NASCAR qualifying at Talladega sets Sunday lineup for Chase race

Chase Briscoe and Austin Hill were fastest in Saturday qualifying and have earned the front row for Sunday's YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Briscoe averaged 186.065 around the 2.66-mile tri-oval; he was the only driver to surpass 186.

Given the nature of big-pack racing at Talladega, Sunday's race has been pointed to as a potential season-wrecker (quite literally) for those within range of winning the Cup Series championship.

Where you start at Talladega isn't extremely important, since big chunks of ground can be gathered (and yes, lost) in a matter of seconds, to say nothing of laps.

However, since the potential a highly populated crash is always hanging overhead, simple math tells you it's better to have as many cars as possible in your rearview mirror.

After a long run of Cup races on the USA network, coverage moves back to NBC this week and for the concluding two weeks, at Martinsville and then the finale at Homestead.

Talladega lineup for Sunday NASCAR Chase race

Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (51.466 seconds)

Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (51.498)

Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet (51.518)

Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet (51.565)

Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford (51.593)

Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (51.609)

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (51.621)

Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (51.678)

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (51.734)

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (51.812)

Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet (51.802)

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (51.805)

Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet (51.821)

Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota (51.825)

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet (51.841)

Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford (51.848)

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (51.851)

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (51.862)

Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford (51.862)

Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet (51.866)

Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford (51.898)

Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford (51.943)

Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet (51.956)

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet (51.969)

Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota (51.980)

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet (51.984)

Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford (52.036)

Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford (52.036)

Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota (52.075)

Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet (52.086)

Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford (52.112)

John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota (52.131)

Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota (52.146)

Casey Mears, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet (52.263)

Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford (52.264)

Daniel Dye, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet (52.325)

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet (52.456)

Joey Gase, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet (52.570)

Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford (52.674)

Gray Gaulding, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford (52.875)