NASCAR Cup Series qualifying ahead of the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega is complete, and it’s Zane Smith who will start Sunday’s race from pole position.
With NASCAR returning to superspeedway action, Smith set the fastest lap time of 52.656 seconds around the 2.66-mile tri-oval, with the Front Row Motorsports star taking his first-ever pole position in the Cup Series in doing so.
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Smith was the last driver to set a lap at Talladega, with his time cruelly denying Kyle Busch his first pole position since Dover last year, which came almost a year ago to the day.
Still, it was an excellent session for Busch in the No. 8 Chevrolet, who will start Sunday’s race in second spot, particularly considering the dominance of the Ford cars.
Indeed, seven of the top 10 starters in Sunday’s race will be Ford-powered vehicles, with Busch, Austin Dillon (5th), and Ty Gibbs (10th) the only exceptions.
With that said, let's take a look at the full finishing order from qualifying and how the full starting lineup looks for Sunday's race.
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NASCAR Cup Series: Who is on pole at Talladega?
After qualifying on Saturday morning, here is the starting lineup for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, with times from the second round of qualifying included.
| Position | Driver | Car No. | Team | Second Round Lap Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zane Smith | 38 | Front Row Motorsports Ford | 52.565 |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 8 | Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet | 52.697 |
| 3 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske Ford | 52.700 |
| 4 | Ryan Preece | 60 | RFK Racing Ford | 52.700 |
| 5 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet | 52.736 |
| 6 | Chris Buescher | 17 | RFK Racing Ford | 52.761 |
| 7 | Austin Cindric | 2 | Team Penske Ford | 52.780 |
| 8 | Josh Berry | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing Ford | 52.795 |
| 9 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske Ford | 52.833 |
| 10 | Ty Gibbs | 54 | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 52.951 |
| 11 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | |
| 12 | Cole Custer | 41 | Haas Factory Team Ford | |
| 13 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | |
| 14 | Michael McDowell | 71 | Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | |
| 15 | Todd Gilliland | 34 | Front Row Motorsports Ford | |
| 16 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | |
| 17 | Chase Briscoe | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | |
| 18 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | |
| 19 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | Kaulig Racing Chevrolet | |
| 20 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing Toyota | |
| 21 | Ty Dillon | 10 | Kaulig Racing Chevrolet | |
| 22 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | RFK Racing Ford | |
| 23 | Riley Herbst | 35 | 23XI Racing Toyota | |
| 24 | Daniel Suárez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet | |
| 25 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | |
| 26 | Tyler Reddick | 45 | 23XI Racing Toyota | |
| 27 | Noah Gragson | 4 | Front Row Motorsports Ford | |
| 28 | Carson Hocevar | 77 | Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | |
| 29 | John Hunter Nemechek | 42 | Legacy Motor Club Toyota | |
| 30 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet | |
| 31 | Anthony Alfredo | 62 | Beard Motorsports Chevrolet | |
| 32 | Ross Chastain | 1 | Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet | |
| 33 | Cody Ware | 51 | Rick Ware Racing Ford | |
| 34 | Erik Jones | 43 | Legacy Motor Club Toyota | |
| 35 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet | |
| 36 | Shane van Gisbergen | 88 | Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet | |
| 37 | Justin Haley | 7 | Spire Motorsports Chevrolet | |
| 38 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet | |
| 39 | JJ Yeley | 44 | NY Racing Team Chevrolet |
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