Coverage of Qualifying for the Bank of America 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is scheduled for Thursday, October 11, 2012 at 7:10pm/et.
Radio: live online at goprn.com.
TV: ESPN2 - 7:00pm/et
Scheduled qualifying re-air: none

Track Qualifying Record: #38-Elliott Sadler, Oct 2005, 193.216mph

Coke 600 Qualifying Record: #12-Ryan Newman, May 2005, 192.988mph

Youngest Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon, 22 years, 2 months, 6 days, 10/10/1993

Oldest Pole Winner: Bobby Allison, 49 years, 10 months, 8 days, 10/11/1987

Fastest First Practice Speed: #11-Hamlin, 191.693mph, scheduled to qualify 47th out of 47 drivers

NOTE: no longer doing semi-live qualifying on Jayski.com.
NASCAR.com and FoxSports have live realtime qualifying and hits for my qualifying pages were way down in 2011 due to the availabilty of the real-time qualifying found at those sites.
Will continue to post Jayski.com's unique qualifying results below, to help explain how drivers made the race.
For Realtime qualifying, check out:
NASCAR.com and FoxSports

Biffle wins pole at Charlotte: #16-Greg Biffle won the pole for the Bank of America 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a TRACK RECORD speed of 193.708mph for his 3rd pole of 2012 and 12th career pole.
#55-Martin will start 2nd followed by #39-Newman, #15-Bowyer, #48-Johnson, #56-Truex, Jr., #17-Kenseth, #18-Busch, #11-Hamlin and #5-Kahne.
The go-or-go homers who made the race (8): #21-Bayne, #95-Speed, #19-Bliss, #6-Stenhouse Jr., #30-Stremme, #98-McDowell, #37-Yeley and #91-Sorenson.
The go-or-go homers who failed to qualify for the race (4): #87-Nemechek, #26-Wise, #23-Riggs and #33-Whitt.
See qualifying results & starting lineup below or on the Starting Lineup page (pdf).(10-11-2012)

Qualifying Fast Facts - Charlotte:
#16-Greg Biffle won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 53rd Annual Bank of America 500 with a lap of 27.877 seconds, 193.708 mph.
This is his 12th pole in 361 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his third pole and 19th top-10 start in 2012.
This is his first pole in 20 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Greg Biffle's qualifying run broke the old record at CMS set by Elliott Sadler (193.216 mph) on Oct. 13, 2005.
Mark Martin (second) posted his 12th top-10 start of 2012 and his 31st in 56 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Ryan Newman (third) posted his 17th top-10 start at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is his 18th in 31 races this season. (NASCAR Statistics)(10-11-2012)

Pole Progression: (who had the pole first, who got it next and who ended up with it)
#23-Riggs, 1st out to qualify, 184.989mph, DNQ
#36-Blaney, 2nd out, 186.323, starts 42nd
#26-Wise, 3rd out, 187.123, starts DNQ
#10-Reutimann, 4th, 189.520, starts 34th
#13-Mears, 10th out, 190.027, starts 27th
#95-Speed, 13th out, 190.691, starts 23rd
#42-Montoya, 17th out, 190.691, starts 22nd
#21-Bayne, 21st out, 191.293, starts 16th
#47-Labonte, 26th out, 181.605, starts 15th
#29-Harvick, 27th out, 192.637, starts 11th
#16-Biffle, 32nd out, 193.708 TRACK RECORD, starts 1st

How did the non Top-35 teams do in qualifying?
Fastest 7 get in, 8th [43rd] spot goes to most recent past champ not in the race already or 8th fastest
[47 entered for 43 spots]:
have qualified for the race:
#21-Trevor Bayne, 191.293
#95-Scott Speed, 190.691
#19-Mike Bliss, 190.027
#30-David Stremme, 189.687
#6-Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 189.687
#98-Michael McDowell, 189.587
#37-J.J. Yeley, 189.341
#91-Reed Sorenson, 189.102
will miss the race:
#87-Joe Nemechek, 188.937
#26-Josh Wise#, 187.123
#23-Scott Riggs, 184.989
#33-Cole Whitt, 183.517

Thursday practice for the Bank of America 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is over, after 90 scheduled minutes, the top-five, slowest and notes:
#11-Hamlin 191.693
#55-Martin 191.442
#17-Kenseth 191.333
#20-Logano 191.157
#24-Gordon 190.975
#88-Smith is 7th fastest
#78-Busch is 18th
#51-Allmendinger is 19th
slowest: #23-Riggs 183.399 & #36-Blaney 183.830
this practice will determine the qualifying order for tonights qualifying, scheduled for 7:10pm/et, televised on ESPN2 and can be heard at goprn.com.
See speeds, best top-10 average and laps run on the Charlotte practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(10-11-2012)

Go-or-Go Homers practice at Charlotte: how fast/slow were the drivers who are not in the top-35 of owners points and must qualify by speed to make the Bank of America 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where they practiced in the first practice:
the eight drivers who would make the race if things stayed the same:
#6-Stenhouse, Jr., 25th fastest overall
#98-McDowell, 26th
#21-Bayne, 27th
#19-Bliss, 34th
#95-Speed, 35th
#30-Stremme, 36th
#37-Yeley, 37th
#91-Sorenson, 40th
the four drivers who would miss the race if things stayed the same:
#87-Nemechek, 41st
#33-Whitt, 43rd
#26-Wise, 45th
#23-Riggs, 47th
(10-11-2012)

Race info at: Race Info Page

Event Entry List

Past Champions Provisional page

All Time Sprint Cup Pole Winners

2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying procedures:
1) qualifying order will be determined by the driver's fastest lap in first practice.
2) times on the speed sheet will be inverted with the slowest cars attempting their qualifying runs first
3) go-or-go-home cars will now qualify among the 35 teams locked in on owner points and not be separated by the field. 4) the NASCAR Sprint Cup director does reserve the right to change a driver's qualifying order or allow "adjustments or repairs" to cars after the car has taken the green flag at the start/finish line.
5) all cars must qualify with a full fuel cell.
6) qualifying consists of two consecutive timed laps (except at road courses, 1 lap)
7) the fastest lap determines qualifying position
8) in case of a rain-out of practice, a random drawing will be held for cars set up in the garage area to determine qualifying order
9) if qualifying is rained out, the order of the field will be set according to Section 9-5 of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup rule book.

