Danger Looms as Non Chasers Lead Talladega Field

Former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve, who is making his NEXTEL Cup debut in Sunday's race, qualified sixth (188.215).

Photo courtesy: Michael Waltrip Racing

TALLADEGA, Ala. - Michael Waltrip was one of a number of drivers who needed a good qualifying run Saturday in order to make the field for Sunday's UAW-Ford 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway. Waltrip didn't just turn in a good qualifying run.

He had the best one of the day, posting a fast lap of 189.070 mph to capture his first NEXTEL Cup pole since June, 2005.

"I felt confident yesterday that we would make the race. I really didn't think about the pole," Waltrip said. "The two runs I got in the final practice were both wind-aided. We didn't really know what we had. Our qualifying lap, the car actually went faster than it had when I got the drafting help in practice."

The top 10 is filled with drivers who entered this week outside the top 35 in the point standings, meaning they were not guaranteed a spot in the 43-car field and had to make it on speed.

Dave Blaney qualified second with a speed of 188.838 mph, followed by Brian Vickers in third (188.779), Joe Nemechek fourth (188.471) and NEXTEL Cup rookie David Reuitmann fifth (188.459).

Former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve, who is making his NEXTEL Cup debut in Sunday's race, qualified sixth (188.215).

The top 10 is rounded out by John Andretti in seventh (187.798), Bobby Labonte eighth (187.284), Kasey Kahne ninth (187.258) and Elliott Sadler 10th (187.119).

Most of those drivers had their cars set up specifically for a qualifying run, as opposed to the drivers who were guaranteed a spot in the field and went with the race setup that will be needed in the draft.

"It's not like we had a choice. We had to make qualifying runs," Reutimann said. "We'll just see what we have for the race. I hadn't even thought about the race until now."

Blaney agreed that the drivers who were not guaranteed a spot in the field had to worry only about qualifying and not be overly concerned about race day.

"Our car had been pretty solid in practice, so we were fairly confident we could run a lap good enough (to qualify), but it was so close, you just couldn't be sure," Blaney said. "We wanted to do a little drafting yesterday (during practice), but you just couldn't do it. All the go-home speeds were so close, you had to keep concentrating on that. "I hope it doesn't hurt us tomorrow. But we had to do first things first, and that was make the race."

Among the 12 drivers who are in the Chase for the Championship, Tony Stewart will start 11th, Martin Truex Jr. 13th, Denny Hamlin 18th, Jimmie Johnson 19th, Jeff Burton 21st, Clint Bowyer 23rd, Matt Kenseth 25th, Carl Edwards 31st, Jeff Gordon 34th, Kyle Busch 36th, Kevin Harvick 37th and Kurt Busch 41st.

Even the drivers who will start near the back will likely be able to work their way through the pack and have a shot at the victory Sunday. But Waltrip said he and the other top-10 qualifiers will be contenders as well.

"I'm definitely ready to go," Waltrip said. "We tested down here a couple of weeks ago and got our cars as good as we wanted it, and then I went out and got in the draft and I was able to drive to the front of it and ride around in the middle of it and I was happy.

"I told my guys last night, 'If we can get in, we can win.' We did, so now it's up to me to show them that at least we have a chance to win. Who knows who will win, but I at least think we will be able to race for it."

UAW-Ford 500 Lineup:

POS CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR SPEED TIME BEHIND

1. 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 189.070 50.648

2. 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 188.839 50.710 -0.062

3. 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 188.779 50.726 -0.078

4. 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing 188.471 50.809 -0.161

5. 00 David Reutimann* Toyota Burger King 188.459 50.812 -0.164

6. 127 Jacques Villeneuve Toyota UNICEF 188.215 50.878 -0.230

7. 49 John Andretti Dodge Paralyzed Veterans of America 187.798 50.991 -0.343

8. 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Pillsbury Food Service / Cheerios 187.284 51.131 -0.483

9. 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 187.258 51.138 -0.490

10. 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 187.119 51.176 -0.528

11. 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 187.057 51.193 -0.545

12. 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 186.827 51.256 -0.608

13. 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 186.816 51.259 -0.611

14. 96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 186.761 51.274 -0.626

15. 88 Mike Wallace Ford M&M's Halloween 186.692 51.293 -0.645

16. 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 186.663 51.301 -0.653

17. 18 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 186.467 51.355 -0.707

18. 11 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet FedEx Ground 186.202 51.428 -0.780

19. 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 186.133 51.447 -0.799

20. 16 Greg Biffle Ford Starz / Dish Network 186.014 51.480 -0.832

21. 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 185.956 51.496 -0.848

22. 42 Juan Montoya* Dodge Texaco / Havoline 185.938 51.501 -0.853

23. 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 185.826 51.532 -0.884

24. 7 Robby Gordon Ford Camping World

/ RVs.com 185.797 51.540 -0.892

25. 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 185.783 51.544 -0.896

26. 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 185.783 51.544 -0.896

27. 38 David Gilliland Ford M&M's 185.725 51.560 -0.912

28. 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 185.625 51.588 -0.940

29. 25 Casey Mears Chevrolet National Guard / GMAC 185.542 51.611 -0.963

30. 15 Paul Menard* Chevrolet PEAK / Menards 185.463 51.633 -0.985

31. 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 185.323 51.672 -1.024

32. 66 Jeff Green Chevrolet Garmin / Best Buy 185.212 51.703 -1.055

33. 40 David Stremme Dodge Coors Light 185.061 51.745 -1.097

34. 24 Jeff Gordon+ Chevrolet Pepsi / DuPont 185.051 51.748 -1.100

35. 26 Jamie McMurray+ Ford IRWIN Vise-Grip GrooveLocks 184.918 51.785 -1.137

36. 5 Kyle Busch+ Chevrolet Kellogg's / CARQUEST 184.890 51.793 -1.145

37. 29 Kevin Harvick+ Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 184.726 51.839 -1.191

38. 01 Aric Almirola+ Chevrolet U.S. Army 184.626 51.867 -1.219

39. 70 Johnny Sauter+ Chevrolet Radioactive Energy Drink 184.580 51.880 -1.232

40. 21 Ken Schrader+ Ford Motorcraft 184.193 51.989 -1.341

41. 2 Kurt Busch+ Dodge Miller Lite 186.416 51.369 -0.721

42. 6 David Ragan+* Ford AAA Travel 185.255 51.691 -1.043

43. 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 187.658 51.029 -0.381

Did Not Qualify

44. 84 A.J. Allmendinger* Toyota Red Bull 187.596 51.046 -0.398

45. 160 Boris Said Ford SOBE - No Fear 187.423 51.093 -0.445

46. 10 Scott Riggs Dodge Valvoline / Stanley Tools 187.328 51.119 -0.471

47. 06 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1 187.262 51.137 -0.489

48. 36 Jeremy Mayfield Toyota 360 OTC 187.130 51.173 -0.525

49. 109 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet Miccosukee Resort & Gaming 186.696 51.292 -0.644

50. 4 Ward Burton Chevrolet State Water Heaters / Miccosukee Resort 185.963 51.494 -0.846

51. 37 Kevin Lepage Dodge Taco Bell 185.765 51.549 -0.901

+ Set by Owner Points

* Denotes Rookie

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