Hold onto your hats, NASCAR fans! Michael McDowell, behind the wheel of the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, has clinched the pole position at Talladega Superspeedway! This electrifying victory in Saturday's qualifying session saw a full field of 40 NASCAR Cup drivers pushing their machines to the limit. McDowell's blistering lap of 52.481 seconds secured his eighth career pole, all achieved in the last two years. This is also his third pole position in the last four Talladega races, showcasing his dominance at this track.
McDowell, brimming with excitement, shared his thoughts: "It matters, for sure. It's something we've been working really hard at. Just getting more speed in our superspeedway cars. Really proud to have Carolina Handling on the car for their debut race with us. To get a pole is awesome. I think everything went right. The cloud did come, the wind hit just right, but everybody back at Hendrick Engines shop -- thank you guys so much. They've been working really hard.
"It's no secret that the Fords have been kicking our butts at these kinds of places, and we feel like we had some areas where we needed to gain. Felt like we gained them, and sitting here with a pole is awesome. Hats off to everyone at Chevy and Spire Motorsports. It's not a win but we'll take it."
But here's where it gets interesting: Chase Briscoe will start second, leading the playoff drivers. Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric, Ryan Preece, Josh Berry, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Riley Herbst, and Bubba Wallace round out the top ten.
The qualifying round saw the top ten from Round 1 battling it out, starting from slowest to fastest. Wallace initially held the provisional pole, but Bell quickly snatched it. McDowell then made his move, putting Chevrolet at the top. Herbst, despite a strong first round, ended up ninth in the pole round, but it's still his best qualifying effort this year. Briscoe, who led Round 1 and has the most poles this season, couldn't surpass McDowell, finishing just 0.019 seconds behind.
In Round 1, Briscoe set the pace with a lap of 52.529 seconds. Four Toyotas, four Fords, and two Chevrolets advanced. Wallace narrowly made it through, beating Alex Bowman by a mere 0.019 seconds.
Playoff drivers Blaney and Bell also advanced. William Byron will start 13th, Joey Logano 16th, and Denny Hamlin 17th. Interestingly, the slowest playoff drivers were from Hendrick Motorsports: Kyle Larson in 19th and Chase Elliott in 25th.
Here’s a quick recap of the top ten:
- M. McDowell (Chevrolet) - 52.481 seconds
- C. Briscoe (Toyota) - 52.500 seconds (+0.019)
- K. Busch (Chevrolet) - 52.558 seconds (+0.077)
- A. Cindric (Ford) - 52.563 seconds (+0.082)
- R. Preece (Ford) - 52.582 seconds (+0.101)
- J. Berry (Ford) - 52.614 seconds (+0.133)
- C. Bell (Toyota) - 52.660 seconds (+0.179)
- R. Blaney (Ford) - 52.679 seconds (+0.198)
- R. Herbst (Toyota) - 52.692 seconds (+0.211)
- B. Wallace (Toyota) - 52.694 seconds (+0.213)
The question is, do you think McDowell's pole position is a sign of things to come, or will the race unfold differently? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
