Aaron's 499 Qualifying Update

Talladega Superspeedway -- 04/27/08

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Sunday Apr 27 2008 12:09am

While the Nationwide results at Talladega may not carry over to the Cup race, a few factors from Saturday could be weighing on the minds of competitors tonight.

One is the dominance of Tony Stewart (+445), driving the No. 20 Joe Gibbs car in the Nationwide race, who dominated the field in his Toyota. Stewart led 81 of 117 laps and held off a group of hard chargers at the end that tried to get a late run, including Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+485), typically a strong contender at Talladega.

Another concern is the "big one" and the potential of serious damage to both cars and drivers. A huge multi-car pileup is always a possibility on a plate track, but it doesn't always materialize - at least not with the kind of carnage that today's "big one" produced.

The wreck occurred on lap 72 when the Nationwide car driven by Kevin Lepage attempted to merge onto the track in turn one after pitting for a loose tire. Lepage pulled out in front of the oncoming field, triggering a melee that damaged as many as 16 cars.

In a separate incident apparently started by a cut tire, Dario Franchitti and Larry Gunsleman both sustained injuries that required treatment at an area hospital. At press time, it appears that Franchitti has an ankle fracture and will be replaced in the Cup race by David Stremme; Gunselman's injury status is not yet known.

The Lepage incident will surely have implications for the Cup race, as a number of drivers including Kevin appeared to be confused about NASCAR's instructions for blending with the field coming off pit road - something which will have to be clarified with exacting detail to avoid a repeat of the problem Sunday.

Another issue this weekend is the impound schedule, which prohibits teams from working on their cars after qualifying. Talladega is the first of just five impound races this season and, as one might expect, several of the teams that qualified up front were ones that had to get in on time - meaning they focused more on qualifying than the top-35 teams that stayed primarily in race trim.

Perhaps this makes it even more notable that all three Joe Gibbs Toyotas qualified in the top 10 anyway - including Tony Stewart, 2nd, Kyle Busch (+565), 5th, and Denny Hamlin (+955), 7th - adding to the prevailing opinion that JGR is the organization to beat Sunday, in particular the 20 team.

Joe Nemecheck snagged the pole Saturday morning with a 187.386 mile per hour lap. Others in the top 10 included Ken Schrader, A.J. Allmendinger, David Ragan, and Brian Vickers; Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson (+815) qualified 9th and 10th, while Jeff Gordon (+915) was a little further back in the field at 20th.

Dave Blaney, J.J. Yeley, and John Andretti DNQ'd.

Both Cup practice sessions were held Friday, with teams clearly working on a variety of agendas - some were preparing for qualifying, others practiced long race runs, and still others played the plate racing political game of cultivating drafting partnerships for Sunday's 200 mile per hour chess match.

Kevin Harvick (+1855) had the fastest lap in the first practice at 195.936 miles per hour, but credited Denny Hamlin for pushing him through much of the lap. Michael Waltrip paced the second practice at 192.754 mph.

Only two drivers' names appeared in the top 10 in both practices. Kasey Kahne (+2850) ran 6th in the morning practice and 10th in the afternoon, but starts 42nd after having to fall back on an owner's provisional. Tony Stewart, who starts 2nd, ran 3rd in both practices and, as already discussed, dominated Saturday's Nationwide race.

All three Richard Childress teammates start far back in the field - Jeff Burton (+3650) at 38th, Kevin Harvick and 39th, and Clint Bowyer (+3500) at 41st. Both Harvick and Bowyer also used owner's provisionals.

Patrick Carpentier was the highest qualifying rookie at 17th.

Other drivers of note, along with their starting positions, include:

- Carl Edwards - 11th (+2450)
- Matt Kenseth - 13th (+3050)
- Ryan Newman - 21st (+2250)
- Kurt Busch - 23rd (+1215)
- Greg Biffle - 31st (+4850)