GEICO 500 starting grid for Talladega: Kevin Harvick on the pole
By Nick Tylwalk
![TALLADEGA, AL - APRIL 28: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Beer Flannel Ford, poses with the Busch Pole Award after qualifying for the pole position for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 28, 2018 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Getty Images) TALLADEGA, AL - APRIL 28: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Beer Flannel Ford, poses with the Busch Pole Award after qualifying for the pole position for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 28, 2018 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/a6ed40d15cb1ed8d7844b8e37e9ff6e6d0249685ac8d2bf7f1200deb14cb2147.jpg)
Find out who’s lining up where before the shuffling and passing in the draft takes place during the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Talladega Superspeedway probably isn’t the place where you want to hang your hopes on something good happening, but plenty of drivers are in that situation for the GEICO 500 on Sunday.
Chief among them is Kyle Busch, who seeks his fourth straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, something he’s never accomplished. He’s in the midst of a ridiculously strong run of seven straight finishes of 3rd or better, though his lone finish outside the top 10 this season came at the previous restrictor plate race, the Daytona 500.
He’ll be starting 19th, 18 places behind pole-sitter Kevin Harvick. The driver of the No. 4 Ford also won three straight earlier this year, but he’s been unable to capture a fourth victory since then and would no doubt like to tilt the conversation back toward his team.
And what of the Chevrolet drivers, who have combined for just one win in 2018, which came back at Daytona thanks to Austin Dillon? It could be telling that only two Chevys will start the race in the top 14: Chase Elliott in fifth and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman in 11th.
Next: Find out when Matt Kenseth is making his NASCAR return
Of course, the starting order is arguably less significant at Talladega than anywhere else the NASCAR Cup Series visits, which is a good thing for the 40 drivers looking to snare a win. Here’s a look at how all of them will roll off on Sunday.
2018 GEICO 500 starting grid for Talladega Superspeedway
- Kevin Harvick – No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford
- Kurt Busch – No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford
- Martin Truex Jr. – No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour Energy Toyota
- Denny Hamlin – No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota
- Chase Elliott – No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
- Erik Jones – No. 20 XYO Network Toyota
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford
- Clint Bowyer – No. 14 Haas Automation Demo Day Ford
- Joey Logano – No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford
- Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Snap-On Ford
- Alex Bowman – No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet
- David Ragan – No. 38 Bad Boy Mowers Ford
- Paul Menard – No. 21 Menards/Quaker State Ford
- Daniel Suarez – No. 19 ARRIS Toyota
- Bubba Wallace – No. 43 Petty’s Garage/Medallion Bank Chevrolet
- Jimmie Johnson – No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet
- William Byron – No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet
- Ryan Newman – No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet
- Kyle Busch – No. 18 M&M’s Flavor Vote Toyota
- Michael McDowell – No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops/Roller Bites Ford
- Trevor Bayne – No. 6 AdvoCare Ford
- Kyle Larson – No. 42 Credit One Bank Ford
- Ryan Blaney – No. 12 Menards/Richmond Ford
- Austin Dillon – No. 3 Dow Scooper Cat Chevrolet
- Chris Buescher – No. 37 Degree Chevrolet
- Kasey Kahne – No. 95 Procore Safety Qualified Chevrolet
- Jamie McMurray – No. 1 DC Solar Chevrolet
- AJ Allmendinger – No. 47 Kroger Click List Chevrolet
- Ty Dillon – No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet
- Brendan Gaughan – No. 62 Beard Oil Distributing/South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet
- D.J. Kennington – No. 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota
- Timothy Peters – No. 92 Advance Auto Parts/Black’s Tire/BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors/BB&T/Highland Construction Ford
- Matt DiBenedetto – No. 32 Can-Am/Wholey Ford
- Joey Gase – No. 00 Sparks Inc. Chevrolet
- Ross Chastain – No. 15 TBA Chevrolet
- Cole Whitt – No. 72 1950 Clothing Company Chevrolet
- Gray Gaulding – No. 23 Sunfrog.com Toyota
- Reed Sorensen – No. 55 TBD Chevrolet
- Timmy Hill – No. 51 Keen’s Buildings/Race to Erase Opioids Chevrolet
- Aric Almirola – No. 10 Smithfield Ford
Coverage of the GEICO 500 from Talladega begins at 2:00 p.m. ET on FOX. Be sure to join us here at FanSided.com for complete coverage before, during and after the race.