LINCOLN, Ala. -- A former Talladega Superspeedway winner will lead the field to the green flag for Saturday afternoon's Xfinity Series race (4 p.m. ET on CW).
Jesse Love, who won last season's spring race, captured the pole by posting a lap of 52.546 seconds during the first round of qualifying. Lightning and incoming rain forced NASCAR to cancel the second round, so this ultimately became the pole-winning time.
MORE: Talladega Superspeedway starting lineup
This marks the seventh time in Love's career that he has won the pole for an Xfinity Series race, and it is the second time this season.
Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Hill qualified second with a lap of 52.734 seconds. He was followed by Justin Allgaier (52.922), Joey Gase (52.938), and Jeb Burton (52.940).
The rest of the top 10 included Taylor Gray (52.949), Josh Williams (52.973), Daniel Dye (53.023), Ryan Ellis (53.043), and Jeremy Clements (53.060).
Saturday's race marks the 10th time in 11 races this season that Allgaier, the points leader, will start inside the top 10.
This qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway was significant for Gase, the owner of Joey Gase Motorsports. He had never qualified better than 14th in 293 Xfinity Series starts. He surpassed this by posting the fourth-best lap on Friday evening.
Similarly, Ellis entered the Talladega Superspeedway weekend with 141 Xfinity Series starts and a career-best starting position of 16th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Now, he will line up inside the top 10 for the first time in his career.
Sammy Smith, the winner of last season's fall race at Talladega Superspeedway, qualified 14th with a lap of 53.102 seconds. Aric Almirola, who won at the 2.66-mile track in 2017, qualified 17th with a lap of 53.242 seconds.
The entry list featured 41 cars. Three failed to qualify for Saturday's race due to the 38-car limit for the Xfinity Series. Garrett Smithley, Austin Green, and Jake Garcia will not compete this weekend.