Though they missed out on the pole position, five NASCAR Ford teams will take the green flag at Talladega Superspeedway from inside the top 10 during the Cup Series race on April 23rd, 2023.
Aric Almirola will start on the outside pole in the No. 10 Ford Mustang, having posted a time of 53.011 seconds at 180.642 mph around the 2.66-mile superspeedway oval. He was bested only by the No. 11 Toyota TRD Camry of Denny Hamlin, whose time of 52.979 seconds at 180.751 mph earned him the top spot.
Ty Gibbs will start third in the No. 54 Camry, followed by the No. 14 Mustang of Chase Briscoe in fourth, and Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Mustang in fifth. A pair of Toyotas will start from the third row – the No. 20 Camry of Christopher Bell and the No. 19 Camry of Martin Truex Jr. – while Joey Logano’s No. 22 Mustang will start eighth. Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevy Camaro is the sole Bow Tie racer in the top 10, while the No. 17 Mustang of Chris Buescher will take the green flag from 10th.
Since half of the top 10 starters wear Blue Oval badges, it’s safe to assume that they’ll form a freight train and rocket right to the front as soon as the race begins. And speaking of which, the Cup Series race at Talladega is scheduled for a 3 p.m. ET start time on Sunday, April 23rd, 2023.
| Pos | Car Number | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Freight Direct Toyota | 52.979 | 180.751 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 2 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 53.011 | 180.642 | Ford Mustang |
| 3 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 53.025 | 180.594 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 4 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors YOG Ford | 53.085 | 180.39 | Ford Mustang |
| 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Wurth Ford | 53.124 | 180.258 | Ford Mustang |
| 6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Rheem Toyota | 53.245 | 179.848 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 7 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 53.281 | 179.726 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Penzoil/Autotrader Ford | 53.299 | 179.666 | Ford Mustang |
| 9 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 53.302 | 179.656 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 10 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 53.303 | 179.652 | Ford Mustang |
| 11 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Mobil 1 Ford | 53.455 | 179.141 | Ford Mustang |
| 12 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota | 53.47 | 179.091 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 13 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | MoneyLion Toyota | 53.496 | 179.004 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 14 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet | 53.497 | 179.001 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Menards/Duracell Ford | 53.499 | 178.994 | Ford Mustang |
| 16 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford | 53.509 | 178.961 | Ford Mustang |
| 17 | 8 | Kyle Busch | McLaren Custom Grills Chevrolet | 53.548 | 178.83 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 24 | William Byron | Liberty University Chevrolet | 53.559 | 178.793 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Farmsmart Chevrolet | 53.568 | 178.763 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 20 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Castrol Edge Ford | 53.611 | 178.62 | Ford Mustang |
| 21 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 53.629 | 178.56 | Ford Mustang |
| 22 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 53.651 | 178.487 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 23 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Moose Fraternity Chevrolet | 53.671 | 178.42 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 43 | Erik Jones | U.S. AIR FORCE Chevrolet | 53.693 | 178.347 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 25 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 53.695 | 178.341 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 53.745 | 178.175 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 27 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 53.75 | 178.158 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 36 | Todd Gilliland | gener8tor Skills Ford | 53.849 | 177.831 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 53.874 | 177.748 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 30 | 42 | Noah Gragson # | Wendy's Beef is in the Bag Chevrolet | 53.902 | 177.656 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 62 | Austin Hill(i) | Realtree Chevrolet | 53.973 | 177.422 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 32 | 77 | Ty Dillon | NationsGuard Chevrolet | 54.033 | 177.225 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 33 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/Cheez-It Chevrolet | 54.039 | 177.205 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 34 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Celsius Chevrolet | 54.059 | 177.14 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 35 | 38 | Zane Smith(i) | Wellcare Ford | 54.063 | 177.127 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 15 | Riley Herbst(i) | Monster Energy/Mechanix Wear Ford | 54.106 | 176.986 | Ford Mustang |
| 37 | 78 | BJ McLeod | B'laster Chevrolet | 54.297 | 176.363 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 38 | 51 | JJ Yeley(i) | Jacob Companies/Biohaven Ford | 54.424 | 175.952 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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Comments
Why is Harrison Burton slow slow driving the Wood Brothers’s 21?
They’ve been a back marker team for decades, why are you surprised?