TALLADEGA, Ala. – Two Hendrick Motorsports drivers will start Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway inside the top eight.
Kyle Larson will begin from the fifth position in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. In the final round of qualifying, the reigning Cup Series champion posted a lap of 179.817 mph to earn his top-five starting spot. Larson's start from fifth marks his best beginning position in a Cup Series race at Talladega where qualifying was held.
William Byron will start from row four as he will take the grid in the eighth position. The driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 posted a lap of 179.608 mph in the final round. Byron finished second in last year’s spring race.
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Alex Bowman will line up 27th in his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while 2019 Talladega spring race winner Chase Elliott will start next to him in 28th in the No. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Bowman was the runner-up finisher to Elliott in the 2019 spring event – his best finish to date at the sport’s biggest track.
Byron and Elliott each have three top-five finishes in the last seven superspeedway races, which is tied for the second-most in that stretch with Denny Hamlin. Only Bubba Wallace has more top-five finishes during that span on the sport’s bigger tracks than that group.
Christopher Bell earned the pole position for the 188-lap race.
In the history of Hendrick Motorsports, the organization has won at Talladega 13 times – the most among all Cup Series teams. Seven different drivers won at the 2.66-mile venue with NASCAR Hall of Famer and the team’s vice chairman Jeff Gordon leading the way with six victories.
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Tune in on Sunday to watch the 10th Cup Series points-paying event of the season at 3 p.m. ET on FOX and listen on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.