NASCAR lineup at Atlanta: Starting order, pole for 2025 Ambetter Health 400 based on qualifying results

The 2025 Cup Series campaign got off to an unruly start (per usual) as Daytona International Speedway fomented joy, misery and a number of crashes across 500 miles.

The second race of the calendar shouldn’t prove quite as frantic.

Atlanta Motor Speedway plays host to the next joust in NASCAR’s top-flight, the Ambetter Health 400. It can be an enticing affair, particularly once dirty air sweeps across the quad-oval surface.

MORE: Who won the 2025 Daytona 500?

Last year’s spring race at Atlanta was a classic. Three jockeys — Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch — competed for the checkered flag on the final lap, bringing their thoroughbreds through the tape at essentially the same time.

Closer examination revealed that Suarez inched beyond Blaney and Busch’s reaches. The 0.003 second margin of victory is the fourth-slimmest in Cup Series history.

What could the 2025 iteration of the competition have in store for us? No one is quite sure. Regardless of what happens, though, fireworks appear on the horizon. After last week’s caution-filled uncertainty, that’s only a good thing.

MORE: Watch the Ambetter Health 400 live with Fubo

With that, here’s what you need to know about the starting grid for the 2025 Ambetter Health 400.

Who won the Ambetter Health 400 pole for 2025?

Team Penske continued to showcase its impressive speed on Saturday, with reigning Cup Series runner-up Ryan Blaney taking home his first pole of the season. Blaney posted a scorching 179.371 mph lap speed, good for a .002 second advantage over his Team Penske comrade, Austin Cindric.

Joining the two in the front two rows are Josh Berry and fellow Team Penske star Joey Logano. All four man Ford chariots, further signifying the manufacturer’s early-season dominance.

“It’s a big testament to our whole group, Team Penske and Wood Brothers, to be the top four,” Blaney said. “It just shows you how similar all our cars are being right there together, so hope it translates to the race tomorrow in handling, and we’ll find out.”

Cindric fell one spot behind the pole at Daytona. But the only driver ahead of him, Chase Briscoe, was subsequently docked 100 driver points after his team was adjudged to have modified the car’s spoiler base — a cardinal sin in the world of NASCAR. Without that adjustment, perhaps Team Penske would have the pole there, too.

Nevertheless, Blaney — whose blazing run represents the 11th pole of his glittering career — will hope for a better result at the 1.540-mile behemoth than last year. With a strong start on Saturday, early returns are promising.

Ambetter Health 400 starting lineup 2025