Jesse Love qualified on pole position for The Progress Group 250 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, October 24.
The event’s starting lineup was determined through a two-round qualifying session. The first session featured 41 competitors battling for 38 starting spots, all of whom cycled once around Talladega to post the fastest lap. At the end of the first session, the top-10 fastest qualifiers advanced to the second and final round, where they contested for the pole position.
Love was the third-fastest qualifier during the first qualifying round at 182.150 mph in 52.572 seconds. After being one of 10 competitors transferring to the second and final round, his lap during the latest round was at 182.626 mph in 52.435 seconds. The latter lap was enough for the reigning O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion from Menlo Park, California, to claim the top-starting spot for Saturday afternoon’s main event at Talladega.
With the pole, Love notched his third NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series pole of the 2026 season and his fifth in a row at Talladega. As a result, the Californian swept both pole positions at Talladega in the O’Reilly division this season and became the first O’Reilly competitor to win five consecutive poles at a single venue. Love also recorded his ninth O’Reilly pole on a superspeedway event and the 99th overall for Richard Childress Racing.
Love, who is coming off last weekend’s Chase event at Phoenix Raceway, is currently leading the Chase standings by 36 points over Justin Allgaier. The former has three-scheduled events, including this weekend’s event at Talladega, to maintain the top spot in the standings as he strives to defend his series’ championship.
Love will share the front row with Jake Finch, the latter of whom was the fastest during the first qualifying round and is making his sixth O’Reilly start of the 2026 season. Finch’s latest qualifying lap was at 182.619 mph in 52.437 seconds.
Chase contenders Sam Mayer, Carson Kvapil, Austin Hill and Rajah Caruth will start in the top-six mark, respectively. Anthony Alfredo, Brent Crews, William Sawalich and Corey Day, all of whom transferred to the second qualifying round along with Love, Finch, Mayer, Kvapil, Hill and Caruth, complete the top-10 starting grid. Day, however, will start at the rear of the field after he was unable to post a qualifying lap during the latest round due to an engine change.
With six of 12 Chase contenders (Love, Mayer, Kvapil, Hill, Caruth and Day) qualifying in the top-10 mark, the remaining Chasers that include Sammy Smith, Sheldon Creed, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Taylor Gray and Parker Retzlaff qualified 11th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 17th and 26th, respectively.
Notably, Lee Pulliam did not post a qualifying lap due to braking issues, though he was awarded the 38th and final starting spot.
With 41 competitors vying for 38 starting spots, Lavar Scott, Carson Ware and Patrick Emerling were the three who did not qualify for the main event.
Talladega – Starting Lineup:
- Jesse Love, 182.626 mph, 52.435 seconds
- Jake Finch, 182.619 mph, 52.437 seconds
- Sam Mayer, 182.508 mph, 52.469 seconds
- Carson Kvapil, 182.452 mph, 52.485 seconds
- Austin Hill, 182,431 mph, 52.491 seconds
- Rajah Caruth, 182.071 mph, 52.595 seconds
- Anthony Alfredo, 181.991 mph, 52.618 seconds
- Brent Crews, 181.846 mph, 52.660 seconds
- William Sawalich, 181.694 mph, 52.704 seconds
- Corey Day, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
- Sammy Smith, 181.439 mph, 52.778 seconds
- Sheldon Creed, 181.415 mph, 52.785 seconds
- Nick Leitz, 181.405 mph, 52.788 seconds
- Justin Allgaier, 181.281 mph, 52.824 seconds
- Jeremy Clements, 181.230 mph, 52.839 seconds
- Brandon Jones, 181.178 mph, 52.854 seconds
- Taylor Gray, 181.041 mph, 52.894 seconds
- Caesar Bacarella, 181.011 mph, 52.903 seconds
- Harrison Burton, 180.928 mph, 52.927 seconds
- Ryan Ellis, 180.836 mph, 52.954 seconds
- Patrick Staropoli, 180.625 mph, 53.016 seconds
- Josh Williams, 180.580 mph, 53.029 seconds
- Connor Mosack, 180.570 mph, 53.032 seconds
- Mason Maggio, 180.526 mph, 53.045 seconds
- Ryan Sieg, 180.397 mph, 53.083 seconds
- Parker Retzlaff, 180.339 mph, 53.100 seconds
- Dean Thompson, 180.336 mph, 53.101 seconds
- Joey Gase, 180.230 mph, 53.132 seconds
- Kyle Sieg, 180.210 seconds
- Will Rodgers, 179.942 mph, 53.217 seconds
- Leland Honeyman Jr., 179.656 mph, 53.302 seconds
- Jeb Burton, 179.625 mph, 53.311 seconds
- Daniel Dye, 179.517 mph, 53.343 seconds
- Brennan Poole, 179.443 mph, 53.365 seconds
- Josh Bilicki, 179.031 mph, 53.488 seconds
- Blaine Perkins, 178.971 mph, 53.506 seconds
- Garrett Smithley, 177.508 mph, 53.947 seconds
- Lee Pulliam, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
*Bold indicates Chase Drivers
The 2026 Progress Group 250 at Talladega Superspeedway is scheduled to occur on Saturday, October 24, at 3:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM.
