TALLADEGA, Ala. – Chase Elliott will lead the Hendrick Motorsports quartet to the green flag at Talladega Superspeedway after earning the ninth starting position during Saturday’s qualifying session. Elliott, the final car to qualify in the first round, went 10th-quickest on speed to advance into the final round. On his second attempt, Elliott earned the ninth starting spot.
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Coming off of a victory at Texas Motor Speedway, the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team will look to continue their positive momentum this weekend. In his career, The Dawsonville, Georgia, native has scored two career victories at Talladega. He also holds the best average finish (13.63) among active drivers at the track with at least six starts. Since the Next Gen era began in 2022, Elliott has scored the most points (189) of any driver at the facility.
Narrowly missing out on the second round was Alex Bowman, who will take the green flag from the 12th spot. The Tucson, Arizona, native is looking for his first career victory on a drafting track having already earned two runner-up results, one at Talladega in 2019 and at this year's DAYTONA 500. The driver of the No. 48 Ally Racing Chevrolet has four top-10 results at the 2.66-mile venue, all of which have come in the track’s spring event.
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William Byron will take the green flag one row behind his teammate from the 13th position. Throughout his career, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native has excelled at this type of racing. While Talladega is the lone drafting track he has yet to find victory lane on, he has earned two victories at Atlanta Motor Speedway and was victorious in the 2024 DAYTONA 500.
Kyle Larson did not qualify on Saturday due to an unapproved adjustment and will start 38th for the main event. While the team passed technical inspection following the qualifying session, Larson's team lost their pit stall selection and will serve a drive-through penalty under the green flag to start the main event. Car chief Jesse Saunders was also ejected for Sunday's race.
Michael McDowell won the pole for Sunday afternoon's main event.
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In terms of capturing the checkered flag at Talladega, the first triumph for Rick Hendrick's team came in 1988 when Ken Schrader went to victory lane followed closely by teammate Geoff Bodine. The 1-2 finish was the first time in track history a team had swept the top-two positions and the first top-two sweep for Hendrick Motorsports. Since then, the team has won 13 more times at the 2.66-mile track with vice chairman Jeff Gordon leading the way with six victories. Elliott and Jimmie Johnson each have won twice for the group. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Terry Labonte, Brian Vickers and Schrader each earned one victory for the team.
Catch all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers in action on Sunday, April 21 at 3:00 p.m. ET with coverage on FOX, MRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).