Chase Briscoe claims pole position for NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500

Chase Briscoe, driving the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, secured the pole position for Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Briscoe recorded a lap of 51.466 seconds at 186.065 mph, marking his first pole of the 2026 season and the 10th of his career. His speed was the fastest Cup Series pole at the 2.66-mile track since 2021.

Austin Hill, driving for Richard Childress Racing, qualified second, trailing Briscoe by just 0.032 seconds. The top five starting positions will be rounded out by Connor Zilisch, Shane van Gisbergen, and Chris Buescher.

The qualifying session comes at a critical juncture in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase. Briscoe currently sits third in the championship standings, trailing leader Kyle Larson by 24 points with only three races remaining in the season. Briscoe noted that the pole position serves as a morale boost for his team, though he indicated that race strategy will likely focus on fuel saving during the initial runs.