NASCAR Cup starting lineup at Talladega: Michael McDowell wins pole

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Michael McDowell won his fifth consecutive pole at a drafting track Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, moving closer to a mark by Bill Elliott nearly 40 years ago.

McDowell won the pole with a lap of 183.063 mph. McDowell’s streak of poles on drafting tracks is the longest since Elliott won six in a row in 1985-86.

McDowell, who has a series-best six poles this year, will be joined on the front row by Austin Cindric (184.424 mph).

MORE: Cup starting lineup

Todd Gilliland, McDowell’s Front Row Motorsports teammate, starts third after a lap of 182.258 mph. Kyle Busch (181.863) qualified fourth. Reigning Cup champion Ryan Blaney (181.784) is fifth and Team Penske teammate Joey Logano (181.687) qualified sixth.

Four playoff drivers will start outside the top 20. They are Christopher Bell (starting 21st), Alex Bowman (23rd), Daniel Suarez (31st) and Chase Briscoe (36th).

Sunday’s race is the middle event in the second round of the playoffs. NBC’s broadcast begins with Countdown to Green at 1:30 p.m. ET