Michael McDowell Records Sixth Cup Series Pole of 2024 at Talladega
Michael McDowell and Front Row Motorsports continue to be lights-out when it comes to NASCAR Cup Series qualifying on superspeedways, capturing the pole at Talladega Superspeedway ahead of Sunday's YellaWood 500.
The driver of the No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse laid down an incredible lap in the final round of qualifying, clocking in at 52.310 seconds (183.063mph), to capture the pole by just under two tenths of a second.
It's the series-leading sixth pole for McDowell this season, who had never captured a pole in the NASCAR Cup Series before the start of this season. The No. 34 has now swept poles at Atlanta and Talladega in a single season.
NASCAR Cup Series playoff driver Austin Cindric will start alongside McDowell on Sunday, as he looks to dig out of the hole created by a mid-race accident at Atlanta Motor Speedway. A driver for Team Penske, Cindric has earned the most points on superspeedways in 2024.
After coming up just short once again, Todd Gilliland will have to settle for a third-place starting spot in the No. 38 Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Gilliland is a teammate to McDowell at Front Row Motorsports and has now recorded five top-five starts this season.
Kyle Busch, who finished runner-up at Daytona in September, will start from fourth, with defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney rounding out the top five. Joey Logano was sixth, followed by Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, Harrison Burton, and Daniel Hemric in the top-10
STARTING LINEUP: 2024 YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway
Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson were the quickest of the drivers who failed to make the final round of qualifying, meaning they'll share the sixth row (starting 11th and 12th) when the green-flag drops on Sunday.
After winning at Talladega in the Spring, regular-season champion Tyler Reddick will attempt to run it back once again, starting from the 14th position. Reddick enters the middle race in the Round of 12 sitting four points below the cutline.
William Byron and Christopher Bell, the two drivers leading the NASCAR Cup Series point standings heading into this weekend's wildcard event, also missed out on the final round, and will start Sunday's event from 16th and 21st, respectively.
In 23rd, Alex Bowman is the lowest of the four Hendrick Motorsports entries -- none of which were successful in advancing to the final round. Daniel Suarez and Chase Briscoe fared the worst of the post-season drivers, starting outside the top-30 in 31st and 36th.
The four open entries in the field for Sunday's 188-lap contest -- AJ Allmendinger, Anthony Alfredo, BJ McLeod, and JJ Yeley -- will start 25th, 33rd 38th, and 40th, respectively.
Sunday's YellaWood 500 will take place at 2:00 PM ET, with broadcast coverage on NBC.
