Earnhardt thrills Talladega faithful with pole

The roar from the crowd quickly overtook the engine noise as the No. 88 flashed atop the leaderboard at Talladega Superspeedway.

The track's favorite son will start from the pole in what is expected to be Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s final start at the 2.66-mile facility. Earnhardt was fastest in both rounds of single-car qualifying Saturday evening, earning the top spot with a lap of 190.544 mph.

The Alabama 500 (Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, NBC) will be the first time Earnhardt has started from the pole at Talladega. It is his second pole of the season and 15th of his career.

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"We got a pole earlier this year at Daytona. We've been fighting our teammate, Chase and his group, for poles at these tracks for a long time and it's been a lot of fun to be honest with you, how these two teams have pushed and elevated each other," Earnhardt said. "Really, all the credit for getting a pole at a place like this goes to the team and goes to the car and the guys that work on it, the engine, the body men; we've got an amazing staff back at Charlotte that builds some awesome stuff. I just hold the wheel straight and try not to bounce into the apron, but get as close to it as you can and make sure you run a clean lap.

"But there ain't much to it as a driver. This place has meant a lot to me. It's awesome to hear those fans happy for us and hopefully, we're going to give them a lot more to cheer about before this weekend is over."

Starting alongside Earnhardt will his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Chase Elliott. Elliott put down a lap of 190.412 mph after being third fastest in the first round. Sunday will be the third time this season Earnhardt and Elliott have shared the front row - Elliott sat on the February Daytona pole while Earnhardt took the July pole.

Filling out the next five spots are Ford drivers. The manufacturer is going for its fifth straight Talladega win on Sunday and what would be a season sweep of the restrictor-plate races.

Defending race winner Joey Logano will start third (190.374 mph), Kurt Busch fourth (190.268 mph), and Ricky Stenhouse was fifth fastest (190.170 mph). Stenhouse won at Talladega in May and is looking for three straight wins at the restrictor-plate tracks after following up his first career victory with a checkered flag in the July Daytona race.

Starting sixth is Brad Keselowski (190.151 mph) and Clint Bowyer clocked in seventh fastest (189.778 mph).

The rest of the top 10 were Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Blaney, and Trevor Bayne. For Johnson, his eighth starting spot is his best qualifying effort since a fourth place at Indianapolis in July.

"Certainly," said Earnhardt of having imagined winning one last time at Talladega. "You think about that every time you suit-up and get in the car, you imagine if that's going to be the day you get a win. But, this would be a real important one if we could win for all the fans, all year long, we certainly owe them a win and it would be great to get them one on Sunday."

UP NEXT: The Alabama 500 at 2 p.m. ET Sunday.