Aric Almirola scored the pole in qualifying for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Photo: Atlanta Motor Speedway
The NASCAR Cup Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, so it should come as no surprise that Aric Almirola would lead an armada of Ford drivers in time trials for the event.
Almirola claimed the fifth pole of his career with a lap at 177.346 mph (31.261 seconds), running the fastest lap of the day in the final round of time trials.
Almirola edged Ryan Blaney (177.266 mph) by .035 seconds for the top starting spot in Sunday’s race, as Ford drivers claimed the first six positions on the grid. In March, Ford’s grabbed the top eight starting spots.
The pole was Almirola’s first of the season and his second at the 1.54-mile track.
When Almirola won his first Atlanta pole in 2019, he was driving a Gen 6 car with an open-motor configuration on a degraded asphalt surface. Saturday’s pole-winning run came on a repaved track with NASCAR’s Next Gen car using a superspeedway competition package.
Nevertheless, Almirola said the lap was equally nerve-wracking, as opposed to the Daytona and Talladega superspeedways.
“Here, with the track starting to degrade some over the winter, and now we’re in the hot summer months of July in Atlanta, the car’s a handful to try to run wide-open… A lot more nerve-wracking, much like it was with the Gen 6 car when you’re absolutely flying around here, slipping and sliding on that old surface.
“It was an exciting lap — we’ve been working really hard to bring more speed to the race track, and it’s great to get a pole.”
Chase Briscoe, Almirola’s teammate at Stewart-Haas Racing, will start third after a lap at 177.147 mph, followed by Joey Logano (176.876 mph).
Harrison Burton qualified a career-best fifth and will start on the inside of the third row next to Kevin Harvick. Toyota driver Ty Gibbs interrupted the Ford monopoly and will start seventh next to Kyle Larson, the only Chevrolet driver to make the final round.
Reigning series champion Logano won the March race at Atlanta for his only victory so far this season.
NASCAR Cup Series
Atlanta Motor Speedway – Hampton, GA
Quaker State 400 – July 8, 2023
Saturday’s Qualifying Results
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
1. 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield/IHOP Ford 31.261 177.346
2. 12 Ryan Blaney Wurth Ford 31.275 177.266
3. 14 Chase Briscoe Magical Vacation Planner Ford 31.296 177.147
4. 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 31.344 176.876
5. 21 Harrison Burton DEX Imaging Ford 31.357 176.803
6. 4 Kevin Harvick Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford 31.373 176.712
7. 54 Ty Gibbs # He Gets us Toyota 31.375 176.701
8. 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 31.388 176.628
9. 38 Todd Gilliland Georgia Peanuts Ford 31.404 176.538
10. 2 Austin Cindric Menards/Quaker State Ford 31.482 176.101
11. 6 Brad Keselowski Castrol Edge Ford 31.477 176.129
12. 45 Tyler Reddick The Beast Unleashed Toyota 31.494 176.034
13. 41 Ryan Preece Sony Mobile ES Ford 31.506 175.966
14. 11 Denny Hamlin Coca-Cola Toyota 31.511 175.939
15. 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 31.527 175.849
16. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota 31.574 175.588
17. 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 31.574 175.588
18. 24 William Byron Axalta Chevrolet 31.579 175.560
19. 16 A.J. Allmendinger Farmsmart Chevrolet 31.598 175.454
20. 34 Michael McDowell FR8Auctions.com Ford 31.611 175.382
21. 51 Cole Custer(i) Jacob Companies Ford 31.650 175.166
22. 8 Kyle Busch Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet 31.731 174.719
23. 9 Chase Elliott NAPA/Children’s Chevrolet 31.751 174.609
24. 15 J.J. Yeley(i) Patriot Mobile Ford 31.770 174.504
25. 43 Erik Jones Allegiant Chevrolet 31.773 174.488
26. 99 Daniel Suarez Quaker State Chevrolet 31.834 174.153
27. 77 Ty Dillon Raze Energy Blue Shock Chevrolet 31.877 173.918
28. 7 Corey LaJoie Gainbridge Chevrolet 31.880 173.902
29. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Kroger/Slim Jim Chevrolet 31.924 173.662
30. 1 Ross Chastain Worldwide Express Chevrolet 32.278 171.758
31. 42 Noah Gragson # Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet 32.346 171.397
32. 62 Austin Hill(i) Bennett Transportation/Beard Chevrolet 32.501 170.579
33. 3 Austin Dillon Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet 32.525 170.453
34. 20 Christopher Bell Rheem Toyota 32.754 169.262
35. 78 B.J. McLeod Gunk Chevrolet 32.990 168.051
36. 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 33.539 165.300
37. 23 Bubba Wallace Leidos Toyota 0.000 0.000
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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