April 2009 Pole Sitter: #42-Juan Pablo Montoya, 188.171mph, finished 20th

October 2008 Pole Sitter: #28-Travis Kvapil, 187.364mph, finished 27th

Track/Event Qualifying Record (no restrictor plate): Bill Elliott, April 1987, 212.809mph

Track/Event Qualifying Record (Restrictor Plate): Bill Elliott, May 1990, 199.388 (15/16th inch plate)

Oldest Pole Winner: Ricky Rudd, 47 years, 7 months, 13 days, 4/25/2004

Youngest Pole Winner: Jimmie Johnson, 26 years, 7 months, 4 days, 4/21/2002

Fastest Last Practice Speed: #33-Clint Bowyer, 193.154mph, scheduled to qualify 15th out of 44 drivers

Qualifying rained out; Johnson on pole: Rain at Talladega, AL cause qualifying for the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway to be cancelled and the field has been set by the NASCAR rule book: Top 35 in owners points, past winner as owner [#09], then the remaining seven cars by race attempts. It is the sixth time qualifying has been rained out this season. #48-Johnson will start on the pole followed by #5-Martin, #24-Gordon, #14-Stewart, #42-Montoya, #2-Busch, #39-Newman, #16-Biffle, #11-Hamlin, #99-Edwards, #9-Kahne, and #83-Vickers. The #37-Tony Raines team withdrew this morning so there were only 43 cars in the field. No one was sent home.(10-31-2009)

Coverage of Qualifying for the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway is scheduled for Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 12:10pm/et.
TV: SPEED - 12:00pm/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)
#5-Martin, 1st out to qualify, ?mph, starts ?

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]:
will make the race, at least thru the Past Champ Provisional:
#71-Bobby Labonte [PC1],
still need to go out to qualify:
#08-Boris Said,
#87-Joe Nemechek,
#13-Max Papis,
#82-Scott Speed,
#71-Bobby Labonte [PC1],
#09-Brad Keselowski,
#66-Dave Blaney,
#36-Michael McDowell,
#37-Travis Kvapil,

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

Some Qualifying Notes:
none...yet

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)