Alex Bowman finished seventh in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday.
The top-10 finish for Bowman, his eighth of the year, added 30 points to his season total. Bowman now ranks eighth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 2,009 points. A total of 16 drivers qualify for the the playoffs.
Bowman started in eighth position and led one lap in the race. The seventh-year driver has earned two career victories, with 13 top-five finishes and 33 results inside the top 10.
The seventh-place result on Saturday was the first time Bowman has cracked the top 10 at Daytona International Speedway.
The Tucson, Arizona native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting nine spots higher than his career mark of 16.6 and completing the race 12 places ahead of his 18.9 career average finish.
Bowman battled against a field of 40 drivers on the way to his seventh-place finish. The race endured six cautions and 21 caution laps. There were 35 lead changes.
William Byron took the checkered flag in the race, and Chase Elliott followed in second. Denny Hamlin placed third, Martin Truex Jr took fourth, and Bubba Wallace rounded out the top five.
Joey Logano got off to a strong start in the race, winning Stages 1 and 2, but couldn’t hang on to secure the race victory.