TALLADEGA, Ala. - Dakoda Armstrong, driver of the No. 22 Cunningham Motorsports Dodge, completed a qualifying lap at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway in 51.346 seconds (186.499 mph) Thursday to earn the Menards Pole Award Presented by Ansell and the first starting spot for Friday's Talladega ARCA 250.

The pole is the first for the 18-year-old Armstrong, who was seventh in line for the qualifying session. His previous best start in ARCA Racing Series competition came earlier this year at Daytona, where he started fourth. Armstrong will receive 15 bonus points in the ARCA Racing Series championship standings for qualifying first.

Armstrong had already proved his superspeedway might earlier in the day by finishing second in the opening practice behind Steve Arpin and the No. 55 Mike's Hard Lemonade Toyota.

Though he acknowledged that a top starting position may not be as important in a long event on a pass-heavy, competitive track like Talladega, Armstrong did not discount the significance of winning the pole.

"It means we have the fastest car," said the Penske Racing developmental driver. "Now it'd just be great if I could lead 94 laps like that."

Mikey Kile rebounded swiftly after changing a motor late in Thursday's practice. Driving the No. 25 Tag Heuer Eyewear Toyota as the 26th car in the session, Kile turned a lap in 51.419 seconds (186.235 mph) to take the second starting spot.

"I'm not worried about the motors," Kile said. "Toyota has built us good engines and we'll have the chance to run up front, so I'm not too worried."

Kile's position on the front row gives him 10 bonus points, meaning third qualifier and current series runner-up Justin Marks (51.513 seconds/185.895 mph) scored just five points for his third position. This leaves Steve Arpin, who led by 10 points after his win at Texas Motor Speedway, as the series points leader.

The Talladega ARCA 250 will take the green flag Friday at 4 p.m. Central, with live broadcast coverage provided by SPEED. More information is available on the Web at ARCARacing.com.