Dakoda Armstrong, driver of the No. 22 Cunningham Motorsports Dodge, completed a qualifying lap at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway in 51.346 seconds (186.499 mph) Thursday to earn the Menards Pole Award Presented by Ansell and the first starting spot for Friday's Talladega ARCA 250.
The pole is the first for the 18-year-old Armstrong, who was seventh in line for the qualifying session. His previous best start in ARCA Racing Series competition came earlier this year at Daytona, where he started fourth. Armstrong will receive 15 bonus points in the ARCA Racing Series championship standings for qualifying first.
Armstrong had already proved his superspeedway might earlier in the day by finishing second in the opening practice behind Steve Arpin and the No. 55 Mike's Hard Lemonade Toyota.
Though he acknowledged that a top starting position may not be as important in a long event on a pass-heavy, competitive track like Talladega, Armstrong did not discount the significance of winning the pole.
"It means we have the fastest car," said the Penske Racing developmental driver. "Now it'd just be great if I could lead 94 laps like that."
Mikey Kile rebounded swiftly after changing a motor late in Thursday's practice. Driving the No. 25 Tag Heuer Eyewear Toyota as the 26th car in the session, Kile turned a lap in 51.419 seconds (186.235 mph) to take the second starting spot.
"I'm not worried about the motors," Kile said. "Toyota has built us good engines and we'll have the chance to run up front, so I'm not too worried."
Kile's position on the front row gives him 10 bonus points, meaning third qualifier and current series runner-up Justin Marks (51.513 seconds/185.895 mph) scored just five points for his third position. This leaves Steve Arpin, who led by 10 points after his win at Texas Motor Speedway, as the series points leader.
The Talladega ARCA 250 will take the green flag Friday at 4 p.m. Central, with live broadcast coverage provided by SPEED. More information is available on the Web at ARCARacing.com.
ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards
Talladega Superspeedway
Starting Grid, Talladega ARCA 250 (4-23-10)
POS
NO
DRIVER/HOMETOWN
TIME
SPEED
1
22
Dakoda Armstrong/New Castle IN
51.346
186.499
2
25
Mikey Kile/Westlake LA
51.419
186.235
3
32
Justin Marks/Rocklin CA
51.513
185.895
4
31
Tim George Jr./New York NY
51.514
185.891
5
55
Steve Arpin/Fort Frances Ontario
51.537
185.808
6
77
Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ
51.625
185.492
7
51
James Buescher/Plano TX
51.668
185.337
8
09
Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL
51.696
185.237
9
30
Terry Jones/McGregor Ontario
51.721
185.147
10
35
Hal Martin/Galliano LA
51.732
185.108
11
15
Alli Owens/Daytona Beach FL
51.764
184.993
12
66
Mark Thompson/Cartersville GA
51.807
184.840
13
5
Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA
51.840
184.722
14
4
Ricky Carmichael/Tallahassee FL
51.877
184.590
15
60
Patrick Sheltra/Indiantown FL
51.918
184.445
16
16
Joey Coulter/Miami Springs FL
51.920
184.438
17
1
Chad McCumbee/Supply NC
51.962
184.289
18
6
Brandon McReynolds/Mooresville NC
51.986
184.203
19
75
Benny Chastain/Tallahassee FL
51.992
184.182
20
11
Bryan Silas/Stuart FL
52.023
184.072
21
36
Robb Brent/Shelby Township MI
52.094
183.822
22
81
Craig Goess/Greenville NC
52.340
182.958
23
44
Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN
52.384
182.804
24
52
Bill Baird/Sturgis KY
52.412
182.706
25
82
Sean Corr/Goshen NY
52.497
182.410
26
43
Kyle Martel/Lebanon PA
52.554
182.213
27
38
Alex Kennedy/Aztec NM
52.715
181.656
28
42
Scott Stenzel/Orlando FL
52.848
181.199
29
14
Chase Mattioli/Long Pond PA
52.928
180.925
30
76
Jerick Johnson/Faribault MN
53.090
180.373
31
59
Nick Igdalsky/Long Pond PA
53.600
178.657
32
48
James Hylton/Inman SC
53.712
178.284
33
23
Mark Gibson/Winder GA
Provisional
34
34
Darrell Basham/Henryville IN
Provisional
35
28
Brent Cross/Cortland NY
Provisional
36
26
Brad Smith/Shelby Township MI
Provisional
37
06
Wayne Peterson/Pulaski TN
Provisional
38
10
Marc Easton/Lake Saranac NY
Provisional
39
68
Larry Meadors/Louisville KY
Provisional
40
0
Rob Jones/Bowie MD
Provisional
41
58
Chad Hackenbracht/New Philadelphia OH
Provisional
42
94
Jason Basham/Henryville IN
Provisional