April 16, 2011
- Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Aaron’s 499 Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway have been made.
Pole sitter #24-Gordon chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #48-Johnson took pit stall 17, the next stall with an opening in front of it.
#5-Martin, who starts 3rd took the 16th pit stall, thefirst stall with an opening behind it.
The 43rd and final pit stall was taken by #15-Waltrip, who starts 12th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart.(4-16-2011) - Four drivers from same team start 1-2-3-4: Only three times in NASCAR Spint Cup history has an organization swept the top four starting spots for a race. Owner Pete DePaolo’s cars started 1-5 at Concord, N.C., in 1956; cars owned by Jack Roush claimed the top four spots on the grid at Fontana in 2005 and Hendrick Motorpsorts at Talladega in April 2011:
DePaolo Engineering, Concord NC, December 1956: Curtis Turner on pole, then Joe Weatherly, Marvin Panch, Ralph Moody and Bill Amick.
Roush Fenway Racing, Fontana, September 2005: Carl Edwards on pole, then Mark Martin, Kurt Busch & Greg Biffle.
Hendrick Motorsports, Talladega, April 2011: Jeff Gordon on pole, then Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin & Dale Earnhardt Jr.
(4-16-2011) - Jeff Gordon wins Talladega pole: #24-Jeff Gordon won the Coors Light pole for the Aaron’s 499 Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway with a speed of 178.248mph. It is his 1st pole of the season and the 70th of his career, which is third on the all time list.
#48-Johnson starts 2nd followed by #5-Martin, #88-Earnhardt, Jr., #27-Menard, #09-Cassill, #6-Ragan, #22-Busch, #83-Vickers, and #21-Bayne.
Hendrick Motorsports swept the top 4 qualifying positions, only the third time that has been done in NASCAR history.
The go-or-go homers who made the race (8): #15-Waltrip, #87-Nemechek, #38-Kvapil, #97-Conway, #35-Park, #36-Blaney, #71-Lally, and #46-Elliott (who used the past champions provisional).
The go-or-go homers who failed to qualify for the race (3): #60-Skinner, #37-Raines, #66-McDowell.
See the starting lineup, qualifying speeds and notes on my Talladega Starting Lineup/Qualifying Results page.(4-16-2011) - Qualifying Fast Facts – Talladega:
Jeff Gordon won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 42nd Annual Aaron’s 499 with a lap of 53.723 seconds, 178.248 mph.
This is his 70th pole in 625 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. Gordon surpasses Cale Yarborough for third-place on the all-time pole winners list.
This is his first pole and third top-10 start in 2011.
This is his second pole in 37 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Jimmie Johnson (second) posted his third top-10 start of 2011 and his 13th in 19 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Mark Martin (third) posted his 22nd top-10 start at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his fourth in eight races this season.
Andy Lally (37th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
Hendrick Motorsports becomes the third team in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history to qualify four cars in the top four starting positions (Pete DePaolo 1965 – Charlotte; Jack Roush 2005 – Auto Club).(NASCAR Statistics)(4-16-2011) - Red Line Oil sponsoring Elliott at Talladega: For the second time this season, Red Line Synthetic Oil Corp. will be the primary sponsor of the Whitney Motorsports #46 Chevy Impala where it will be driven by NASCAR legend “Million Dollar” Bill Elliott at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ Aaron’s 499 at the Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 17, 2011. Elliott is subbing for full-time Whitney team driver JJ Yeley, who raced into the field at this year’s Daytona 500.(Red Line PR)(4-16-2011)
- Michael Waltrip to race at Le Mans: Michael Waltrip will drive a Ferrari for the Italian team of AF Corse in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 11-12. Waltrip, Michael Waltrip Racing co-owner Rob Kauffman and Rui Aguas will compete in the GTE Pro Class. Waltrip plans to test next weekend at the Le Mans course in France. He also tested at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France in March.(ESPN.com)(4-16-2011)
- France sues ex-wife, alleges extortion attempt: NASCAR chairman Brian France has sued his former wife, accusing her of tape recording telephone conversations to extort money from him. In a lawsuit filed Friday, Brian France claims his ex-wife, Megan France, has recorded multiple telephone conversations with him without his consent. He is asking a federal judge to issue an injunction barring Megan France from engaging in additional “intercepts of wire communications” between the two and distributing the contents of the recordings. Brian France alleges his ex-wife has offered not to disclose the recordings – keeping them private – if he pays her “substantial sums of money.” Megan France’s lawyers could not be reached for comment.(Charlotte Observer)(4-16-2011)
- Martin to appear in Dover’s Monster Mile Club: Mark Martin will be the special guest of a hosted question and answer session in the Monster Mile Club at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, May 15, 2011. The Monster Mile Club, an all-inclusive hospitality option including driver appearances, an opportunity to walk on the track before the race, and unlimited food with beverages, is available for $99 and can be added on to any Sunday race ticket. The Monster Mile Club opens at 8 a.m. on Sunday, May 15 with a continental breakfast. Trackside tours begin at 8:30 a.m. and the hosted question-and-answer session with Martin will follow later in the morning, at approximately 10:15 a.m. An all-you-can]eat lunch will be served at 11 a.m. prior to the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at 1 p.m. Monster Mile Club ticket holders will also receive a souvenir gift and a race program.(Dover Speedway)(4-16-2011)
- Efland, Means get Talladega sponsor: Danny Efland, whose NASCAR Nationwide career started in 2007 and progressed into being the youngest team owner/driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series #07 Chevy in 2010, will be behind the wheel of the #52 TRX Alliance Tax Exact Chevy for his first race of his season. TRX Alliance is “America’s #1 Independent tax preparers Alliance Program”. TRX Software development Inc is reintroducing Tax Exact Software . Tax Exact an IRS authorized e-file provider offers online tax preparation services for federal and state income taxes.(Means Motorsports)(4-16-2011)
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