NASCAR Qualifying Results: Quaker State 400 start order as Larson's dominance rivalled

Michael McDowell will be the man to start the first NASCAR Cup Series playoff race on pole after qualifying at the top of the order for the Quaker State 400 on Sunday.

The race at Atlanta Motor Speedway marks the first of the post-season, with 16 drivers set to battle it out for the championship in the coming weeks and months.

READ MORE: 2024 NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta: Quaker State 400 start times, schedule and TV

McDowell is not one of those drivers have failed to qualify, but that did not stop the #34 Ford driver from impressing on Saturday, setting a time of 00:30.927 with an average speed of 179.261 mph.

The pole represents McDowell's fifth of the season, matching Kyle Larson for the most so far in 2024.

The Front Row Motorsports star beat out playoff contender Ryan Blaney by just 0.073, with Austin Cindric the only other title challenger making the top five.

Todd Gilliland and Josh Berry were the other stars to make it into the top five, whilst Kyle Larson, who tops the playoff standings following the regular season points reset, qualified sixth in Atlanta.

Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, William Byron, and Chase Briscoe rounded out the top 10.

Official NASCAR Quaker State 400 start order

For the full starting order for the Quaker State 400, please see below.

1st - Michael McDowell, #34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
2nd - Ryan Blaney, #12 Team Penske Ford
3rd - Todd Gilliland, #38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
4th - Josh Berry, #4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
5th - Austin Cindric, #2 Team Penske Ford
6th - Kyle Larson, #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
7th - Joey Logano, #22 Team Penske Ford
8th - Austin Dillon, #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
9th - William Byron, #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10th - Chase Briscoe, #14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
11th - Alex Bowman, #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
12th - Harrison Burton, #21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
13th - Noah Gragson, #10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
14th - Daniel Hemric, #31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
15th - Kyle Busch, #8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
16th - Chase Elliott, #9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
17th - Chris Buescher, #17 RFK Racing Ford
18th - Ross Chastain, #1 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
19th - Brad Keselowski, #6 RFK Racing Ford
20th - Ty Gibbs, #54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21st - Ryan Preece, #41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
22nd - Martin Truex Jr., #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
23rd - Tyler Reddick, #45 23XI Racing Toyota
24th - Bubba Wallace, #23 23XI Racing Toyota
25th - Corey LaJoie, #7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
26th - Christopher Bell, #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
27th - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., #47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
28th - Shane van Gisbergen, #16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
29th - Justin Haley, #51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
30th - Daniel Suarez, #99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
31st - Cody Ware, #15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
32nd - Carson Hocevar, #77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
33rd - Erik Jones, #43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
34th - Zane Smith, #71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
35th - John Hunter Nemechek, #42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
36th - B.J. McLeod, #78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet
37th - J.J. Yeley, #44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet
38th - Denny Hamlin, #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

NASCAR Quaker State 400 start times

The 260-lap race kicks off tomorrow (Sunday, September 8, 2024) at 3 pm ET. Here are the race start times converted to your time zone:

Eastern Time (EDT): 3pm Sunday
Central Time (CDT): 2pm Sunday
Pacific Time (PDT): 12pm Sunday
United Kingdom (BST): 8pm Sunday
Central European Time (CEST): 9pm Sunday

USA Network will broadcast the race with radio coverage from MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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