McDowell, whose first career pole came earlier this season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, was fastest in both rounds on Saturday, winning the pole with an average lap speed of 182.022 mph over fellow Ford driver Austin Cindric (181.739 mph).
In three superspeedway races this season, McDowell has started second, first and now second. He was involved in a wreck in the season-opening Daytona 500 and finished eighth at Atlanta.
“I’m just so proud of everybody at Front Row Motorsports. It’s a total team effort,” said McDowell, whose only Cup win came in the 2021 Daytona 500. “We got the front row at Daytona and the pole at Atlanta. We just got that taste of it like, ‘Hey, we can do this.’
“A lot of effort goes into it. The Mustang celebrated 60 years this week so it’s cool to be able to the pole for them. We just got to get a Mustang in Victory Lane tomorrow.
“There’s a lot of good cars starting up front with us, a lot of teammates. Hopefully, we can do all the things we need to do and execute. We got the speed, now we need to put it all together.”
McDowell’s Front Row Motorsports teammate, Todd Gilliland, ended up third fastest (181.401 mph), Kyle Busch was fourth and the top Chevrolet and Austin Dillon fifth.
Completing the top 10 starting lineup are Martin Truex Jr. (the top Toyota), Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell.
| CLA | DRIVER | # | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | TIME | INTERVAL | MPH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M. McDowellFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 34 | Ford | 1 |
52.609 |
182.022 | ||
| 2 | A. CindricTEAM PENSKE | 2 | Ford | 1 |
+0.082 52.691 |
0.082 | 181.739 | |
| 3 | T. GillilandFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 38 | Ford | 1 |
+0.180 52.789 |
0.098 | 181.401 | |
| 4 | K. BuschRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 8 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.254 52.863 |
0.074 | 181.147 | |
| 5 | A. DillonRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 3 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.360 52.969 |
0.106 | 180.785 | |
| 6 | M. Truex JrJOE GIBBS RACING | 19 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.383 52.992 |
0.023 | 180.707 | |
| 7 | J. LoganoTEAM PENSKE | 22 | Ford | 1 |
+0.435 53.044 |
0.052 | 180.529 | |
| 8 | C. BuescherRFK RACING | 17 | Ford | 1 |
+0.510 53.119 |
0.075 | 180.274 | |
| 9 | C. ElliottHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 9 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.513 53.122 |
0.003 | 180.264 | |
| 10 | C. BellJOE GIBBS RACING | 20 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.589 53.198 |
0.076 | 180.007 |
Round 1
McDowell led an impressive first round for Ford with an average lap speed of 181.567 mph.
Busch ended up second quick (180.782 mph) while McDowell’s teammate, Gilliland, was third (180.679 mph).
Ford drivers Cindric and Logano rounded out the top five.
Also advancing to the final round were Truex, Dillon, Bell, Buescher and Elliott, who grabbed the final transfer spot while the last car to qualify.
Prior to the start of the first round, NASCAR announced that the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Kyle Larson would not be allowed to participate in qualifying.
The team was penalized for making an unapproved adjustment to the roof rails of the car while it was being pushed to the grid.
Without taking part in qualifying, Larson will lose pit selection and in essence have to start from the rear of Sunday’s race.
