Aric Almirola takes Talladega pole

Aric Almirola will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

Almirola posted the fastest lap in the final round of qualifying Saturday (52.715 seconds) to capture his second pole of 2023.

“Really proud,” Almirola said, crediting his team for his fast car.

Joey Logano will share the front row with Almirola.

Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski rounded out the Top-5 qualifiers.

Riley Herbst, who was the fastest in the first round of qualifying, will start sixth.

Austin Cindric, William Byron, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney took positions 7-10 respectively.

Ford took seven of the Top-10 qualifying positions.

Other playoff-eligible drivers will start in the following positions: Denny Hamlin (12th), Tyler Reddick (13th), Christopher Bell (15th), Martin Truex Jr. (14th), Chris Buescher (24th), Kyle Busch (25th), and Ross Chastain (32nd).

Last year’s winner, Chase Elliott, will start 23rd.

The YellaWood 500 is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. ET.