'Michael McDowell Secures Fifth Straight Superspeedway Pole at Talladega'
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Front Row Motorsports and driver Michael McDowell continued their impressive performance in superspeedway qualifying, as McDowell secured the pole position for Sunday's YellaWood 500 at the Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
In Saturday's final qualifying session, McDowell's No. 34 FRM Ford posted a lap of 183.063 mph, narrowly beating out Austin Cindric's lap in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford by less than two-tenths of a second.
This marks McDowell's sixth pole position of the year, all of which have come on superspeedways. He has swept the poles at both Talladega and Atlanta Motor Speedway, as well as securing the top starting spot at Daytona International Speedway this summer.
\"We knew we had a good chance at the pole here, and it was a priority for us. So there was definitely some pressure to not make any mistakes and mess it up,\" McDowell said. \"I'm really proud of the effort. We came into today with the goal of locking down the rest of the superspeedways.\"
Cindric, a Playoff contender and the 2022 Daytona 500 winner, joked after qualifying, \"His right foot must be heavier than mine.\"
Ford drivers dominated the top-10 starting positions, with McDowell's teammate Todd Gilliland qualifying third in the No. 38 FRM Ford Mustang. Richard Childress Racing's Kyle Busch, a two-time Talladega winner, will start fourth in the No. 8 RCR Chevrolet.
Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano will start fifth and sixth, respectively, followed by RCR's Austin Dillon in seventh. Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin was the only Toyota to make the final round of qualifying, and he will start eighth in the No. 11 JGR Supra. Wood Brothers Racing's Harrison Burton and Kaulig Racing's Daniel Hemric round out the top-10.
Defending race winner and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Blaney will start from the fifth position. Regular season champion Tyler Reddick, driving for 23XI Racing, will start 14th.
Cindric, Blaney, Logano, and Hamlin are all current Playoff drivers, as well as Reddick. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson will start 11th and 12th, respectively, while their teammate William Byron will start 16th.
Christopher Bell will start 21st, followed by Alex Bowman in 23rd, Daniel Suarez in 31st, and Chase Briscoe in 36th, rounding out the Playoff lineup.
--By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media
