TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won the pole for his final scheduled Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Earnhardt is retiring from full-time competition at the end of the season, and the Alabama crowd has always embraced NASCAR's most popular driver. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has declared race day "Dale Earnhardt Jr. Day" across the state.
He turned a lap at 190.544 mph in Saturday qualifying to put his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the top starting spot. Chase Elliott, his teammate, qualified second.
Joey Logano was third in a Team Penske Ford, followed by Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch, two-time plate winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr.