| Sign Up | Google+

NASCAR Talladega starting lineup 2012: Kasey Kahne leads qualifying for Sunday's race

Stay connected with SB Nation

They say qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway has nothing to do with the driver and everything to do with the car, but you won't find Kasey Kahne complaining about that.

Kahne won the pole on Saturday for the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500, his third pole of the season and the 25th of his career – but first ever on a restrictor-plate track.

"We've tried for a long time to win one here, and it just shows how awesome that car is," Kahne said. "We have some fast cars this weekend."

Ryan Newman was second, followed by Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle. Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Trevor Bayne, Martin Truex Jr. and Sam Hornish Jr. rounded out the top 10.

Other Chase drivers included Dale Earnhardt Jr. (12th), Matt Kenseth (15th), Jimmie Johnson (17th), Kevin Harvick (21st), Brad Keselowski (22nd) and Denny Hamlin (23rd).

Bowyer, who qualified third, was surprised to qualify so well and said it will change his strategy for Sunday's race.

"I'm blown away, shocked that we're top three," Bowyer said. "We haven't been qualifying very good on these restrictor-plate tracks, and today, it definitely caught me off guard."

Only 43 cars showed up to Talladega, so none of the drivers missed the race. Among the qualifiers was Timmy Hill, who will be making his second Sprint Cup Series start.

Here is the starting lineup for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway (Chase drivers in bold):

  1. Kasey Kahne
  2. Ryan Newman
  3. Clint Bowyer
  4. Tony Stewart
  5. Greg Biffle
  6. Jeff Gordon
  7. Carl Edwards
  8. Trevor Bayne
  9. Martin Truex Jr.
  10. Sam Hornish Jr.
  11. Michael Waltrip
  12. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
  13. Kyle Busch
  14. Joey Logano
  15. Matt Kenseth
  16. Paul Menard
  17. Jimmie Johnson
  18. Aric Almirola
  19. Casey Mears
  20. Marcos Ambrose
  21. Kevin Harvick
  22. Brad Keselowski
  23. Denny Hamlin
  24. Jamie McMurray
  25. David Ragan
  26. Jeff Burton
  27. Juan Pablo Montoya
  28. Regan Smith
  29. Kurt Busch
  30. David Stremme
  31. Terry Labonte
  32. David Gilliland
  33. Josh Wise
  34. Michael McDowell
  35. Timmy Hill
  36. Travis Kvapil
  37. Joe Nemechek
  38. Landon Cassill
  39. Dave Blaney
  40. Bobby Labonte
  41. David Reutimann
  42. Cole Whitt
  43. Robert Richardson
DNQ: No one.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

In This StoryStream

There are 0 Comments. Add Yours. Loading

Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.

C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read

R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next

Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read

Comment Settings

Live comment alert: Hide it!

Comments for this post are closed.

tracking_pixel_5349_tracker tracking_pixel_5351_tracker