Michael McDowell beat teammate Todd Gilliland to pole position with a lap of 49.136s around the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Both drivers are facing a must-win situation and led a legion of Fords at the front of the field, sweeping the first three rows.
For McDowell, this is his fourth pole of the season and his third on a drafting track. He had zero poles in the previous 16 years of his Cup career, but is now making the most of FRM's Tier 1 status within the Ford group and a technical alliance with Team Penske.
"I'm just so proud of everybody at Front Row Motorsports," said McDowell. "To have both cars on the front row is just amazing. It's just a testament to how hard everyone is working. We know we have two shots left here, but this is a big weekend for us. To have both cars up front is really important. Hopefully, we can stay up front, control the race, and give ourselves a fighting chance to get into these playoffs."
Gilliland was 0.098s shy of earning his first-career pole. Previously, he best start was third at Talladega. "I wanted it extremely bad," he told NBC. "We definitely have a car that's fast enough to go win this race tomorrow."
Penske's Joey Logano will start third, followed by the Stewart-Haas trio of Ryan Preece, Josh Berry and Chase Briscoe. William Byron was the top-qualifying Chevrolet driver in seventh, breaking up the Blue Oval party. Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott filled out the remainder of the top-ten.
Looking at the drivers in the midst of the playoff points battle, Chris Buescher was the top qualifier in 13th.
| CLA | DRIVER | # | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | TIME | INTERVAL | MPH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M. McDowellFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 34 | Ford | 1 |
49.136 |
183.165 | ||
| 2 | T. GillilandFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 38 | Ford | 1 |
+0.098 49.234 |
0.098 | 182.801 | |
| 3 | J. LoganoTEAM PENSKE | 22 | Ford | 1 |
+0.222 49.358 |
0.124 | 182.341 | |
| 4 | R. PreeceSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 41 | Ford | 1 |
+0.230 49.366 |
0.008 | 182.312 | |
| 5 | J. BerrySTEWART-HAAS RACING | 4 | Ford | 1 |
+0.261 49.397 |
0.031 | 182.197 | |
| 6 | C. BriscoeSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 14 | Ford | 1 |
+0.262 49.398 |
0.001 | 182.194 | |
| 7 | W. ByronHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 24 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.299 49.435 |
0.037 | 182.057 | |
| 8 | A. CindricTEAM PENSKE | 2 | Ford | 1 |
+0.315 49.451 |
0.016 | 181.998 | |
| 9 | K. LarsonHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 5 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.342 49.478 |
0.027 | 181.899 | |
| 10 | C. ElliottHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 9 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.382 49.518 |
0.040 | 181.752 |
| 11 | K. BuschRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 8 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.338 49.556 |
0.002 | 181.613 | |
| 12 | B. KeselowskiRFK RACING | 6 | Ford | 1 |
+0.357 49.575 |
0.019 | 181.543 | |
| 13 | C. BuescherRFK RACING | 17 | Ford | 1 |
+0.366 49.584 |
0.009 | 181.510 | |
| 14 | R. BlaneyTEAM PENSKE | 12 | Ford | 1 |
+0.369 49.587 |
0.003 | 181.499 | |
| 15 | N. GragsonSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 10 | Ford | 1 |
+0.394 49.612 |
0.025 | 181.408 | |
| 16 | A. DillonRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 3 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.396 49.614 |
0.002 | 181.400 | |
| 17 | M. Truex JrJOE GIBBS RACING | 19 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.459 49.677 |
0.063 | 181.170 | |
| 18 | B. Wallace23XI RACING | 23 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.472 49.690 |
0.013 | 181.123 | |
| 19 | D. HamlinJOE GIBBS RACING | 11 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.504 49.722 |
0.032 | 181.006 | |
| 20 | H. BurtonWOOD BROTHERS RACING | 21 | Ford | 1 |
+0.506 49.724 |
0.002 | 180.999 | |
| 21 | A. BowmanHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 48 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.523 49.741 |
0.017 | 180.937 | |
| 22 | D. SuarezTRACKHOUSE RACING | 99 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.549 49.767 |
0.026 | 180.843 | |
| 23 | A. HillRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 33 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.551 49.769 |
0.002 | 180.835 | |
| 24 | R. ChastainTRACKHOUSE RACING | 1 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.554 49.772 |
0.003 | 180.825 | |
| 25 | T. Reddick23XI RACING | 45 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.556 49.774 |
0.002 | 180.817 | |
| 26 |
T. GibbsJOE GIBBS RACING
|
54 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.574 49.792 |
0.018 | 180.752 | |
| 27 | C. BellJOE GIBBS RACING | 20 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.576 49.794 |
0.002 | 180.745 | |
| 28 | D. HemricKAULIG RACING | 31 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.602 49.820 |
0.026 | 180.650 | |
| 29 |
P. RetzlaffBEARD MOTORSPORTS
|
62 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.603 49.821 |
0.001 | 180.647 | |
| 30 |
Z. SmithSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
71 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.626 49.844 |
0.023 | 180.563 | |
| 31 | J. NemechekLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 42 | Toyota | 1 |
+0.629 49.847 |
0.003 | 180.552 | |
| 32 | S. van GisbergenKAULIG RACING | 16 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.664 49.882 |
0.035 | 180.426 | |
| 33 | C. WareRICK WARE RACING | 15 | Ford | 1 |
+0.706 49.924 |
0.042 | 180.274 | |
| 34 | C. LajoieSPIRE MOTORSPORTS | 7 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.709 49.927 |
0.003 | 180.263 | |
| 35 | R. Stenhouse JrJTG DAUGHERTY RACING | 47 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.839 50.057 |
0.130 | 179.795 | |
| 36 | J. HaleyRICK WARE RACING | 51 | Ford | 1 |
+0.847 50.065 |
0.008 | 179.766 | |
| 37 |
C. HocevarSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
77 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+0.861 50.079 |
0.014 | 179.716 | |
| 38 | B. McLeodLIVE FAST MOTORSPORTS | 78 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+1.503 50.721 |
0.642 | 177.441 | |
| 39 | J. GaseNY RACING TEAM | 44 | Chevrolet | 1 |
+2.177 51.395 |
0.674 | 175.114 | |
| 40 | E. JonesLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 43 | Toyota | 0 |
N/A |
N/A |
