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Michael McDowell earns first NASCAR Cup pole in 467th start

McDowell will share the front row with fellow Ford driver Joey Logano for the second consecutive week but this time it’s McDowell who will lead the field to green.

The last of 10 cars to qualify in the final round of Saturday’s qualifying session, McDowell bolted to the top of the scoring pylon with an average lap speed of 178.844 mph.

McDowell just edged Logano (178.424 mph), who won the pole for last weekend’s season-opening Daytona 500.

The pole is the first of McDowell’s career and comes in his 467th start.

“That’s awesome,” McDowell said. “I’m just very proud of all the men and women at Front Row Motorsports. Two weeks in a row we’ve gotten on the front row. We’ve got a really fast Ford Mustang.

“That was a good lap but it really comes down to the team and execution. They’ve done a really good job. Now, we need to back that up with a really good job tomorrow.”

Kyle Busch ended up third quick (178.235 mph – and the top Chevrolet driver – while McDowell’s FRM teammate Todd Gilliland was fourth and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.

Completing the top 10 starting lineup are Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe and Austin Dillon.

In all, Fords claimed seven of the top 10 spots while Toyota failed to advance any driver to the final round.

CLA DRIVER # MANUFACTURER LAPS TIME INTERVAL MPH
1 M. McDowellFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS 34 Ford 1

30.999

  178.844
2 J. LoganoTEAM PENSKE 22 Ford 1

+0.073

31.072

0.073 178.424
3 K. BuschRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING 8 Chevrolet 1

+0.106

31.105

0.033 178.235
4 T. GillilandFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS 38 Ford 1

+0.133

31.132

0.027 178.080
5 K. LarsonHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS 5 Chevrolet 1

+0.177

31.176

0.044 177.829
6 R. BlaneyTEAM PENSKE 12 Ford 1

+0.207

31.206

0.030 177.658
7 C. BuescherRFK RACING 17 Ford 1

+0.292

31.291

0.085 177.176
8 A. CindricTEAM PENSKE 2 Ford 1

+0.297

31.296

0.005 177.147
9 C. BriscoeSTEWART-HAAS RACING 14 Ford 1

+0.301

31.300

0.004 177.125
10 A. DillonRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING 3 Chevrolet 1

+0.305

31.304

0.004 177.102

Round 1

As they did in single car qualifying at Daytona, Fords led the way to kick off the first round at Atlanta with McDowell posting the fastest average lap speed at 177.806 mph.

Fellow Ford drivers Logano (177.658 mph) and Gilliland (177.544 mph) were second and third, respectively. Cindric and Briscoe rounded out the top five as Fords swept the top five positions.

Also advancing to the final round were Busch (the top Chevrolet), Blaney, Dillon, Buescher and Larson.

Among those who failed to advance were Daytona 500 William Byron (11th fastest) and Martin Truex Jr., who was 12th and the top performing Toyota driver.

“I don’t think we’re really surprised the Fords were up front in qualifying,” Truex said. “We were 27th last week, 12th today. Really enjoy racing here, It’s a lot of fun and I have high hopes for tomorrow.”

Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones was last among 37 cars and well off the pace, more than 13 mph slower than McDowell.

“Just too free. We missed it, but hopefully we’ll race good,” he said. “Fortunately, it’s a superspeedway so you’ve got a chance to get back up there, just have to get the balance right.”

11 W. ByronHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS 24 Chevrolet 1

+0.168

31.348

0.002 176.853
12 M. Truex JrJOE GIBBS RACING 19 Toyota 1

+0.188

31.368

0.020 176.741
13 D. HamlinJOE GIBBS RACING 11 Toyota 1

+0.195

31.375

0.007 176.701
14 J. BerrySTEWART-HAAS RACING 4 Ford 1

+0.197

31.377

0.002 176.690
15 N. GragsonSTEWART-HAAS RACING 10 Ford 1

+0.205

31.385

0.008 176.645
16 H. BurtonWOOD BROTHERS RACING 21 Ford 1

+0.217

31.397

0.012 176.577
17 A. BowmanHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS 48 Chevrolet 1

+0.243

31.423

0.026 176.431
18 B. Wallace23XI RACING 23 Toyota 1

+0.250

31.430

0.007 176.392
19 T. Reddick23XI RACING 45 Toyota 1

+0.251

31.431

0.001 176.386
20 R. PreeceSTEWART-HAAS RACING 41 Ford 1

+0.264

31.444

0.013 176.313
21 R. ChastainTRACKHOUSE RACING 1 Chevrolet 1

+0.287

31.467

0.023 176.185
22 C. BellJOE GIBBS RACING 20 Toyota 1

+0.295

31.475

0.008 176.140
23 D. SuarezTRACKHOUSE RACING 99 Chevrolet 1

+0.296

31.476

0.001 176.134
24 B. KeselowskiRFK RACING 6 Ford 1

+0.299

31.479

0.003 176.117
25
T. GibbsJOE GIBBS RACING
54 Toyota 1

+0.304

31.484

0.005 176.089
26 D. HemricKAULIG RACING 31 Chevrolet 1

+0.326

31.506

0.022 175.966
27 R. Stenhouse JrJTG DAUGHERTY RACING 47 Chevrolet 1

+0.334

31.514

0.008 175.922
28 C. ElliottHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS 9 Chevrolet 1

+0.339

31.519

0.005 175.894
29
Z. SmithSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
71 Chevrolet 1

+0.456

31.636

0.117 175.243
30 J. WilliamsKAULIG RACING 16 Chevrolet 1

+0.485

31.665

0.029 175.083
31 J. HaleyRICK WARE RACING 51 Ford 1

+0.491

31.671

0.006 175.050
32 C. LajoieSPIRE MOTORSPORTS 7 Chevrolet 1

+0.527

31.707

0.036 174.851
33 K. GralaRICK WARE RACING 15 Ford 1

+0.538

31.718

0.011 174.790
34 J. NemechekLEGACY MOTOR CLUB 42 Toyota 1

+0.799

31.979

0.261 173.364
35
C. HocevarSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
77 Chevrolet 1

+0.823

32.003

0.024 173.234
36 B. McLeodLIVE FAST MOTORSPORTS 78 Chevrolet 1

+1.204

32.384

0.381 171.196
37 E. JonesLEGACY MOTOR CLUB 43 Toyota 1

+2.511

33.691

1.307 164.554
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