest of the 43-car field. We don’t know where the rest of the Camaro ZL1-themed stock cars will start, but young gun Bowman will start in the first spot in his first run as the full-time driver of the #88 Camaro.
We call Alex Bowman a newcomer and not a rookie because this is not his first season in NASCAR’s big leagues, as he ran for two other teams back in 2014 and 2015 with less-than-impressive results. In 2016, he spent a few races in the #88 Chevy SS while filling in for Earnhardt, but when Dale Jr retired after last season, Bowman was announced as the full-time driver for the new #88 Camaro ZL1.
The good news for Bowman and the #88 team is that they will start NASCAR’s biggest race in a new car from the inside of the front row. The bad news for the team is that in the past 40 years of the Daytona 500 – going back to 1978 – only five pole-sitters have gone on to win the race. The last driver to start on the pole and win was Dale Jarrett back in 2000, so it has been 17 years since it happened.
The odds are against the #88 Camaro ZL1 winning the Daytona 500, but all that matters now is that the new Chevy race car is fast and that is good news for all of the Camaro drivers and their fans.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
