Jesse Love is making a habit of starting up front at Talladega Superspeedway.
The Richard Childress Racing driver claimed the pole position for Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Talladega, narrowly beating Jake Finch in one of the closest qualifying battles of the weekend.
Love edged Finch by just 0.002 seconds to secure the top starting spot for the Progress Group 250 on Oct. 24.
It marked Love’s fifth consecutive pole at Talladega, continuing an impressive qualifying streak at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
With no practice session scheduled, drivers went straight into qualifying Saturday morning, leaving teams with little opportunity to evaluate their cars on track before the race.
Jesse Love Leads Talladega Qualifying as Jake Finch Falls Just Short
Finch came agonizingly close to denying Love another Talladega pole, but the tiny margin was enough to put the RCR driver at the front of the field.
Sam Mayer qualified third, followed by Carson Kvapil in fourth and Austin Hill in fifth.
Rajah Caruth took sixth, with Anthony Alfredo, Brent Crews, William Sawalich and Corey Day completing the top 10 in the qualifying results.
Day, however, encountered trouble during the session.
The No. 17 team dealt with fluid loss and an engine problem that required an engine change, forcing Day to start from the rear of the field despite recording the 10th-fastest qualifying result.
Three drivers also failed to make the race: Lavar Scott, Patrick Emerling and Carson Ware.
Full NASCAR O’Reilly Series Talladega Qualifying Results
Here are the complete qualifying results for Saturday’s Progress Group 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Position Driver
1 Jesse Love
2 Jake Finch
3 Sam Mayer
4 Carson Kvapil
5 Austin Hill
6 Rajah Caruth
7 Anthony Alfredo
8 Brent Crews
9 William Sawalich
10 Corey Day*
11 Sammy Smith
12 Sheldon Creed
13 Nick Leitz
14 Justin Allgaier
15 Jeremy Clements
16 Brandon Jones
17 Taylor Gray
18 Caesar Bacarella
19 Harrison Burton
20 Ryan Ellis
21 Patrick Staropoli
22 Josh Williams
23 Connor Mosack
24 Mason Maggio
25 Ryan Sieg
26 Parker Retzlaff
27 Dean Thompson
28 Joey Gase
29 Kyle Sieg
30 Will Rodgers
31 Leland Honeyman Jr.
32 Jeb Burton
33 Daniel Dye
34 Brennan Poole
35 Josh Bilicki
36 Blaine Perkins
37 Garrett Smithley
38 Lee Pulliam
Corey Day is expected to start from the rear following an engine change.
Did not qualify: Lavar Scott, Patrick Emerling and Carson Ware.
Lee Pulliam did not record a qualifying time because of a brake issue.
What Time Is the NASCAR O’Reilly Series Race at Talladega?
The Progress Group 250 is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. CT) on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Talladega Superspeedway.
The CW will televise the race, with radio coverage available through MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Love will lead the field to the green flag, but starting up front offers no guarantees at Talladega. With cars running in tightly packed drafting lines, drivers can gain or lose positions in a matter of seconds.
Saturday’s race gives Love another opportunity to turn his qualifying dominance into a victory, while Finch and the rest of the field will look to challenge him over the course of the afternoon.
NASCAR O’Reilly Series Talladega Qualifying Results: Jesse Love Wins Pole