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).
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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.
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