Nascar Mustang teams didn’t fare too well in qualifying for Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. As a result, not a single Ford will take the green flag starting in the top 10.
The best-performing Nascar Mustang during qualifying was piloted by Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Next Gen Ford Mustang. Logano posted a best lap time of 53.572 seconds, topping out at 178.75 mph, ranking as the 13th-best time. For the sake of comparison, polesitter Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 20 Toyota TRD Camry, got around the 2.66-mile superspeedway in just 52.927 seconds, topping out at a whopping 180.928 mph. He will start first.
Starting in second will be the No. 19 Toyota driven by Martin Truex Jr., with a best time of 53.008 seconds and a top speed of 180.652 mph. Three Chevrolet teams will follow him, with the No. 16 Camaro driven by Daniel Hemric in third, the No. 99 Camaro of Daniel Suarez in fourth, and the No. 5 Camaro of defending Cup Series champion Kyle Larson in fifth.
Interestingly, most of the Cup Series field failed pre-qualifying inspection at least once ahead of Saturday’s session. Word around the garage area has it that high ambient temperatures impacted the composite bodies of the Next Gen race cars, prompting teams to attempt to shade them with umbrellas before second inspection.
Most cars failed first time through. Some chatter that the heat is impacting the body of the car so teams are starting to use umbrellas to help add shade while they go through tech. If fail second time, drop to rear at start and also lose a crew member. pic.twitter.com/0mmD6SWwyh
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 22, 2022
Even so, only one car was penalized for failing pre-qualifying inspection multiple times. The No. 77 Camaro driven by Landon Cassill was not allowed to qualify and will serve a pass-through penalty once the green flag drops at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
| Pos | Car Number | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | DeWalt Toyota | 52.927 | 180.928 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 2 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 53.008 | 180.652 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 3 | 16 | Daniel Hemric(i) | Majestic Steel Chevrolet | 53.221 | 179.929 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 4 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 53.234 | 179.885 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 53.254 | 179.817 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 6 | 45 | Kurt Busch | Monster Energy Toyota | 53.255 | 179.814 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx All in for Small Business Toyota | 53.308 | 179.635 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 8 | 24 | William Byron | Liberty University Chevrolet | 53.316 | 179.608 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 9 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | McDonald's Toyota | 53.336 | 179.541 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 10 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | BetMGM Chevrolet | 53.399 | 179.329 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 53.514 | 178.944 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 12 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Interstate Batteries Toyota | 53.515 | 178.94 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 13 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil/Autotrader Ford | 53.572 | 178.75 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet | 53.602 | 178.65 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Castrol Carbon Neutral Ford | 53.626 | 178.57 | Ford Mustang |
| 16 | 43 | Erik Jones | U.S. Air Force Chevrolet | 53.628 | 178.563 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 17 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors Ford | 53.635 | 178.54 | Ford Mustang |
| 18 | 2 | Austin Cindric # | Menards/Sylvania Ford | 53.653 | 178.48 | Ford Mustang |
| 19 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Moose Fraternity Chevrolet | 53.657 | 178.467 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 20 | 42 | Ty Dillon | Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet | 53.689 | 178.361 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 53.708 | 178.297 | Ford Mustang |
| 22 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Wurth Ford | 53.743 | 178.181 | Ford Mustang |
| 23 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield/IHOP Ford | 53.744 | 178.178 | Ford Mustang |
| 24 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | GEARWRENCH Ford | 53.751 | 178.155 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 21 | Harrison Burton # | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 53.764 | 178.112 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/SunnyD Chevrolet | 53.802 | 177.986 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 27 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 53.813 | 177.95 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 53.94 | 177.531 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 29 | 41 | Cole Custer | Feeding America/Wow Wow Ford | 53.943 | 177.521 | Ford Mustang |
| 30 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 53.964 | 177.452 | Ford Mustang |
| 31 | 62 | Noah Gragson(i) | Wendy’s $5 Biggie Bag/Beard Oil Chevrolet | 53.989 | 177.369 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 32 | 38 | Todd Gilliland # | First Phase Credit Card Ford | 54.178 | 176.751 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Raze Energy Chevrolet | 54.205 | 176.663 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 34 | 51 | Cody Ware | Nurtec ODT Ford | 54.677 | 175.138 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 35 | 44 | Greg Biffle | Morehouse College Chevrolet | 54.791 | 174.773 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 36 | 15 | David Ragan | Envision Ford | 55.118 | 173.736 | Ford Mustang |
| 37 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Motorsport Games Ford | 55.129 | 173.702 | Ford Mustang |
| 38 | 55 | JJ Yeley(i) | Hex.com Ford | 55.662 | 172.038 | Ford Mustang |
| 39 | 77 | Landon Cassill(i) | Fox Nation Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
- # – Rookie
- i – Points ineligible
- * – Part-time driver
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