Smith Secures First NASCAR Cup Series Pole at Talladega
Zane Smith achieved a significant milestone in his NASCAR Cup Series career, winning his first pole position during Saturday’s qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway. Smith distinguished himself by pacing both qualifying rounds with a pole-winning lap time of 52.565 seconds, reaching a speed of 182.174 mph.
“This is awesome,” said Smith. “I wish I could take a lot of the credit for it, but truthfully, a really fast FRM Ford made it possible. Huge shoutout to the team for their hard work this year. It’s a long race tomorrow, but a great starting position gives us hope.”
This pole marks the third consecutive at Talladega for Front Row Motorsports, which has now secured six of the last eight poles on superspeedway-style tracks.
Qualifying Results:
- Zane Smith (182.174 mph)
- Kyle Busch (181.718 mph)
- Joey Logano (181.708 mph)
- Ryan Preece (181.708 mph)
- Austin Dillon (181.584 mph)
- Chris Buescher (181.498 mph)
- Austin Cindric (181.432 mph)
- Josh Berry (181.381 mph)
- Ryan Blaney (181.250 mph)
- Ty Gibbs (180.846 mph)
Notable qualifiers include William Byron, the current points leader, starting 16th, and defending race winner Tyler Reddick in 26th. Brad Keselowski, with the most wins at Talladega among active drivers (six), qualified 22nd.
In total, 39 teams are scheduled to compete, with several entries from Open teams including JJ Yeley, BJ McLeod, and Anthony Alfredo.
Upcoming Event:
The Jack Link’s 500 will take place at 3 PM ET on Sunday.
