NASCAR: 2024 Talladega qualifying updates, full starting lineup
By Asher Fair
Talladega Superspeedway is scheduled to host the first of its two annual NASCAR Cup Series races this weekend. The GEICO 500 is the 10th of 36 races on the 2024 schedule, and it is the first superspeedway race since the season began with back-to-back drafting races in February at Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Sunday afternoon's race is set to be a 188-lap race around the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) high-banked Lincoln, Alabama oval. Team Penske's Ryan Blaney is the most recent winner at Talladega, having won the playoff race there last October. Richard Childress Racing's Kyle Busch is the reigning winner of this particular race.
With Talladega being a superspeedway rather than a standard oval, group qualifying is not used to set the starting lineup. The fastest 10 drivers in the single-lap opening round advance to the second round to battle for the pole position with another single-lap run.
The full qualifying order was determined using a set of four variables in a formula that NASCAR came up with in 2020. More on that can be found here.
NASCAR: Full Talladega starting lineup
1st - Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
2nd - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
3rd - Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
4th - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
5th - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
6th - Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
7th - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
8th - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
9th - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10th - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
11th - Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
12th - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
13th - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
14th - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
15th - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
16th - Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
17th - Shane van Gisbergen, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
18th - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
19th - Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
20th - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
21st - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
22nd - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
23rd - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
24th - Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
25th - Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
26th - Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet -
27th - Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
28th - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
29th - Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
30th - Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
31st - Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
32nd - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
33rd - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
34th - Cody Ware, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
35th - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
36th - Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
37th - B.J. McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet -
38th - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Round 2 Results
1st - Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
2nd - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
3rd - Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
4th - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
5th - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
6th - Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
7th - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
8th - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
9th - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10th - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Round 1 Results
1st - Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
2nd - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
3rd - Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
4th - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
5th - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
6th - Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
7th - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
8th - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
9th - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
10th - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
11th - Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
12th - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
13th - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
14th - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
15th - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
16th - Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
17th - Shane van Gisbergen, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
18th - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
19th - Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
20th - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
21st - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
22nd - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
23rd - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
24th - Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
25th - Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
26th - Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet -
27th - Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
28th - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
29th - Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
30th - Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
31st - Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
32nd - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
33rd - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
34th - Cody Ware, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
35th - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
36th - Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
37th - B.J. McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet -
38th - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
FanDuel Sportsbook, which is giving fans an instant $150 bonus for betting $5 on any driver, win or loses, lists a whopping five drivers as co-favorites to win Sunday's GEICO 500.
Odds and availability subject to change
The GEICO 500 is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Talladega Superspeedway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, April 21. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss it!