Michael McDowell soars to sixth pole of season at Talladega
Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell continued a superspeedway qualifying mastery as he claimed the pole position for Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
McDowell’s No. 34 FRM Ford turned a lap of 183.063 mph in Saturday’s final qualifying session around the 2.66-mile high banks, besting Austin Cindric’s lap in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford by less than two-tenths of a second.
It was McDowell’s sixth pole position of his career — all six coming this year — and five of them consecutively on superspeedway, including a sweep at both Talladega and Atlanta Motor Speedway as well as the top starting position at the Daytona International Speedway summer race.
“We knew coming here we’d have a shot at the pole and it’s a priority for us, so you feel that pressure of not making any mistakes and screwing it up,” McDowell said. “I’m really proud of the effort. We sort of had this in mind that today would be a day to come here and get the rest of the superspeedways locked down.”
Cindric, a playoff contender and the 2022 Daytona 500 winner, smiled following qualifying and offered, “His right foot must be heavier than mine.”
Ford drivers claimed six of the top-10 starting positions Saturday. McDowell’s teammate Todd Gilliland was third fastest in the No. 38 FRM Ford Mustang. Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch, a two-time Talladega winner, was fourth fastest in the No. 8 RCR Chevrolet.
Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano were fifth and sixth fastest followed by RCR’s Austin Dillon in the No. 3 Chevy. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin was the only Toyota to make the 10-car final round and he’ll roll off sixth in the No. 11 Camry. Wood Brothers Racing’s Harrison Burton and Kaulig Racng’s Daniel Hemric rounded out the top 10.
The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Blaney is the defending race winner and has three Talladega trophies to his credit. Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing — the Regular Season Champion — will roll off 14th.
Cindric, Blaney, Logano and Hamlin are all current playoff drivers, as are Blaney and Reddick. Hendrick teammates Chase Elliott, a two-time Talladega winner and Kyle Larson will start 11th and 12th. Their teammate William Byron will roll off 16th.
Christopher Bell, who will start 21st, Alex Bowman (23rd), Daniel Suárez (31st) and Chase Briscoe (36th) round out the playoff lineup.
Starting Line Up by Row
Talladega Superspeedway
YellaWood 500
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Saturday, 10/5/2024 @ 03:07 PM Eastern
Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Mark Martin 05/10/97 2:39:18 188.354
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 34 Michael McDowell Love's Travel Stops Ford 52.310 183.063
2 2 Austin Cindric (P) Discount Tire Ford 52.493 182.424
Row 2: 3 38 Todd Gilliland Georgia Peanuts Commission Ford 52.541 182.258
4 8 Kyle Busch Lucas Oil Chevrolet 52.655 181.863
Row 3: 5 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Menards/Pennzoil Ford 52.678 181.784
6 22 Joey Logano (P) Shell Pennzoil Ford 52.706 181.687
Row 4: 7 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet 52.741 181.567
8 11 Denny Hamlin (P) FedEx One Rate Toyota 52.774 181.453
Row 5: 9 21 Harrison Burton DEX Imaging Ford 52.895 181.038
10 31 Daniel Hemric Cirkul Chevrolet 52.912 180.980
Row 6: 11 9 Chase Elliott (P) Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet 52.812 181.322
12 5 Kyle Larson (P) HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 52.821 181.292
Row 7: 13 6 Brad Keselowski BuildSubmarines.com Ford 52.832 181.254
14 45 Tyler Reddick (P) Nasty Beast Toyota 52.841 181.223
Row 8: 15 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 52.849 181.195
16 24 William Byron (P) RaptorTough.com Chevrolet 52.904 181.007
Row 9: 17 16 Shane Van Gisbergen(i) WeatherTech Chevrolet 52.914 180.973
18 41 Ryan Preece Wonder Bread Ford 52.916 180.966
Row 10: 19 4 Josh Berry # SunnyD Ford 52.932 180.911
20 17 Chris Buescher Nexletol Ford 52.994 180.700
Row 11: 21 20 Christopher Bell (P) DEWALT Toyota 53.007 180.655
22 10 Noah Gragson Beef A Roo Ford 53.011 180.642
Row 12: 23 48 Alex Bowman (P) Ally Chevrolet 53.012 180.638
24 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 53.020 180.611
Row 13: 25 13 AJ Allmendinger(i) Strive Chevrolet 53.044 180.529
26 23 Bubba Wallace U.S. Air Force Toyota 53.064 180.461
Row 14: 27 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Camo Chevrolet 53.077 180.417
28 51 Corey LaJoie Mighty Fire Breaker Ford 53.220 179.932
Row 15: 29 42 John Hunter Nemechek GearWrench Toyota 53.223 179.922
30 43 Erik Jones Dollar Tree Toyota 53.259 179.801
Row 16: 31 99 Daniel Suarez (P) Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet 53.263 179.787
32 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Kroger Health/Palmolive Chevrolet 53.291 179.693
Row 17: 33 62 Anthony Alfredo(i) Fortify Building Solutions Chevrolet 53.316 179.608
34 15 Cody Ware Arby's Ford 53.324 179.581
Row 18: 35 7 Justin Haley Gainbridge Chevrolet 53.494 179.011
36 14 Chase Briscoe (P) Rush Truck Centers Ford 53.498 178.997
Row 19: 37 77 Carson Hocevar # Delaware Life Chevrolet 53.699 178.327
38 78 BJ McLeod(i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 53.870 177.761
Row 20: 39 71 Zane Smith # Focused Health Chevrolet 53.921 177.593
40 44 JJ Yeley(i) Epoxy Depot Chevrolet 54.768 174.847
Did Not Qualify: None.
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 18 0 Ford 14 0
Toyota 8 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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