Starting Lineup: NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway
Michael McDowell has turned into a qualifying machine in his 17th season in the NASCAR Cup Series. The driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford took his third pole of the year on Saturday.
Michael McDowell was the final driver to go onto the race track in Round 2 of Saturday's NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, and he zoomed to his third pole position of the 2024 season. McDowell's fast lap was a 32.468 seconds (138.598 mph) circuit.
McDowell also set the track record in the opening round of qualifying with an impressive 32.318 second lap time.
Austin Cindric will roll from the starting grid on the outside of the front row as his lap clocked in 0.109 seconds slower than McDowell's pole-winning run. Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top-five fastest in Round 2 of qualifying.
Here is the official starting lineup for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, race 15 of 36.
NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 Starting Lineup
| Row | Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Group |
| ROW 1 | 1 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports Siteman Cancer Center Ford | B |
| ROW 1 | 2 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske Freightliner Ford | A |
| ROW 2 | 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske Menards / Richmond Water Heaters Ford | B |
| ROW 2 | 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing DeWalt Toyota | A |
| ROW 3 | 5 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing SiriusXM Toyota | B |
| ROW 3 | 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing Yahoo! Toyota | A |
| ROW 4 | 7 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing Solomon Plumbing Ford | B |
| ROW 4 | 8 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing McDonald's Toyota | B |
| ROW 5 | 9 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing Monster Energy Toyota | A |
| ROW 5 | 10 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet | A |
| ROW 6 | 11 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports Valvoline Chevrolet | B |
| ROW 6 | 12 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske Shell-Pennzoil Ford | A |
| ROW 7 | 13 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | B |
| ROW 7 | 14 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports Ally Financial Chevrolet | A |
| ROW 8 | 15 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports Chili's Catch-a-Rita Chevrolet | B |
| ROW 8 | 16 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Busch Light Chevrolet | A |
| ROW 9 | 17 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | B |
| ROW 9 | 18 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing Dow / Rivers are Life Chevrolet | A |
| ROW 10 | 19 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing Bass Pro Shops Toyota | B |
| ROW 10 | 20 | 77 | Carson Hocevar # | Spire Motorsports Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet | A |
| ROW 11 | 21 | 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing MotoRad Ford | B |
| ROW 11 | 22 | 43 | Erik Jones | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Family Dollar Toyota | A |
| ROW 12 | 23 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing Overstock.com Ford | B |
| ROW 12 | 24 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing Kroger Health / OIKOS Chevrolet | A |
| ROW 13 | 25 | 16 | Derek Kraus | Kaulig Racing Kafka Conveyers Chevrolet | B |
| ROW 13 | 26 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing Travel Centers of America Ford | A |
| ROW 14 | 27 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing SERVPRO Ford | B |
| ROW 14 | 28 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing Poppy Bank Chevrolet | A |
| ROW 15 | 29 | 4 | Josh Berry # | Stewart-Haas Racing Overstock.com Ford | B |
| ROW 15 | 30 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford | A |
| ROW 16 | 31 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing Choice Privileges Chevrolet | B |
| ROW 16 | 32 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing Overstock.com Ford | A |
| ROW 17 | 33 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Bommarito.com Toyota | B |
| ROW 17 | 34 | 15 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing Jacob Construction Ford | A |
| ROW 18 | 35 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports Ford | B |
| ROW 18 | 36 | 71 | Zane Smith # | Spire Motorsports Focused Health Chevrolet | A |
Photo Credit: Nigel Kinrade, NKP for Ford Performance
