Front Row Motorsports lives up to its name.
The team entered the season as a relative unknown in the NASCAR Cup Series arena, at least compared to blue chip companies Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing. However, the front row has been praised for its speed in getting to the start of the season.
Michael McDowell is a big reason for that phenomenon. The Cup Series veteran was quick to jump to the front in qualifying ahead of last week’s Daytona 500.
His performance in qualifying in Atlanta was even better. But he will be looking for a little more success in Sunday’s race — he finished 36th in the Great American Race.
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Here’s what you need to know about the pole sitters and starting grid for Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Who won the 2024 Ambetter Health 400 pole?
michael mcdowell He took pole position at Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400, passing the rest of the field with a top speed of 178.844 mph.
The 39-year-old’s first Cup Series pole position in the 467th race of his career is a huge milestone for Front Row Motorsports.
McDowell ranked second in speed in last week’s Daytona 500 qualifying, just behind Joey Logano’s 181.947 mph. McDowell, a superspeedway marksman, has already shown a penchant for setting off fireworks on long tracks this year.
Joining McDowell on the front row will be Logano, who performed well at Daytona until his car was swallowed up by the disastrous behemoth that is the Big One.
McDowell’s front-row colleague Todd Gilliland will start the day in fourth place after a career-best qualifying performance.
Ambetter Health 400 Starting Lineup 2024
| starting position. | driver | car number | team |
| 1. | michael mcdowell | 34 | front row motorsports |
| 2. | Joey Logano | twenty two | team penske |
| 3. | Kyle Busch | 8 | richard childress racing |
| Four. | Todd Gilliland | 38 | front row motorsports |
| Five. | Kyle Larson | Five | hendrick motorsports |
| 6. | ryan blaney | 12 | team penske |
| 7. | Chris Busher | 17 | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing |
| 8. | Austin Cindric | 2 | team penske |
| 9. | Chase Briscoe | 14 | stewart haas racing |
| Ten. | austin dillon | 3 | richard childress racing |
| 11. | William Byron | twenty four | hendrick motorsports |
| 12. | martin truex jr. | 19 | joe gibbs racing |
| 13. | Denny Hamlin | 11 | joe gibbs racing |
| 14. | josh berry | Four | stewart haas racing |
| 15. | Noah Gragson | Ten | stewart haas racing |
| 16. | harrison burton | twenty one | wood brothers racing |
| 17. | alex bowman | 48 | hendrick motorsports |
| 18. | bubba wallace | twenty three | 23XI Racing |
| 19. | tyler reddick | 45 | 23XI Racing |
| 20. | Ryan Preece | 41 | stewart haas racing |
| twenty one. | Ross Chastain | 1 | track house racing |
| twenty two. | christopher bell | 20 | joe gibbs racing |
| twenty three. | Daniel Suarez | 99 | track house racing |
| twenty four. | brad keselowski | 6 | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing |
| twenty five. | Ty Gibbs | 54 | joe gibbs racing |
| 26. | daniel hemric | 31 | Kaulig Racing |
| 27. | ricky stenhouse jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 28. | chase elliott | 9 | hendrick motorsports |
| 29. | zane smith | 71 | spire motorsports |
| 30. | Josh Williams | 16 | Kaulig Racing |
| 31. | Justin Haley | 51 | rick ware racing |
| 32. | Corey Lajoie | 7 | spire motorsports |
| 33. | Kaz Grala | 15 | rick ware racing |
| 34. | John Hunter Nemechek | 42 | legacy motor club |
| 35. | carson hosever | 77 | spire motorsports |
| 36. | BJ McLeod | 78 | live fast motorsport |
| 37. | eric jones | 43 | legacy motor club |
