NASCAR at Talladega lineup 2025: Starting order & pole for 2025 YellaWood 500

After the South Point 400, the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series is headed to the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama, for the YellaWood 500. The eighth playoff race of the season will go live on NBC Sports at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 19.

The Talladega playoff race will be contested on a 2.66-mile-long track. Forty drivers will compete over 188 laps to drive down Victory Lane at Talladega.

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Who is on pole for the YellaWood 500?

On Saturday, October 18, in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying, Spire Motorsports driver Michael McDowell won the YellaWood 500 pole with a time of 52.481 and a speed of 182.466 mph. It marked his second pole of the 2025 NASCAR Cup season and the eighth of his career.

McDowell is set to lead the field to the green flag at the start of the 2025 Cup Series Talladega playoff race, while Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe will join him on the front row. Briscoe posted the second-best speed of 182.400 mph.

The pair will be followed in the top five by Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric, and Ryan Preece.

Josh Berry, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Riley Herbst, and Bubba Wallace complete the top 10. FOX Sports journalist Bob Pockrass shared the starting lineup at the Talladega playoff on X.

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2025 YellaWood 500 starting line-up

Below is the complete starting lineup for the 40-car grid at Talladega Superspeedway:

1. #71 - Michael McDowell
2. #19 - Chase Briscoe
3. #8 - Kyle Busch
4. #2 - Austin Cindric
5. #60 - Ryan Preece
6. #21 - Josh Berry
7. #20 - Christopher Bell
8. #12 - Ryan Blaney
9. #35 - Riley Herbst
10. #23 - Bubba Wallace
11. #48 - Alex Bowman
12. #41 - Cole Custer
13. #24 - William Byron
14. #17 - Chris Buescher
15. #45 - Tyler Reddick
16. #22 - Joey Logano
17. #11 - Denny Hamlin
18. #54 - Ty Gibbs
19. #5 - Kyle Larson
20. #6 - Brad Keselowski
21. #3 - Austin Dillon
22. #7 - Justin Haley
23. #38 - Zane Smith
24. #1 - Ross Chastain
25. #9 - Chase Elliott
26. #99 - Daniel Suarez
27. #34 - Todd Gilliland
28. #42 - John Hunter Nemechek
29. #10 - Ty Dillon
30. #43 - Erik Jones
31. #88 - Shane Van Gisbergen
32. #77 - Carson Hocevar
33. #33 - Austin Hill
34. #16 - AJ Allmendinger
35. #51 - Cody Ware
36. #4 - Noah Gragson
37. #47 - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
38. #62 - Anthony Alfredo
39. #78 - BJ McLeod
40. #66 - Casey Mears

Fans can watch all NASCAR Cup Series teams and drivers in live action at the Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday’s YellaWood 500 on NBC Sports and Peacock.