Michael McDowell won his first career NASCAR Cup Series pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 467 starts, the most in Cup Series history, with a speed of 178.424 mph. McDowell beat Daytona 500 polesitter Joey Logano for the top spot.
Kyle Busch, who will run the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Saturday (Feb. 24), starts third while McDowell’s Front Row Motorsports teammate Todd Gilliland qualified fourth, his best start in his Cup Series career. Kyle Larson completed the top five as the fastest Chevrolet.
Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe and Austin Dillon rounded out the top 10.
Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest Toyota in the field. He will start 12th in the No. 19 for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Thirty-seven entries showed up and qualified for the race, three less than the maximum 40. Therefore, all drivers that qualified made the race.
Ambetter Health 400 Starting Lineup
The Cup Series will see the green flag at Atlanta on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. ET. FOX will provide broadcasting for the second superspeedway race in a row.
Wyatt Watson has followed NASCAR closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretchas a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt writes breaking NASCAR news and contributes to columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monster. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media and serves as an at-track reporter, collecting exclusive content for Frontstretch.
Wyatt Watson can be found on X @WyattGametime