Gordon Wins Pole in Final Race at Talladega

Photo Courtesy of NASCAR and Getty Images

TALLADEGA, AL – RIS – Jeff Gordon led a dominant performance by Hendrick Motorsports to win the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.  Gordon led teammates Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson in a sweep of the top three starting spots for the race Sunday. Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified fifth to put the four Hendrick drivers in the first three rows at the 2.66-mile track.

It was the best outcome for Gordon and Earnhardt, the only two Hendrick drivers still in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field. Both need strong runs -- Earnhardt may actually need a victory -- to advance into the third round of the playoffs. Four drivers will be cut from the Chase field following the race. Gordon is seventh in the standings, while Earnhardt is 11th in the 12-driver field. Both drivers are six-time winners at Talladega, and Earnhardt won the spring race here.

"It is good enough," Earnhardt said about his starting position. "Some of the guys had a little more speed, but we feel like our car is going to race really well and just ready to go."

Matt Kenseth, who is last in the Chase field, qualified fourth. Like Earnhardt, he likely needs to win Sunday to move into the third round.

"One thing about Talladega is you always have to expect the unexpected, so who knows what's going to happen," Kenseth said. "Just anxious to get lined up for the race and see what happens."

Chase driver Martin Truex Jr. had his time thrown out by NASCAR as penalty for driving below the yellow line on the race track during his qualifying lap. Truex said he was unaware the rule -- enforced during plate races -- had been implemented for qualifying, too. He'll start last in the 43-car field, but wasn't worried.

"We started in the back last time, too. We'll be fine," Truex said of the spring race in which he started 36th but finished fifth.

There was a bizarre mishap on pit road when NASCAR gave Clint Bowyer the signal to begin his lap. He revved his engine and unbeknownst to him, his car was in reverse and backed hard into Justin Allgaier's car.

Allgaier's car suffered enough damage that his crew had to make quick repairs to get him on track for his qualifying attempt, but will need to work on the Chevrolet some more to get it fixed to race Sunday.

Gordon continued his domination in qualifying at restrictor-plate races this season. He won the pole at three of the four plate races this year. The one miss? At Daytona in July, when qualifying was rained out.

He heaped praise on the engine shop at Hendrick Motorsports for the effort put into the plate races, where horsepower is so important.

"Everybody is contributing to make this happen, that is why we are 1-2-3 and 5," he said. "It's a great day for Hendrick Motorsports."

Gordon, who is retiring at the end of the season, is eager to get this final Talladega race behind him. Although he's been very good over the course of his career at Daytona and Talladega, he doesn't enjoy the white-knuckle racing that often leads to multi-car accident

Prior to qualifying, all four Stewart-Haas Racing cars were found to have non-conforming assembly of their radiator inlet duct panels. NASCAR made the teams replace the assembly to the correct dimensions -- a somewhat laborious process.

A NASCAR spokesman said any penalties would be announced Tuesday. SHR Vice President of Competition Greg Zipadelli indicated he did not believe it would be a major issue and Kevin Harvick crew chief Rodney Childers tweeted he did not expect a points penalty

Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 24 Jeff Gordon 3M Chevrolet 49.234 194.500
2 5 Kasey Kahne Time Warner Cable Chevrolet 49.453 193.638
Row 2: 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 49.467 193.584
4 20 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Toyota 49.468 193.580
Row 3: 5 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet 49.575 193.162
6 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 49.674 192.777
Row 4: 7 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet 49.720 192.599
8 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 49.737 192.533
Row 5: 9 21 Ryan Blaney(i) Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 49.743 192.509
10 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 49.746 192.498
Row 6: 11 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 49.820 192.212
12 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 49.845 192.116
Row 7: 13 27 Paul Menard Tarkett/Menards Chevrolet 49.749 192.486
14 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 49.792 192.320
Row 8: 15 19 Carl Edwards Subway Toyota 49.792 192.320
16 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Halloween Toyota 49.824 192.197
Row 9: 17 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Zest Ford 49.880 191.981
18 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 49.891 191.938
Row 10: 19 16 Greg Biffle Cheez-It Ford 49.915 191.846
20 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 49.924 191.812
Row 11: 21 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Jacob Companies Ford 49.940 191.750
22 55 David Ragan Aaron's Online Dream Machine Toyota 49.943 191.739
Row 12: 23 42 Kyle Larson Target Plaid Chevrolet 49.946 191.727
24 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna Pink Chevrolet 49.981 191.593
Row 13: 25 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 50.002 191.512
26 3 Austin Dillon WeatherTech Chevrolet 50.009 191.486
Row 14: 27 95 Michael McDowell K-Love Radio Ford 50.077 191.226
28 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 50.095 191.157
Row 15: 29 15 Clint Bowyer 5-hour Energy Toyota 50.109 191.103
30 26 JJ Yeley(i) Adirondack Tree Surgeons Toyota 50.146 190.962
Row 16: 31 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger/Bush's Beans Chevrolet 50.179 190.837
32 62 Timmy Hill(i) Royal Teak Collection Ford 50.246 190.582
Row 17: 33 98 Michael Waltrip Maxwell House Toyota 50.338 190.234
34 35 Cole Whitt Rinnai Tankless Water Heaters Ford 50.358 190.158
Row 18: 35 32 Bobby Labonte C&J Energy Services Ford 50.449 189.815
36 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Dustless Blasting Toyota 50.528 189.519
Row 19: 37 7 Alex Bowman Golden Corral Chevrolet Owner Points
38 38 David Gilliland Love's Travel Stops Ford Owner Points
Row 20: 39 51 Justin Allgaier Auto Owners Insurance Chevrolet Owner Points
40 34 Josh Wise Dockside Logistics Ford Owner Points
Row 21: 41 40 Landon Cassill(i) Carsforsale.com Chevrolet Owner Points
42 33 Travis Kvapil(i) Chevrolet Owner Points
Row 22: 43 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet Owner Points
Did Not Qualify: # 23 Jeb Burton #; # 46 Michael Annett.
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 20 1 Toyota 9 1
Ford 14 0
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series