| CLA | DRIVER | # | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | TIME | INTERVAL | MPH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M. McDowellFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 34 | Ford | 1 |
52.741 |
181.567 | ||
| 2 | K. BuschRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 8 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.229 52.970 |
0.229 | 180.782 | |
| 3 | T. GillilandFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 38 | Ford | 1 |
+0.259 53.000 |
0.030 | 180.679 | |
| 4 | A. CindricTEAM PENSKE | 2 | Ford | 1 |
+0.279 53.020 |
0.020 | 180.611 | |
| 5 | J. LoganoTEAM PENSKE | 22 | Ford | 1 |
+0.286 53.027 |
0.007 | 180.587 | |
| 6 | M. Truex JrJOE GIBBS RACING | 19 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.307 53.048 |
0.021 | 180.516 | |
| 7 | A. DillonRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 3 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.345 53.086 |
0.038 | 180.387 | |
| 8 | C. BellJOE GIBBS RACING | 20 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.379 53.120 |
0.034 | 180.271 | |
| 9 | C. BuescherRFK RACING | 17 | Ford | 1 |
+0.381 53.122 |
0.002 | 180.264 | |
| 10 | C. ElliottHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 9 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.427 53.168 |
0.046 | 180.108 | |
| 11 | R. PreeceSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 41 | Ford | 1 |
+0.434 53.175 |
0.007 | 180.085 | |
| 12 | A. BowmanHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 48 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.442 53.183 |
0.008 | 180.058 | |
| 13 | W. ByronHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 24 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.444 53.185 |
0.002 | 180.051 | |
| 14 | B. Wallace23XI RACING | 23 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.445 53.186 |
0.001 | 180.047 | |
| 15 |
T. GibbsJOE GIBBS RACING
|
54 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.467 53.208 |
0.022 | 179.973 | |
| 16 | H. BurtonWOOD BROTHERS RACING | 21 | Ford | 1 |
+0.470 53.211 |
0.003 | 179.963 | |
| 17 | S. van GisbergenKAULIG RACING | 16 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.485 53.226 |
0.015 | 179.912 | |
| 18 | T. Reddick23XI RACING | 45 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.521 53.262 |
0.036 | 179.790 | |
| 19 | D. HemricKAULIG RACING | 31 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.557 53.298 |
0.036 | 179.669 | |
| 20 | J. NemechekLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 42 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.565 53.306 |
0.008 | 179.642 | |
| 21 | R. BlaneyTEAM PENSKE | 12 | Ford | 1 |
+0.579 53.320 |
0.014 | 179.595 | |
| 22 | B. KeselowskiRFK RACING | 6 | Ford | 1 |
+0.581 53.322 |
0.002 | 179.588 | |
| 23 | D. HamlinJOE GIBBS RACING | 11 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.666 53.407 |
0.085 | 179.302 | |
| 24 |
A. AlfredoBEARD MOTORSPORTS
|
62 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.670 53.411 |
0.004 | 179.289 | |
| 25 | D. SuarezTRACKHOUSE RACING | 99 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.673 53.414 |
0.003 | 179.279 | |
| 26 | C. BriscoeSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 14 | Ford | 1 |
+0.714 53.455 |
0.041 | 179.141 | |
| 27 | J. HaleyRICK WARE RACING | 51 | Ford | 1 |
+0.737 53.478 |
0.023 | 179.064 | |
| 28 | E. JonesLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 43 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.739 53.480 |
0.002 | 179.058 | |
| 29 | J. BerrySTEWART-HAAS RACING | 4 | Ford | 1 |
+0.746 53.487 |
0.007 | 179.034 | |
| 30 |
Z. SmithSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
71 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.791 53.532 |
0.045 | 178.884 | |
| 31 | C. LajoieSPIRE MOTORSPORTS | 7 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.802 53.543 |
0.011 | 178.847 | |
| 32 | R. ChastainTRACKHOUSE RACING | 1 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.849 53.590 |
0.047 | 178.690 | |
| 33 | R. Stenhouse JrJTG DAUGHERTY RACING | 47 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.945 53.686 |
0.096 | 178.371 | |
| 34 | C. WareRICK WARE RACING | 15 | Ford | 1 |
+0.979 53.720 |
0.034 | 178.258 | |
| 35 |
C. HocevarSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
77 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+1.026 53.767 |
0.047 | 178.102 | |
| 36 | N. GragsonSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 10 | Ford | 1 |
+1.070 53.811 |
0.044 | 177.956 | |
| 37 | B. McLeodLIVE FAST MOTORSPORTS | 78 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+1.549 54.290 |
0.479 | 176.386 | |
| 38 | K. LarsonHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 5 | Chevrolet | 0 |
|
