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Kyle Larson not allowed to qualify, Michael McDowell wins pole for GEICO 500 at Talladega
Before qualifying even got started for Sunday's GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, one of NASCAR's superstars was already behind the eight ball.
Due to a penalty regarding roof rails , 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson was not allowed to make a qualifying lap on Saturday morning, and he will start last when the green flag waves for Sunday's race.
NEWS: Kyle Larson will not be allowed to qualify here at Dega. They made an unapproved adjustment to the roof rails as they pushed the car to the grid. Any further penalties to be announced later this week.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 20, 2024
It should be noted that at Atlanta, a drafting style racetrack like Talladega, the Stewart-Haas Racing teams of Ryan Preece and Noah Gragson were docked 35 points after having their roof rail deflectors penalized by NASCAR the day before qualifying.
Larson's crew chief, Cliff Daniels, reportedly talked to NASCAR about the issue, but declined to talk to the media regarding the penalty, per NASCAR on Fox.
The penalty marks another instance of Larson having horrendous luck at Talladega and superspeedways in general. Larson has never won a drafting track race in his decade in the Cup Series, dating back to the 2014 Daytona 500.
Meanwhile, it was business as usual for the rest of the Cup Series field.
On a windy day in Lincoln, Alabama, drivers had to battle a headwind on the backstretch and a tailwind on the front stretch, which altered qualifying times by three- or four-tenths of a second, depending on where the car was on the massive 2.66-mile racetrack.
Chase Elliott beat out Ryan Preece by seven one-thousandths of a second for the 10th and final spot in Round 2 of qualifying, but it was Michael McDowell who won the pole for Sunday's race.
The pole is McDowell's second of his Cup Series career, with the first coming back in February at Atlanta.
He wanted to go fast and did!@Mc_Driver wins the #BuschLightPole for the #GEICO500! pic.twitter.com/k5Yzsd2WFN
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 20, 2024
Third-year driver Austin Cindric qualified second, making up an all-Ford front row on a pivotal weekend for the struggling manufacturer. Todd Gilliland, whose 74 laps led on superspeedways this season lead all drivers, qualified third, his second top-five qualifying effort of the season on a drafting track after a fourth-place start at Atlanta.
Defending spring Talladega winner Kyle Busch qualified fourth, while Texas winner Chase Elliott will start Sunday's GEICO 500 from the ninth position.
The GEICO 500 will air on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on Fox, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
More must-reads:
- Shane van Gisbergen's first superspeedway test comes at NASCAR's scariest track
- Historic NASCAR team risking a fade into obsolescence with poor tenure from young driver
- The 'Daytona 500 winners' quiz
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