Qualifying report

NASCAR Cup Talladega

NASCAR Cup Talladega qualifying rained out, Tyler Reddick on pole

Reddick and Larson will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday as the starting lineup is determined by the rule book

Nick DeGroot

Edited: Apr 25, 2026, 5:47 PM

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Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Due to storms moving through the area, NASCAR was forced to cancel Cup Series qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday morning. As a result, championship leader Tyler Reddick will start from pole position with Kyle Larson joining him on the front row.

This will be the fifth time in the first ten races of the 2026 season that the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota will start from pole, and the second due to a rainout (the first was at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta).

Track drying in progress

Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images

Instead of time trials, the field will be set by the metric, a weighted average of a car's place in the owner standings (30%), and the entry's finish in the most recent race (70%).

Denny Hamlin will start third, Bubba Wallace fourth, and Chase Briscoe fifth. Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, and Chris Buescher fill out the remainder of the top ten.

Unfortunately, there were 41 entries or Sunday's race, so one car was sent home for the first time since the season-opener.. That will be the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet with driver Casey Mears, putting a dent in his plans to reach 500 career starts by the end of the year. The team has now DNQed in both of their attempts this year, also missing the field for the Daytona 500.

The 40th and final spot on the grid will go to Daniel Dye, making his Cup Series debut in the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet.

Jack Link's 500 Starting Lineup -- NASCAR Cup at Talladega

Pos. Driver Team 1 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing 2 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports 3 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 4 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing 5 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing 7 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports 8 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 9 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing 10 Chris Buescher RFK Racing 11 Ryan Preece RFK Racing 12 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports 13 Austin Cindric Team Penske 14 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing 15 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 16 Daniel Suarez Spire Motorsports 17 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing 18 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing 19 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports 20 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 21 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club 22 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports 23 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club 24 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team 25 Joey Logano Team Penske 26 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing 27 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team 28 AJ Allmendinger Kaulig Racing 29 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports 30 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports 31 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports 32 Connor Zilisch Trackhouse Racing Team 33 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Team 34 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing 35 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing 36 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing 37 Jesse Love Richard Childress Racing 38 Chad Finchum Garage 66 39 Joey Gase NY Racing Team 40 Daniel Dye Live Fast Motorsports

Photos from Talladega - Saturday

Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing

Talladega - Saturday, in photos.

Wet weather

Talladega - Saturday, in photos.

Track cleaning in progress

Talladega - Saturday, in photos.

Track drying in progress

Talladega - Saturday, in photos.

NASCAR Cup

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