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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) /
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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

  1. Kevin Harvick – No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford
  2. Kurt Busch – No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford
  3. Martin Truex Jr. – No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour Energy Toyota
  4. Denny Hamlin – No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota
  5. Chase Elliott – No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
  6. Erik Jones – No. 20 XYO Network Toyota
  7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford
  8. Clint Bowyer – No. 14 Haas Automation Demo Day Ford
  9. Joey Logano – No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford
  10. Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Snap-On Ford
  11. Alex Bowman – No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet
  12. David Ragan – No. 38 Bad Boy Mowers Ford
  13. Paul Menard – No. 21 Menards/Quaker State Ford
  14. Daniel Suarez – No. 19 ARRIS Toyota
  15. Bubba Wallace – No. 43 Petty’s Garage/Medallion Bank Chevrolet
  16. Jimmie Johnson – No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet
  17. William Byron – No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet
  18. Ryan Newman – No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet
  19. Kyle Busch – No. 18 M&M’s Flavor Vote Toyota
  20. Michael McDowell – No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops/Roller Bites Ford
  21. Trevor Bayne – No. 6 AdvoCare Ford
  22. Kyle Larson – No. 42 Credit One Bank Ford
  23. Ryan Blaney – No. 12 Menards/Richmond Ford
  24. Austin Dillon – No. 3 Dow Scooper Cat Chevrolet
  25. Chris Buescher – No. 37 Degree Chevrolet
  26. Kasey Kahne – No. 95 Procore Safety Qualified Chevrolet
  27. Jamie McMurray – No. 1 DC Solar Chevrolet
  28. AJ Allmendinger – No. 47 Kroger Click List Chevrolet
  29. Ty Dillon – No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet
  30. Brendan Gaughan – No. 62 Beard Oil Distributing/South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet
  31. D.J. Kennington – No. 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota
  32. Timothy Peters – No. 92 Advance Auto Parts/Black’s Tire/BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors/BB&T/Highland Construction Ford
  33. Matt DiBenedetto – No. 32 Can-Am/Wholey Ford
  34. Joey Gase – No. 00 Sparks Inc. Chevrolet
  35. Ross Chastain – No. 15 TBA Chevrolet
  36. Cole Whitt – No. 72 1950 Clothing Company Chevrolet
  37. Gray Gaulding – No. 23 Sunfrog.com Toyota
  38. Reed Sorensen – No. 55 TBD Chevrolet
  39. Timmy Hill – No. 51 Keen’s Buildings/Race to Erase Opioids Chevrolet
  40. 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.

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