Zane Smith Wins Talladega Cup Pole

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TALLADEGA, AL – RIS -In a surprise event, Zane Smith was fastest in qualifying for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway. Fords were hooked up on this afternoon. Smith’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse beat out Kyle Busch and his Chevy for the pole. Team Penske and the Wood Brothers put all four cars into the top-10 today in qualifying. Of course, those drivers that qualified middle of the pack could have the setup in the race that makes the most speed in the draft. The No. 38 car won the pole by more than a tenth of a second.

It was Smith’s first career pole. The pole-winning lap in the final round was 182.174 mph. “I wish I could take a lot of the credit for it, but truthfully, man, a really fast FRM Ford,” Smith said. “It’s so cool. Man, a polesitter in the Cup Series — that’s awesome. But a huge shoutout to all these guys, they’ve been doing an awesome job this year. A long race tomorrow, but a great starting spot. So, I’m super stoked for this.”

Kyle Busch qualified second at 181.718 mph. Joey Logano qualified third at 181.708 mph and Ryan Preece qualified fourth at 181.708 mph. Austin Dillon completed the top five qualifiers at 181.584 mph.
Chris Buescher qualified sixth at 181.498 mph, Austin Cindric qualified seventh at 181.432 mph, and Josh Berry qualified eighth at 181.381 mph. Ryan Blaney qualified ninth at 181.250 mph. Ty Gibbs rounded out the top 10. Gibbs clocked in at 180.846 mph.
William Byron, the Cup Series point leader, qualified 16th. Brad Keselowski qualified 22nd. Keselowski has the most wins at Talladega Superspeedway of active drivers (six).

Tyler Reddick, the defending race winner, qualified 26th.Chase Elliott qualified 30th; Ross Chastain qualified 32nd; Erik Jones qualified 34th; Shane van Gisbergen qualified 36th; and Justin Haley qualified 37th.

There are 39 teams entered at Talladega Superspeedway. The Open teams are JJ Yeley (NY Racing Team), BJ McLeod (Live Fast Motorsports), and Anthony Alfredo.

Qualifying: Jack Link's 500 Talladega Superspeedway
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, -Fastest, -Next
1) Zane Smith, No. 38 TitleMax Ford, 52.661 sec, 181.842 mph, ---, ---
2) Ryan Preece, No. 60 Kroger/Celsius Ford, 52.801, 181.360, 0.140 sec, 0.140 sec
3) Kyle Busch, No. 8 Nicokick Chevrolet, 52.814, 181.316, 0.153, 0.013
4) Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford, 52.829, 181.264, 0.168, 0.015
5) Austin Cindric, No. 2 Menards/Quaker State Ford, 52.873, 181.113, 0.212, 0.044
6) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet, 52.891, 181.052, 0.230, 0.018
7) Josh Berry, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 52.904, 181.007, 0.243, 0.013
8) Chris Buescher, No. 17 Travel Centers of America Ford, 52.907, 180.997, 0.246, 0.003
9) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 52.910, 180.987, 0.249, 0.003
10) Ty Gibbs, No. 54 SAIA LTL Freight Toyota, 52.914, 180.973, 0.253, 0.004
11) Christopher Bell, No. 20 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, 52.927, 180.928, 0.266, 0.013
12) Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas/Andy's Ford, 52.941, 180.881, 0.280, 0.014
13) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Progressive Toyota, 52.983, 180.737, 0.322, 0.042
14) Michael McDowell, No. 71 GUNK Chevrolet, 52.991, 180.710, 0.330, 0.008
15) Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 52.995, 180.696, 0.334, 0.004
16) William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet, 53.028, 180.584, 0.367, 0.033
17) Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 53.061, 180.472, 0.400, 0.033
18) Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 53.083, 180.397, 0.422, 0.022
19) AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet, 53.084, 180.393, 0.423, 0.001
20) Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Leidos Toyota, 53.122, 180.264, 0.461, 0.038
21) Ty Dillon, No. 10 Sea Best Chevrolet, 53.123, 180.261, 0.462, 0.001
22) Brad Keselowski, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, 53.139, 180.207, 0.478, 0.016
23) Riley Herbst #, No. 35 Monster Energy Toyota, 53.157, 180.146, 0.496, 0.018
24) Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Wendy's Frosty Chevrolet, 53.191, 180.030, 0.530, 0.034
25) Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 53.211, 179.963, 0.550, 0.020
26) Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Xfinity Mobile Toyota, 53.222, 179.926, 0.561, 0.011
27) Noah Gragson, No. 4 Rural King Ford, 53.264, 179.784, 0.603, 0.042
28) Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chili's Ride the 'Dente Chevrolet, 53.298, 179.669, 0.637, 0.034
29) John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Jack Link's Toyota, 53.337, 179.538, 0.676, 0.039
30) Chase Elliott, No. 9 Amazon Prime Video Chevrolet, 53.345, 179.511, 0.684, 0.008
31) Anthony Alfredo*(i), No. 62 Fortify Building Solutions Chevrolet, 53.381, 179.390, 0.720, 0.036
32) Ross Chastain, No. 1 Jockey Chevrolet, 53.399, 179.329, 0.738, 0.018
33) Cody Ware, No. 51 Arby's x AC Barbecue Sauce Ford, 53.417, 179.269, 0.756, 0.018
34) Erik Jones, No. 43 Massey Motor Freight Toyota, 53.503, 178.981, 0.842, 0.086
35) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 NOS Energy Chevrolet, 53.534, 178.877, 0.873, 0.031
36) Shane Van Gisbergen #, No. 88 Safety Culture Chevrolet, 53.538, 178.864, 0.877, 0.004
37) Justin Haley, No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet, 53.563, 178.780, 0.902, 0.025
38) BJ McLeod *, No. 78 Pigeon Forge Racing Coaster Chevrolet, 54.103, 176.996, 1.442, 0.540
39) JJ Yeley *, No. 44 Barnett Southern Corporation Chevrolet, 55.671, 172.011, 3.010, 1.568
(*) Must qualify on time, (OP) Top 30 in Owner Points, (i)Ineligible for driver points

