Two Nascar Ford teams will take the green flag at Talladega Superspeedway from fourth and fifth place, but they are the sole Blue Oval racers who will start within the top ten.
Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Ford Mustang, will start fourth after posting a best lap of 53.166 seconds and topping out at 180.115 mph. Chase Briscoe’s No. 14 Mustang will start fifth with a time of 53.268 seconds at 179.77 mph. The next-best Nascar Ford team is that of Joey Logano, whose No. 22 Mustang will start 11th.
For comparison, polesitter Christopher Bell wheeled the No. 20 Toyota TRD Camry around the 2.66-mile superspeedway in 53.026 seconds at 180.591 mph. The second-best time belongs to the No. 5 Chevy Camaro ZL1 of Kyle Larson, whose best lap was 53.048 seconds at 180.516 mph.
Three Chevy teams were penalized ahead of pre-race qualifying, including the No. 24 Camaro of William Byron. Nascar did not disclose why these teams failed inspection. It’s also worth noting that Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Camaro will be driven by relief driver Noah Gragson, as Bowman suffered a concussion at Texas last week.
Meanwhile, the suspensions assessed to the No. 12 Mustang of Ryan Blaney began this weekend at Talladega after the team decided against an appeal. Blaney’s team was hit with penalties after a loose wheel incident at Bristol a few weeks ago, and he will race without his regular crew chief, Johnathan Hassler, as well as his regular jackman and rear tire changer for the next four races. He will start 19th.
The green flag at Talladega will drop at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 2nd.
| Pos | Car Number | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | Sirius XM Toyota | 53.026 | 180.591 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 53.048 | 180.516 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | FedEx Express Toyota | 53.076 | 180.421 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 4 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 53.166 | 180.115 | Ford Mustang |
| 5 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (P) | Magical Vacation Planner Ford | 53.268 | 179.77 | Ford Mustang |
| 6 | 1 | Ross Chastain (P) | Jockey Chevrolet | 53.32 | 179.595 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 48 | Noah Gragson(i) (P) | Ally Chevrolet | 53.356 | 179.474 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 8 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | REALTREE Chevrolet | 53.388 | 179.366 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 9 | 24 | William Byron (P) | RaptorTough.com Chevrolet | 53.434 | 179.212 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 10 | 23 | Ty Gibbs(i) | Monster Energy Toyota | 0 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 11 | 22 | Joey Logano (P) | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 53.422 | 179.252 | Ford Mustang |
| 12 | 43 | Erik Jones | FOCUSfactor Chevrolet | 53.427 | 179.235 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 16 | Daniel Hemric(i) | Celsius Chevrolet | 53.433 | 179.215 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 14 | 99 | Daniel Suarez (P) | Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 53.453 | 179.148 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 21 | Harrison Burton # | Dex Imaging Ford | 53.459 | 179.128 | Ford Mustang |
| 16 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 53.461 | 179.121 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 17 | 2 | Austin Cindric # (P) | Discount Tire Ford | 53.465 | 179.108 | Ford Mustang |
| 18 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Kohler Generators Ford | 53.468 | 179.098 | Ford Mustang |
| 19 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Menards/Dutch Boy Ford | 53.471 | 179.088 | Ford Mustang |
| 20 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet | 53.493 | 179.014 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 53.5 | 178.991 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 53.504 | 178.977 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 23 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 53.551 | 178.82 | Ford Mustang |
| 24 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Busch Light Ford | 53.57 | 178.757 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/SunnyD Chevrolet | 53.609 | 178.627 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 26 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M's Toyota | 53.668 | 178.43 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 27 | 45 | Bubba Wallace (P) | Leidos Toyota | 53.68 | 178.39 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 28 | 41 | Cole Custer | HaasTooling.com Ford | 53.709 | 178.294 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 53.764 | 178.112 | Ford Mustang |
| 30 | 42 | Ty Dillon | SunseekerResorts.com Chevrolet | 53.781 | 178.055 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 62 | Justin Allgaier(i) | Beard Oil/South Point Chevrolet | 53.862 | 177.788 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 32 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Schluter Systems Chevrolet | 54.053 | 177.159 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 33 | 77 | Landon Cassill(i) | Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet | 54.086 | 177.051 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 34 | 38 | Todd Gilliland # | Georgia Peanuts Ford | 54.098 | 177.012 | Ford Mustang |
| 35 | 78 | BJ McLeod(i) | NASCAR Rivals Ford | 54.74 | 174.936 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 15 | JJ Yeley(i) | Summit Racing Equipment Ford | 54.936 | 174.312 | Ford Mustang |
| 37 | 51 | Cody Ware | Nurtec ODT UBCF Ford | 54.94 | 174.299 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
Subscribe to Ford Authority for more Nascar news, Ford Mustang news and 24/7 Ford news coverage.
No Comments yet