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Michael McDowell earns Talladega Cup pole for Front Row Motorsports

Despite the stunning lawsuit, Michael McDowell said he and his Front Row Motorsports (FRM) team have been "laser-focused" heading into Talladega. The veteran driver had zero Cup poles in his previous 15 years of competition, but now has six poles this year alone -- more than any other driver during the 2024 season. It was an all-Ford front row with Team Penske's Austin Cindric qualifying second, leading all playoff drivers.

"It's just amazing," said McDowell. "I'm just so proud of everybody on this No. 34 Ford Mustang team. It's hard to come down here and get the pole. We found some things in the off-season. Went to Daytona and it worked and we just kept that momentum going. Really proud. We came here with a game plan and the game plan was to sit on the pole, and we did that today. That should put us in the lead for the most poles of the year. That's something we had circled.

McDowell nearly won his way into the playoffs earlier this year at Talladega, crashing from the lead just short of the finish line. "We had the car to win here last (time) too," continued McDowell. "We needed about 400 more yards to get to the checkered flag so hopefully tomorrow goes smoother than that. But it's great to have a fast Ford Mustang. Thank you to Doug Yates and everybody at Roush-Yates engine shop.

His 52.310s lap was even faster than his time from the first round and two full tenths clear of the competition. Cindric was 0.201s behind, and just to put that in perspective, just over two tenths is what separated the remaining nine drivers in the final round of qualifying.

McDowell and Cindric are followed by Todd Gilliland and Kyle Busch on the starting grid with Ryan Blaney fifth, Joey Logano sixth, Austin Dillon seventh, Denny Hamlin eighth, Harrison Burton ninth, and Daniel Hemric tenth (Hemric's best start of the year).

Round 1

McDowell was also fastest in the first round with a 52.344s lap as one of six Ford drivers who advanced into the pole round. Daniel Hemric was the tenth and final driver to move forward, beating Chase Elliott by 0.043s on the speed charts.

Elliott will start 11th and he is one of several playoff drivers starting outside the top-ten. Kyle Larson starts 12th, Tyler Reddick 14th, William Byron 16th, Christopher Bell 21st, Alex Bowman 23rd, Daniel Suarez 31st, and Chase Briscoe 36th.

Ross Chastain isn't in the playoffs, but he is the most recent winner after his victory at Kansas. The Trackhouse driver is also a former winner at Talladega, but qualified 27th for Sunday's race.

11 C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports 9 Chevrolet 1

+0.468

52.812

0.043 181.322
12 K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports 5 Chevrolet 1

+0.477

52.821

0.009 181.292
13 B. KeselowskiRFK Racing 6 Ford 1

+0.488

52.832

0.011 181.254
14 T. Reddick23XI Racing 45 Toyota 1

+0.497

52.841

0.009 181.223
15
T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing
54 Toyota 1

+0.505

52.849

0.008 181.195
16 W. ByronHendrick Motorsports 24 Chevrolet 1

+0.560

52.904

0.055 181.007
17 S. van GisbergenKaulig Racing 16 Chevrolet 1

+0.570

52.914

0.010 180.973
18 R. PreeceStewart-Haas Racing 41 Ford 1

+0.572

52.916

0.002 180.966
19 J. BerryStewart-Haas Racing 4 Ford 1

+0.588

52.932

0.016 180.911
20 C. BuescherRFK Racing 17 Ford 1

+0.650

52.994

0.062 180.700
21 C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing 20 Toyota 1

+0.663

53.007

0.013 180.655
22 N. GragsonStewart-Haas Racing 10 Ford 1

+0.667

53.011

0.004 180.642
23 A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports 48 Chevrolet 1

+0.668

53.012

0.001 180.638
24 M. Truex JrJoe Gibbs Racing 19 Toyota 1

+0.676

53.020

0.008 180.611
25 A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing 13 Chevrolet 1

+0.700

53.044

0.024 180.529
26 B. Wallace23XI Racing 23 Toyota 1

+0.720

53.064

0.020 180.461
27 R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing 1 Chevrolet 1

+0.733

53.077

0.013 180.417
28 C. LajoieRick Ware Racing 51 Ford 1

+0.876

53.220

0.143 179.932
29 J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club 42 Toyota 1

+0.879

53.223

0.003 179.922
30 E. JonesLegacy Motor Club 43 Toyota 1

+0.915

53.259

0.036 179.801
31 D. SuarezTrackHouse Racing 99 Chevrolet 1

+0.919

53.263

0.004 179.787
32 R. Stenhouse JrJTG Daugherty Racing 47 Chevrolet 1

+0.947

53.291

0.028 179.693
33
A. AlfredoBeard Motorsports
62 Chevrolet 1

+0.972

53.316

0.025 179.608
34 C. WareRick Ware Racing 15 Ford 1

+0.980

53.324

0.008 179.581
35 J. HaleySpire Motorsports 7 Chevrolet 1

+1.150

53.494

0.170 179.011
36 C. BriscoeStewart-Haas Racing 14 Ford 1

+1.154

53.498

0.004 178.997
37
C. HocevarSpire Motorsports
77 Chevrolet 1

+1.355

53.699

0.201 178.327
38 B. McLeodLive Fast Motorsports 78 Chevrolet 1

+1.526

53.870

0.171 177.761
39
Z. SmithSpire Motorsports
71 Chevrolet 1

+1.577

53.921

0.051 177.593
40 J. YeleyNY Racing Team 44 Chevrolet 1

+2.424

54.768

0.847 174.847
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