Michael McDowell earns Talladega Cup pole for Front Row Motorsports

Despite the stunning lawsuit, Michael McDowell said he and his Front Row Motorsports (FRM) team have been “laser-focused” heading into Talladega. The veteran driver had zero Cup poles in his previous 15 years of competition, but now has six poles this year alone — more than any other driver during the 2024 season. It was an all-Ford front row with Team Penske’s Austin Cindric qualifying second, leading all playoff drivers.

“It’s just amazing,” said McDowell. “I’m just so proud of everybody on this No. 34 Ford Mustang team. It’s hard to come down here and get the pole. We found some things in the off-season. Went to Daytona and it worked and we just kept that momentum going. Really proud. We came here with a game plan and the game plan was to sit on the pole, and we did that today. That should put us in the lead for the most poles of the year. That’s something we had circled.

McDowell nearly won his way into the playoffs earlier this year at Talladega, crashing from the lead just short of the finish line. “We had the car to win here last (time) too,” continued McDowell. “We needed about 400 more yards to get to the checkered flag so hopefully tomorrow goes smoother than that. But it’s great to have a fast Ford Mustang. Thank you to Doug Yates and everybody at Roush-Yates engine shop.

His 52.310s lap was even faster than his time from the first round and two full tenths clear of the competition. Cindric was 0.201s behind, and just to put that in perspective, just over two tenths is what separated the remaining nine drivers in the final round of qualifying.

McDowell and Cindric are followed by Todd Gilliland and Kyle Busch on the starting grid with Ryan Blaney fifth, Joey Logano sixth, Austin Dillon seventh, Denny Hamlin eighth, Harrison Burton ninth, and Daniel Hemric tenth (Hemric’s best start of the year).