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NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes first Talladega Cup pole

By Alex Herbst

TALLADEGA, AL - OCTOBER 14: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying in the pole position for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 14, 2017 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
TALLADEGA, AL - OCTOBER 14: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying in the pole position for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 14, 2017 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /
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In his final race at Talladega Superspeedway in the NASCAR Cup Series, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took his first pole at the track ahead of Sunday’s Alabama 500.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has continued a great Earnhardt legacy in NASCAR, especially on the superspeedway tracks. But what would surprise many to learn is that NASCAR’s most popular driver had never won a pole in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway until his final race at the track. The #88 will start at the front for the final time at Dega in the Alabama 500.

Earnhardt Jr., who led both rounds of Cup Series qualifying at the track on Saturday afternoon, will look to finally notch a win in his final full-time season of racing. He continues a trend of Hendrick Motorsports dominance with poles at restrictor plate tracks, often competing with teammate Chase Elliott for the top spot. On Saturday, Elliott would qualify 2nd.

Rounding out the top 5 in qualifying were Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The Ford cars looked resurgent in the final session after the Toyota drivers showed great speed in final practice on Friday. The Japanese marques would struggle then on Saturday, failing to place a car inside the top 13.

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The playoff drivers for the second race of the Round of 12 will be scattered throughout the field, at least at the start. Kevin Harvick, who qualified 22nd, will have the worst track position of the dozen championship contenders. However, with the draft and a long race to come on Sunday, the value of qualifying at Talladega often does not carry outside of pit selection.

Here are the full qualifying results for the Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (playoff drivers in italics):

  1. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
  2. Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
  3. Joey Logano, Ford, Team Penske
  4. Kurt Busch, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
  5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, Roush Fenway Racing
  6. Brad Keselowski, Ford, Team Penske
  7. Clint Bowyer, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
  8. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
  9. Ryan Blaney, Ford, Wood Brothers Racing
  10. Trevor Bayne, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing
  11. Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
  12. Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
  13. Danica Patrick, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
  14. Daniel Suarez, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  15. Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  16. Kyle Busch, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  17. Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
  18. Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
  19. Matt Kenseth, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  20. Paul Menard, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
  21. Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, Furniture Row Racing
  22. Kevin Harvick, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
  23. Erik Jones, Toyota, Furniture Row Racing
  24. A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, JTG-Daugherty Racing
  25. Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Germain Racing
  26. Aric Almirola, Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports
  27. Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
  28. Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, JTG-Daugherty Racing
  29. Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, Leavine Family Racing
  30. Landon Cassill, Ford, Front Row Motorsports
  31. Justin Marks, Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing
  32. Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, Go Fas Racing
  33. David Ragan, Ford, Front Row Motorsports
  34. Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, TMG-Circle Sport Racing
  35. Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, Beard Racing
  36. Mark Thompson, Toyota, Premium Motorsports
  37. Joey Gase, Toyota, BK Racing
  38. Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, TriStar Motorsports
  39. Gray Gaulding, Toyota, BK Racing
  40. D.J. Kennington, Toyota, Premium Motorsports

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Be sure to tune in for coverage of the Alabama 500 on Sunday from Talladega Superspeedway. The race can be seen at 2:00 PM eastern live on your local NBC station. Pre and post-race coverage will be seen on NBC Sports Network.

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