Round 2:
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, -Fastest, -Next
1) Zane Smith, No. 38 TitleMax Ford, 52.565 sec, 182.174 mph, ---, ---
2) Kyle Busch, No. 8 Nicokick Chevrolet, 52.697, 181.718, 0.132, 0.132
3) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 52.700, 181.708, 0.135, 0.003
4) Ryan Preece, No. 60 Kroger/Celsius Ford, 52.700, 181.708, 0.135, 0.000
5) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet, 52.736, 181.584, 0.171, 0.036
6) Chris Buescher, No. 17 Travel Centers of America Ford, 52.761, 181.498, 0.196, 0.025
7) Austin Cindric, No. 2 Menards/Quaker State Ford, 52.780, 181.432, 0.215, 0.019
8) Josh Berry, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 52.795, 181.381, 0.230, 0.015
9) Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford, 52.833, 181.250, 0.268, 0.038
10) Ty Gibbs, No. 54 SAIA LTL Freight Toyota, 52.951, 180.846, 0.386, 0.118
(*) Must qualify on time, (OP) Top 30 in Owner Points, (i)Ineligible for driver points

Starting Line Up, Jack Link's 500, Talladega Superspeedway
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed
1) Zane Smith, No. 38 TitleMax Ford, 52.565 sec, 182.174 mph
2) Kyle Busch, No. 8 Nicokick Chevrolet, 52.697, 181.718
3) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 52.700, 181.708
4) Ryan Preece, No. 60 Kroger/Celsius Ford, 52.700, 181.708
5) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet, 52.736, 181.584
6) Chris Buescher, No. 17 Travel Centers of America Ford, 52.761, 181.498
7) Austin Cindric, No. 2 Menards/Quaker State Ford, 52.780, 181.432
8) Josh Berry, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 52.795, 181.381
9) Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford, 52.833, 181.250
10) Ty Gibbs, No. 54 SAIA LTL Freight Toyota, 52.951, 180.846
11) Christopher Bell, No. 20 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, 52.927, 180.928
12) Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas/Andy's Ford, 52.941, 180.881
13) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Progressive Toyota, 52.983, 180.737
14) Michael McDowell, No. 71 GUNK Chevrolet, 52.991, 180.710
15) Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 52.995, 180.696
16) William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet, 53.028, 180.584
17) Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 53.061, 180.472
18) Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 53.083, 180.397
19) AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet, 53.084, 180.393
20) Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Leidos Toyota, 53.122, 180.264
21) Ty Dillon, No. 10 Sea Best Chevrolet, 53.123, 180.261
22) Brad Keselowski, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, 53.139, 180.207
23) Riley Herbst #, No. 35 Monster Energy Toyota, 53.157, 180.146
24) Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Wendy's Frosty Chevrolet, 53.191, 180.030
25) Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 53.211, 179.963
26) Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Xfinity Mobile Toyota, 53.222, 179.926
27) Noah Gragson, No. 4 Rural King Ford, 53.264, 179.784
28) Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chili's Ride the 'Dente Chevrolet, 53.298, 179.669
29) John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Jack Link's Toyota, 53.337, 179.538
30) Chase Elliott, No. 9 Amazon Prime Video Chevrolet, 53.345, 179.511
31) Anthony Alfredo(i), No. 62 Fortify Building Solutions Chevrolet, 53.381, 179.390
32) Ross Chastain, No. 1 Jockey Chevrolet, 53.399, 179.329
33) Cody Ware, No. 51 Arby's x AC Barbecue Sauce Ford, 53.417, 179.269
34) Erik Jones, No. 43 Massey Motor Freight Toyota, 53.503, 178.981
35) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 NOS Energy Chevrolet, 53.534, 178.877
36) Shane Van Gisbergen #, No. 88 Safety Culture Chevrolet, 53.538, 178.864
37) Justin Haley, No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet, 53.563, 178.780
38) BJ McLeod, No. 78 Pigeon Forge Racing Coaster Chevrolet, 54.103, 176.996
39) JJ Yeley, No. 44 Barnett Southern Corporation Chevrolet, 55.671, 172.011
(*) Must qualify on time, (OP) Top 30 in Owner Points, (i)Ineligible for driver points

Track Qualifying Record: Bill Elliott, 05/03/87, 44.9981 sec, 212.809 mph

Track Race Record: Mark Martin, 05/10/97, 2:39:18, 188.354 mph