If first practice is run, but qualifying is unable to take place, the starting lineup will be based on speeds from the car's fastest lap from the first practice, with top-35 cars in owner points no longer segregated from the non-top 35 cars. Previously, the top 35 cars lined up in front of all other eligible car owners.(NASCAR)(7-7-2011)

Past Champions Provisional Berths in Sprint Cup: A past champion's provisional may be used by an eligible driver a maximum of six times over the course of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. A team with a past champion eligible driver may only use this provisional a maximum of six times during a season. The provisional gives the eligible driver the 43rd and final starting position in the race field. This is only for a team/driver OUTSIDE the top-35 in owners points, drivers whose team is in the top-35 in owners points, would already be guaranteed in the field and not need the Past Champions Provisional
See my Past Champions Provisional Page for more.

What happens if all qualifying gets cancelled [rain/weather/other]?
If bad weather cancels qualifying, the final starting lineup will be determined by practice speeds. The same rule book procedures will be used to determine eligibility to start a race. If weather cancels practice sessions, then the starting lineup will be set by points, per the rule book.

If qualifying AND all practices are cancled, then:
If it is during the first 5 races of the season, the previous season OWNERS points are used:
#1) - Previous season Owner Points [position 1-35][team does not have to attempt all the races]
#2) - Race winners from the previous and current season not already in the field
#3) - Past Sprint Cup Champions not in by 1 or 2
#4) - Current season Owner Position [Top 35][not in by rules 1-3]
#5) - Current season race attempts ties broken by current owners position [not in by rules 1-4]
#6) - For 2nd race of season, teams that missed Daytona 500, are seeded in owners points by thier finish in the Duels
#7) - Randon Draw if more then one team with no attempts

If qualifying is cancled by at least one practice gets run, then:
If it is the first 5 races of the season, the previous season OWNERS points are used:
#1) - Previous season Owner Points [position 1-35][team does not have to attempt all the races]
#2) - Race winners from the previous and current season not already in the field
#3) - Past Sprint Cup Champions not in by 1 or 2
#4) - Current season Owner Position [Top 35][not in by rules 1-3]
#5) - Current season race attempts ties broken by current owners position [not in by rules 1-4]
#6) - For 2nd race of season, teams that missed Daytona 500, are seeded in owners points by thier finish in the Duels
#7) - Randon Draw if more then one team with no attempts
#8) - One it is determined which teams/driver made the race, then the field is set by 1st practice speeds.

What happens if just qualifying is cancelled?
If it is during the first 5 races of the season, the previous season OWNERS points are used:
#1) - Previous season Owner Points [position 1-35][team does not have to attempt all the races]
#2) - Race winners from the previous and current season not already in the field
#3) - Past Sprint Cup Champions not in by 1 or 2
#4) - Current season Owner Position [Top 35][not in by rules 1-3]
#5) - Current season race attempts ties broken by current owners position [not in by rules 1-4]
#6) - For 2nd race of season, teams that missed Daytona 500, are seeded in owners points by thier finish in the Duels
#7) - Randon Draw if more then one team with no attempts
#8) - One it is determined which teams/driver made the race, then the field is set by 1st practice speeds.

What happens if just qualifying is cancelled?
AFTER the 5th race of the season, the current season OWNERS points are used:
#1) - First 35 by current Owner Points [team does not have to attempt all the races]
#2) - Last Years Sprint Cup Champ or the Event Champion if not already in the field
#3) - Car Owners whose team has won in the previous and current season not already in the field
#4) - Drivers who have won in the previous and current season not already in the field
#5) - Past Sprint Cup Champions not in by 1 thru 4
#6) - Qualifying Attempts with current Owners points as the tie breaker
#7) - NASCAR will hold a draw for teams with no owners points / attempts
#8) - One it is determined which teams/driver made the race, then the field is set by 1st practice speeds.

NOTE: all above apply as long as the team was entered by the entry deadline - usually 7-13 days before the race

2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying procedures:
1) qualifying order will be determined by the driver's fastest lap in first practice.
2) times on the speed sheet will be inverted with the slowest cars attempting their qualifying runs first
3) go-or-go-home cars will now qualify among the 35 teams locked in on owner points and not be separated by the field. 4) the NASCAR Sprint Cup director does reserve the right to change a driver's qualifying order or allow "adjustments or repairs" to cars after the car has taken the green flag at the start/finish line.
5) all cars must qualify with a full fuel cell.
6) qualifying consists of two consecutive timed laps (except at road courses, 1 lap)
7) the fastest lap determines qualifying position
8) in case of a rain-out of practice, a random drawing will be held for cars set up in the garage area to determine qualifying order
9) if qualifying is rained out, the order of the field will be set according to Section 9-5 of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup rule book.