Michael McDowell soars to Busch Light Pole at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Michael McDowell may be driving for a new team this year, but the Spire Motorsports driver still proved himself to be one of the fastest at a superspeedway, earning the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday’s YellaWood 500 Round of 8 playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock).
McDowell turned in a lap of 182.466 mph in the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Saturday afternoon to claim the lead position in Sunday’s pivotal NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race — the second of the final three-race round to determine which four drivers will be championship-eligible in the Nov. 2 finale at Phoenix Raceway.
McDowell bettered playoff driver Chase Briscoe by a slight .019 seconds on the lap around the 2.66-mile track. It’s the eighth pole position of McDowell’s career and the second of the 2025 season, matching his work at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. more
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