May 2009 Pole Sitter: #83-Brian Vickers, 127.131mph, finished 15th

September 2008 Pole Sitter: none, rained out

Track Qualifying Record: Brian Vickers, May 2004, 129.983mph

Fastest Last Practice Speed: #42-Montoya, 124.412mph, scheduled to qualify 13th out of 44 drivers

Martin on pole at Richmond: #5-Mark Martin won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway with a lap of 126.808mph for his 6th pole of the season and 47th career pole, Martin has won 7 races from the 1st starting position. #1-Truex Jr. was 2nd fastest followed by #11-Hamlin, #48-Johnson, #9-Kahne, #83-Vickers, #24-Gordon, #18-Busch, #09-Keselowski and #99-Edwards. Points leader #14-Stewart will start 29th. The fastest 43 cars made the race and the one slowest failed to qualify.
The non Top-35 drivers who made the race: #09-Keselowski, #82-Speed, #71-Bliss, #66-Blaney, #78-Smith, #87-Nemechek, #36-McDowell and #13-Papis.
The one driver who failed to qualify: #37-Raines.(9-11-2009)

Where did the Chase Drivers/Contenders Qualify at Richmond:
(by current points standing, 1st four have clinched a spot)
1) #14-Tony Stewart starts 25th
2) #24-Jeff Gordon, 7th
3) #48-Jimmie Johnson, 4th
4) #11-Denny Hamlin, 3rd
(the following have not clinched a spot in The Chase
5) #99-Carl Edwards, 10th
6) #9-Kasey Kahne, 5th
7) #2-Kurt Busch, 13th
8) #42-Juan Pablo Montoya, 14th
9) #39-Ryan Newman, 21st
10) #5-Mark Martin, 1st-Pole
11) #16-Greg Biffle, 24th
12) #17-Matt Kenseth, 28th
Contenders for the top-12/The Chase:
13) #83-Brian Vickers, 6th
14) #18-Kyle Busch, 8th
15) #00-David Reutimann, 23rd.(9-11-2009)

Qualifying Fast Facts - Richmond International Raceway:
#5-Mark Martin won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 with a lap of 21.292 seconds, 126.808 mph.
This is his 47th pole in 748 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his sixth pole and 14th top-10 start in 2009. This matches Martin's career high in poles. He also had six poles in 1989.
This is his fourth pole in 48 races at Richmond International Raceway.
#1-Martin Truex Jr. (second) posted his seventh top-10 start of 2009 and his fifth in eight races at Richmond International Raceway.
#11-Denny Hamlin (third) posted his seventh top-10 start at Richmond International Raceway. It is his 12th in 26 races this season.
#82-Scott Speed is the highest qualifying rookie of the year candidate and will start 20th.
(NASCAR Statistics)(9-11-2009)

Coverage of Qualifying for the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway is scheduled for Friday, September 11, 2009 at 5:40pm/et.
TV: ESPN2 - 5:30pm/et
Radio: MRN Radio and Sirius XM Satellite NASCAR Radio
Qualifying Re-Air: none scheduled

Pole Progression: (who had the pole first, who got it next and who ended up with it)
#99-Edwards, 1st out to qualify, 125.786mph, starts 10th
#11-Hamlin, 7th out, 126.630mph, starts 3rd
#1-Truex Jr., 11th out, 126.731mph, starts 2nd
#5-Martin, 19th out, 126.808mph, 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
[44 entered for 43 spots]:
have qualified for the race:
#09-Brad Keselowski, 125.921
#82-Scott Speed, 125.418
#71-Mike Bliss, 124.458
#66-Dave Blaney, 124.372
#78-Regan Smith, 123.944
#87-Joe Nemechek, 123.893
#36-Michael McDowell, 123.125
#13-Max Papis, 122.694
will miss the race:
#37-Tony Raines, 122.039

Rookie of the Year Candidates:
how fast were they and where do they start:
#13-Max Papis (X), 122.694mph, starts 43rd
#20-Joey Logano, 124.780mph, starts 27th
#82-Scott Speed (X), 125.418mph, starts 20th
(X) = needs to race their way in to the race
DNQ = Did not qualify for race

Practice Results:
Practice Speeds Page

Race info at: Race Info Page

Event Entry List

Past Champions Provisional page

All Time Sprint Cup Pole Winners

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 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 Nextel Cup Champions not in by 1 thru 4
#6) - Qualifying Attempts with Owners points as the tie breaker
#7) - Qualifying Order Position
(all above apply as long as the team was entered by the entry deadline - usually 7-13 days before the race)