Chase Briscoe already knows what it takes to win at Talladega Superspeedway. Now, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has added another accomplishment to his résumé at NASCAR’s biggest oval.
And this one came before Sunday’s race even began.
Briscoe captured the pole for the YellaWood 500 on Saturday, Oct. 24, with a blistering lap of 186.065 mph, setting a new Talladega qualifying benchmark for NASCAR’s Next Gen car.
The speed was more than 3 mph faster than the previous mark, an unusually large difference at a track where qualifying speeds have been closely grouped throughout the Next Gen era.
For Briscoe, who won at Talladega in October 2025, it’s another impressive performance at a track that has become an important part of his NASCAR résumé.
Chase Briscoe Sets New Talladega Qualifying Record
Briscoe’s 186.065-mph lap wasn’t merely the fastest of Saturday’s qualifying session. It was the fastest pole-winning speed at Talladega since NASCAR introduced the Next Gen car in 2022.
According to NASCAR Insights, the previous benchmark belonged to Michael McDowell, who earned the pole in October 2024 with a lap of 183.063 mph.
Briscoe shattered that mark by 3.002 mph.
His performance also marked the fastest pole-winning lap at a NASCAR drafting track since the 2021 Daytona 500, highlighting just how exceptional Saturday’s qualifying speed was.
Here’s how Briscoe’s lap compares with the five fastest Talladega pole-winning speeds of the Next Gen era:
- Chase Briscoe: 186.065 mph (October 2026)
- Michael McDowell: 183.063 mph (October 2024)
- Michael McDowell: 182.466 mph (October 2025)
- Zane Smith: 182.174 mph (April 2025)
- Michael McDowell: 182.022 mph (April 2024)
The numbers illustrate the size of Briscoe’s accomplishment. Before Saturday, no Talladega pole winner in the Next Gen era had even reached 184 mph.
Briscoe cleared that mark by more than 2 mph.
Can Chase Briscoe Turn Historic Talladega Pole Into Another Victory?
The timing couldn’t be better for Briscoe, who enters Sunday’s YellaWood 500 as the defending winner of Talladega’s fall Cup Series race.
But qualifying speed and race-day performance are two very different things at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
Drivers make their qualifying runs alone, while Sunday’s 188-lap race will be decided largely through drafting, pit strategy and the ability to work with other cars.
Even the fastest car in qualifying can find itself trapped in the wrong lane or caught in a multicar accident.
That’s what makes Talladega so unpredictable, particularly with the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase approaching its conclusion.
Sunday’s race is the third-to-last event of the season, with Martinsville Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway still to come.
For Briscoe, Saturday’s record-setting performance offers an encouraging start to the weekend. Whether that speed translates into another Talladega victory remains to be seen.
The YellaWood 500 is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
Chase Briscoe Makes NASCAR History Ahead of Talladega Cup Race