Ryan Blaney will lead the field to the green flag in Sunday night's NASCAR Cup race, driving the No. 12 Team Penske Ford. This is Blaney's 14th career pole and his second of the 2026 season.
Blaney's pole lap was 30.815s, 0.036s clear of Penske teammate Joey Logano, who will join him on the front row in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.
And while he was happy with the pole, Blaney knows there are still a lot of unknowns with no practice this weekend.
"How it's going to react tomorrow in the race, in traffic, as the track changes, and as you get laps on the tires -- all that," said Blaney. "You hope you have a decent handle on, but the goal today was to try and qualify the best we could, and we were able to do that. So, I appreciate everyone on this #12 car for bringing me a fast car. It's great to have a Team Penske front row. That part is great, and I'm looking forward tomorrow to see what we have in the draft."
Kyle Larson will start third, Austin Dillon fourth, and Daniel Suarez fifth. Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, and Brad Keselowski filled out the remainder of the top ten.
Round 1
Chad Finchum spins off the track during qualifying at EchoPark 😳 pic.twitter.com/uTMaXRQGop
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) July 11, 2026
It was a very windy and hot day at EchoPark Speedway, and those tricky conditions quickly led to an issue as Chad Finchum spun in the No. 66 car right as qualifying got underway.
That was the only incident, though some cars did shoot up the track as they struggled for balance.
At the top of the charts, it was Penske perfect with all three cars 1-2-3 in Round 1 of qualifying. Chastain was the highest Chevrolet, and no Toyotas advanced as they prioritized race setup over qualifying speed. All JGR and 23XI cars qualified 20th or worse, with Denny Hamlin down in 28th and Tyler Reddick 31st.
Round 2
A. Dillon was the tenth and final driver to advance into the second round of qualifying, beating the top-qualifying Toyota of Erik Jones in 11th. There was just 0.002s between them for the final transfer spot.
In the final round, the tenth-fastest driver from Round 1 went out first, so it was Dillon setting the new benchmark in the fight for pole.
Larson then bested Dillon, but only by 0.002s. He held the top spot until Penske arrived, with both Blaney and Logano overtaking him on the speed charts.
2026 NASCAR Cup Atlanta Starting Lineup
| Cla | Driver | # | Manufacturer | Time | Mph | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R. BlaneyTeam Penske | 12 | Ford | 30.815 |
179.912 | |
| 2 | J. LoganoTeam Penske | 22 | Ford | +0.036 30.851 |
179.702 | |
| 3 | K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports | 5 | Chevrolet | +0.087 30.902 |
179.406 | |
| 4 | A. DillonRichard Childress Racing | 3 | Chevrolet | +0.089 30.904 |
179.394 | |
| 5 | D. SuarezSpire Motorsports | 7 | Chevrolet | +0.095 30.910 |
179.359 | |
| 6 | A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports | 48 | Chevrolet | +0.118 30.933 |
179.226 | |
| 7 | C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports | 9 | Chevrolet | +0.122 30.937 |
179.203 | |
| 8 | A. CindricTeam Penske | 2 | Ford | +0.124 30.939 |
179.191 | |
| 9 | R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing | 1 | Chevrolet | +0.161 30.976 |
178.977 | |
| 10 | B. KeselowskiRFK Racing | 6 | Ford | +0.204 31.019 |
178.729 | |
| 11 | E. JonesLegacy Motor Club | 43 | Toyota | +0.212 31.027 |
178.683 | |
| 12 | S. van GisbergenTrackHouse Racing | 97 | Chevrolet | +0.216 31.031 |
178.660 | |
| 13 | C. BuescherRFK Racing | 17 | Ford | +0.250 31.065 |
178.465 | |
| 14 | C. HocevarSpire Motorsports | 77 | Chevrolet | +0.259 31.074 |
178.413 | |
| 15 | R. Stenhouse JrHyak Motorsports | 47 | Chevrolet | +0.265 31.080 |
178.378 | |
| 16 | T. DillonKaulig Racing | 10 | Chevrolet | +0.268 31.083 |
178.361 | |
| 17 | J. BerryWood Brothers Racing | 21 | Ford | +0.280 31.095 |
178.292 | |
| 18 | M. McDowellSpire Motorsports | 71 | Chevrolet | +0.285 31.100 |
178.264 | |
| 19 | R. PreeceRFK Racing | 60 | Ford | +0.294 31.109 |
178.212 | |
| 20 | C. BriscoeJoe Gibbs Racing | 19 | Toyota | +0.297 31.112 |
178.195 | |
| 21 | T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports | 34 | Ford | +0.304 31.119 |
178.155 | |
| 22 | B. Wallace23XI Racing | 23 | Toyota | +0.314 31.129 |
178.098 | |
| 23 | T. GibbsJoe Gibbs Racing | 54 | Toyota | +0.334 31.149 |
177.983 | |
| 24 | J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club | 42 | Toyota | +0.361 31.176 |
177.829 | |
| 25 | C. ZilischTrackHouse Racing | 88 | Chevrolet | +0.384 31.199 |
177.698 | |
| 26 | W. ByronHendrick Motorsports | 24 | Chevrolet | +0.390 31.205 |
177.664 | |
| 27 | A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing | 16 | Chevrolet | +0.397 31.212 |
177.624 | |
| 28 | D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Toyota | +0.443 31.258 |
177.363 | |
| 29 | R. Herbst23XI Racing | 35 | Toyota | +0.453 31.268 |
177.306 | |
| 30 | A. HillRichard Childress Racing | 33 | Chevrolet | +0.469 31.284 |
177.215 | |
| 31 | T. Reddick23XI Racing | 45 | Toyota | +0.491 31.306 |
177.091 | |
| 32 | C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing | 20 | Toyota | +0.504 31.319 |
177.017 | |
| 33 | C. CusterHaas Factory Team | 41 | Chevrolet | +0.508 31.323 |
176.995 | |
| 34 | Z. SmithFront Row Motorsports | 38 | Ford | +0.516 31.331 |
176.949 | |
| 35 | C. WareRick Ware Racing | 51 | Chevrolet | +0.600 31.415 |
176.476 | |
| 36 | N. GragsonFront Row Motorsports | 4 | Ford | +0.648 31.463 |
176.207 | |
| 37 | B. McLeodLive Fast Motorsports | 78 | Chevrolet | +0.928 31.743 |
174.653 | |
| 38 | C. FinchumGarage 66 | 66 | Ford |
