Alex Bowman may have won the 2023 Daytona 500 pole Wednesday night, but his two dogs were the real stars of the qualifying festivities at Daytona International Speedway.
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After clocking in a qualifying lap speed of 181.686 MPH in the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, Bowman got to enjoy a celebratory moment with Roscoe, a beagle mix, and Finn, a Labrador retriever. What a couple of good pups!
10/10 good bois 🐶 @Alex_Bowman | #BuschLightPole pic.twitter.com/Cy4C5HumTf
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 16, 2023
Both Roscoe and Finn seemed pretty darn well-behaved during their big on-camera moment at Daytona (they even posed for some pictures later), but in an interview with NBC Sports last year, Bowman dished on their two very different personalities.
"Finn is an awesome dog," Bowman said. "You can take him anywhere. Super chill. Take him to the racetrack, (he) doesn't mind."
"Roscoe. Total opposite. Hates all other dogs beside Finn. Causes a scene wherever you take him. He's like that person at the bar that is always causing a scene. That's my dog Roscoe. He stays at home most of the time because of that, but I love them both."
While Bowman has had Finn for quite some time now, he adopted Roscoe from a rescue a couple years back. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that supporting no-kill shelters is a cause that's near and dear to Bowman's heart and one that he maintains throughout the Cup Series season. He regularly teams up with and financially supports the Best Friends Animal Society, a Utah-based nonprofit that tries to find humane homes for pets of all shapes and sizes.
Speaking of pets, Alex Bowman is clearly a man who loves his dogs. Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and William Byron may be his teammates on the track, but when he gets home after a tough Cup race, it's all about Roscoe and Finn.
"I get home and they don't care how my weekend went. They don't care if I won or didn't win — they're happy to see me regardless," Bowman told TODAY in 2021.
Roscoe and Finn told me to make it six front rows at the 500 in a row pic.twitter.com/sJdMiWPoc5
— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) February 16, 2023
Now, Bowman's heartwarming moment with Roscoe and Finn was definitely well-deserved, as his qualifying performance marked his third career pole in the Daytona 500. Larson was second with a top speed of 181.057 MPH, while Byron placed third.
"I'm so proud of the Hendrick engine shop, all the guys," Bowman told Fox Sports. "I'm just fortunate to qualify some really fast cars. It's really cool to see Hendrick cars one-two-three."
