Michael McDowell placed his No. 34 Love’s Truck Stop Ford on the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series’ Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. McDowell posted the fastest lap of 181.022 mph.
This is McDowell’s second career pole both coming this season. His other pole of the year came at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Austin Cindric picked up from his round one lap by clocking a speed of 181.739 mph to start second tomorrow (April 21). This is Cindric’s best start so far in 2024.
McDowell’s Front Row Motorsports teammate Todd Gilliland will start third, his best starting spot in his career. The Richard Childress Racing duo of Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon completed the top five in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, last week’s winner Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell rounded out the top 10.
Notably, Kyle Larson did not post a lap due to unapproved adjustments on the roof of his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Larson will start dead last (38th).
All 38 entered drivers made the race, the first of two at Talladega in 2024.
Cup Series Starting Lineup at Talladega
The Cup Series will take the green flag on Sunday, April 21 at 3 p.m. ET. FOX will provide television coverage.
Wyatt Watson has followed motorsports closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretch as a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt is one of Frontstretch's primary IndyCar correspondents, providing exclusive video content on site. He hosts Frontstretch's Through the Gears podcast and occasionally The Pit Straight.You can find Wyatt's written work in columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monsteras well as exclusive IndyCar features. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media team, posting unique and engaging content for Frontstretch.
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