Backstretch Motorsports

Joe Nemechek exited the Front Row Motorsports No. 78 National Day of Prayer Chevrolet Impala SS with a huge smile. He had not only set the fastest time of the ‘go or go home’ drivers having to have speed to make the show, he had posted the fastest time of the Sprint Cup qualifying session overal, winning the Coors Light Pole Award for the Aaron’s 499 with a lap of 51.103 seconds, 187.386 mph.

This is Nemechek’s fourth pole and 11th top-10 start in 27 races at Talladega Superspeedway.

“We were going up against the big guys and we put one on ‘em today.” said a relieved Nemechek on pit road, looking up the scoring tower. “Today was about the crew guys, all I did was hit my marks and keep it turning in the corners. This means a lot for a lot of reasons. One, we have struggled a lot this year at a lot of other tracks. We were really good at Daytona and we had a lugnut go through the oil cooler. It was a tough deal.

“I want to thank Hendrick Motorsports. The engines have been incredible this year. We are getting better and better at making these cars to go around the corner and getting them to go faster. It is a big day.”"

Nemechek’s fast lap kept Tony Stewart from the “double down” as Home Depot Toyota Camry driver had won the NASCAR Nationwide Series pole only 24 hours before. Stewart held the top spot for most the Sprint Cup session.

Stewart’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing livery will start along side on the front row . He posted his fifth top-10 start in 2008 and his eighth top-10 start in 19 Talladega races. He tied his career-best start here set in May 2006.

“We were fast last year when the CoT was rolled out onto this superspeedway and we knew that would continue here,” said the Lakeland, Fl. veteran. “This track is so smooth and has so much grip, all the driver does is keep the pedal on the mat and hang on to it I am so proud of Furniture Row/National Day of Prayer crew guys; Jay Guy (crew chief), Joe Garrone (team manager), Barney Visser (team owner) for giving us this opportunity. Special sponsor on board here, National Day of Prayer. How many times do you get to qualify and sit on the pole when your car says ‘We need to pray as a nation.’ It is a big statement. .”

Other drivers from outside the Top 35 in points made for extra drama when both Ken Schrader (third) and A.J. Allmendinger (fourth) both looked to have a legitimate shot at the top spot with Allmendinger holding the outside front row position for a large part of the day.

Patrick Carpentier (17th) was the fastest qualifying rookie and all five rookie candidates made the field.

Starting Line Up by Row
Talladega Superspeedway
Aaron’s 499

Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Mark Martin 05/10/97 02:39:18 188.354
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 78 Joe Nemechek National Day of Prayer Chevrolet 51.103 187.386
2 20 Tony Stewart Home Depot Toyota 51.237 186.896
Row 2: 3 70 Ken Schrader Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet 51.346 186.499
4 84 AJ Allmendinger Red Bull Toyota 51.367 186.423
Row 3: 5 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 51.369 186.416
6 6 David Ragan AAA Travel Ford 51.400 186.304
Row 4: 7 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 51.401 186.300
8 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 51.435 186.177
Row 5: 9 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet 51.491 185.974
10 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 51.529 185.837
Row 6: 11 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford 51.566 185.704
12 21 Jon Wood Little Debbie Snack Cakes Ford 51.618 185.517
Row 7: 13 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford 51.622 185.502
14 28 Travis Kvapil Northern Tool + Equipment Ford 51.627 185.484
Row 8: 15 45 Kyle Petty Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge 51.628 185.481
16 09 Sterling Marlin Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet 51.677 185.305
Row 9: 17 10 Patrick Carpentier # LifeLock Dodge 51.689 185.262
18 19 Elliott Sadler GARMIN/Best Buy Dodge 51.710 185.187
Row 10: 19 66 Scott Riggs State Water Heaters Chevrolet 51.745 185.061
20 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet 51.756 185.022
Row 11: 21 12 Ryan Newman alltel Dodge 51.782 184.929
22 15 Paul Menard Menards/Turtle Wax Chevrolet 51.813 184.818
Row 12: 23 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 51.815 184.811
24 00 Michael McDowell # Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 51.830 184.758
Row 13: 25 41 Reed Sorenson Polaroid Dodge 51.846 184.701
26 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit Dodge 51.869 184.619
Row 14: 27 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 51.869 184.619
28 8 Aric Almirola U.S. Army Chevrolet 51.874 184.601
Row 15: 29 01 Regan Smith # Dale Earnhardt Inc./Principal Chevrolet 51.916 184.452
30 44 David Reutimann UPS Toyota 51.937 184.377
Row 16: 31 16 Greg Biffle 3M/American Red Cross Ford 51.962 184.289
32 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 52.030 184.048
Row 17: 33 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet 52.038 184.019
34 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerios Racing/Betty Crocker Dodge 52.038 184.019
Row 18: 35 7 P.J. Jones RV’s.com Dodge 52.094 183.822
36 5 Casey Mears Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet 52.114 183.751
Row 19: 37 77 Sam Hornish Jr. # Mobil 1 Dodge 52.116 183.744
38 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility Chevrolet 52.124 183.716
Row 20: 39 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet Owner Points
40 38 David Gilliland freecreditreport.com Ford Owner Points
Row 21: 41 07 Clint Bowyer DirecTV Chevrolet Owner Points
42 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge Owner Points
Row 22: 43 40 Dario Franchitti # Tums Quik Pack Dodge 51.730 185.115
Did Not Qualify: # 22 Dave Blaney; # 96 J.J. Yeley; # 34 John Andretti.
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 15 1 Ford 8 0
Dodge 12 0 Toyota 8 2