Talladega Superspeedway qualifying results from April 28, 2018 featuring the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Today, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series takes to the 2.66-mile oval of Talladega Superspeedway. Before they race, they’ll set the grid in Busch Pole Qualifying.
View the full NASCAR Talladega starting lineup below.
The restrictor plate was 7/8 of an inch in the practice sessions. It has been reduced to 55/64, a 1/64 of an inch change. This is the first time the cars have touched the track with the new restrictor plate. The new rule was introduced to slow the cars down from practice speeds.
Related: NASCAR introduces a new restrictor plate ahead of Talladega qualifying
Talladega Menu: MENCS
TV | Qual | Race
Round 1 – Report
It’s single car qualifying at the superspeedway’s. Two rounds of qualifying with the top 12 advancing to the final round.
They’re qualifying in the reverse order of practice speeds. The fastest cars in practice will go out last in round 1.
Ross Chastain is the first car on the track. His time stands for the next 6 cars. DJ Kennington knocks him off the top spot as the 6th car on the track.
Timothy Peters is making his MENCS debut. He’s the 8th car on the track, he jumps up to 2nd on the board.
Chase Elliott is the 18th car to touch the track. He jumps to the top of the board. Hendrick Motorsports is almost untouchable in restrictor plate qualifying at Talladega and Daytona in recent years.
Kurt Busch is the 24th car on the track. His rear end is tracking several inches to the left. It’s notably skewed down the back stretch. But, he’s bad fast. Kurt Busch jumps to the top by .3 seconds which is significantly faster than Elliott’s run. The skew must have worked.
Aric Almirola was fastest in practice yesterday. However, he’s got big problems here in qualifying. Something has broken on his car. He completed the first lap but it was near 2 seconds off the pace. When he went into turn 1, the right rear tire exploded.
The problems continue for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick was already on his warm up lap. He’ll have to shut it down and reset as the red flag is out.
On top of that, Harvick ran over debris from the cut tire. NASCAR is checking the tires on the #4. They will allow him to change the right rear tire as there are some cuts in the tire. In addition, they are allowing the team to repair damage under the car on the right rear.
Several cars hit the track for qualifying as Harvick’s #4 went under repair. He’s now the 35th car on the track and he’s tracking in the green. Harvick jumps to the top of the board.
Kevin Harvick wins round 1 in Talladega Superspeedway qualifying.
Round 1 Results: 1. Kevin Harvick (49.291); 2. Kurt Busch (49.381); 3. Martin Truex Jr (49.692); 4. Erik Jones; 5. Chase Elliott; 6. Denny Hamlin; 7. Joey Logano; 8. Brad Keselowski; 9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr; 10. Clint Bowyer; 11. Alex Bowman; 12. David Ragan;
Round 2 – Report
They will again run in inverse speed. This time, it’s the fastest car from round 1 that will run last in round 2.
The first 4 cars on track all qualify in the same order of round 1. Each car tops the next, until Keselowski hits the track. He’s the first car that doesn’t reach the top of the board, 3rd so far.
Kevin Harvick wins the pole at Talladega Superspeedway. It’s an all Stewart-Haas Racing front row. Kurt Busch will start on the outside pole.
View the full 2018 Talladega Superspeedway starting lineup below.
Talladega Qualifying Results
NASCAR Cup Series
April 28, 2018
Pos | Driver | Time
1. Kevin Harvick
49.247
2. Kurt Busch
49.340
3. Martin Truex Jr
49.482
4. Denny Hamlin
49.633
5. Chase Elliott
49.680
6. Erik Jones
49.686
7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
49.900
8. Clint Bowyer
49.947
9. Joey Logano
49.968
10. Brad Keselowski
50.046
11. Alex Bowman
50.071
12. David Ragan
50.113
13. Paul Menard
50.009
14. Daniel Suarez
50.011
15. Darrell Wallace Jr
50.054
16. Jimmie Johnson
50.068
17. William Byron
50.087
18. Ryan Newman
50.107
19. Kyle Busch
50.109
20. Michael McDowell
50.138
21. Trevor Bayne
50.140
22. Kyle Larson
50.151
23. Ryan Blaney
50.269
24. Austin Dillon
50.363
25. Chris Buescher
50.454
26. Kasey Kahne
50.462
27. Jamie McMurray
50.474
28. AJ Allmendinger
50.476
29. Ty Dillon
50.762
30. Brendan Gaughan
50.766
31. DJ Kennington
51.145
32. Timothy Peters
51.190
33. Matt DiBenedetto
51.319
34. Joey Gase
51.484
35. Ross Chastain
51.564
36. Cole Whitt
51.710
37. Gray Gaulding
52.102
38. Reed Sorenson
53.372
39. Timmy Hill
52.647
40. Aric Almirola
54.604
