NASCAR lineup, playoff grid set by qualifying results at Talladega

It’s Talladega, so starting near the front or closer to the rear doesn’t matter much at the 2.66-mile trioval banked at 33 degrees. But somebody has to lead the way at the green, and Sunday it’ll be pole sitter Michael McDowell and Chase Briscoe starting on the front row for the YellaWood 500.

McDowell’s pole-winning average speed was 182.466 and his lap time was 52.466, les than a tenth of a second faster than Briscoe’s 52.500.

Talladega brings the second of three races in the Round of 8, with the segment’s final race next week at Martinsville. After that race, the top four from the Round of 8 will go to Phoenix with the championship on the line.

Horsepower restrictions on NASCAR’s so-called Next Gen cars continue to slow Talladega speeds to a relative crawl compared to earlier times, especially the first two decades at the massive track before restrictor-plate rules were adopted in 1988.

Talladega’s history of speed: The numbers were big

The first pole-winning speed at brand new Talladega, in 1969, was 198.386 mph, turned in by Bobby Isaac in his famed K&K Insurance-sponsored Dodge Charger Daytona, with its adjustable rear wing and, yes, a hemi. Engine rules varied and so did Talladega speeds in subsequent years, before an upward trend in the early 1980s eventually led to previously unimaginable speeds and a crackdown on such numbers.

In 1982, Darrell Waltrip delivered the first 200 mph pole-winning speed at Talladega, and pole speeds remained in the low 200s for a few years until a dramatic uptick in 1985, courtesy of “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville.” Bill Elliott, piloting the Ford Thunderbird built by brothers Ernie and Dan, averaged over 209 mph in winning the pole for the 1985 spring race.

Two years later, he upped it to 212, and two years after that, Davey Allison came within an eye-blink of hitting 213. That same weekend, Davey’s dad Bobby was part of a highly populated crash and his out-of-control Buick tore out a large section of the frontstretch catch-fence and came frighteningly close to the flagman’s stand.

That ushered in the era of restrictor plates and somewhat saner speeds.

Top 10 Talladega speeds in qualifying

Michael McDowell: 182.466

Chase Briscoe: 182.400

Kyle Busch: 182.199

Austin Cindric: 182.181

Ryan Preece: 182.116

Josh Berry: 182.005

Christopher Bell: 181.846

Ryan Blaney: 181.780

RIley Herbst: 181.735

Bubba Wallace: 181.728

NASCAR lineup for Sunday at Talladega

1. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
2. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
3. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
5. Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
6. Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
7. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
8. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
9. Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
10. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
11. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
12. Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
13. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
14. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
15. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
16. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
17. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
18. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
19. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
20. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
21. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
22. Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
23. Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford 
24. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
25. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
26. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
27. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford 
28. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
29. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
30. Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
31. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
32. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
33. Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
34. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
35. Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
36. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet
38. Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet
39. BJ McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet
40. Casey Mears, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford

TV times, channels for rest of NASCAR weekend at Talladega

Saturday: Xfinity Series race, United Rentals 250 (CW).

Sunday: Cup Series race, Jack Links 500 (NBC).

— Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com