Hendrick Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne has take pole position for tomorrow’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega.
Kahne scored his first pole at the 2.66-mile restrictor-plate track, setting a speed of 191.455 mph, edging out Ryan Newman (191.145 mph) for the top starting spot.
The Coors Light pole award was Kahne’s third of the season and the 25th of his career.
Clint Bowyer (191.119 mph) qualified third, followed by defending Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart (190.993 mph) and Greg Biffle (190.955 mph).
Kahne was thrilled with how he has gelled with team.
“They [Hendrick] just put a big emphasis on these types of tracks and this type of racing,” said Kahne, who is tied for fifth in the Cup standings, 32 points behind leader Brad Keselowski.
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“I’ve never been anywhere before where they do that.”
Keselowski will start 22nd, with five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, currently second in the standings, taking the green flag in 17th.
Other Chase drivers qualified as follows: Jeff Gordon, sixth; Martin Truex Jr., ninth; Dale Earnhardt Jr., 12th; Matt Kenseth, 15th; Kevin Harvick, 21st and Denny Hamlin 23rd.
Australian Marcos Ambrose will line up 20th.
Qualifying, Talladega
| POS | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
| 1 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | HendrickCars.com | 191.455 | 50.017 | Leader |
| 2 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | U.S. Army | 191.145 | 50.098 | -0.081 |
| 3 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-Hour Energy | 191.119 | 50.105 | -0.088 |
| 4 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Mobil 1 / Office Depot | 190.993 | 50.138 | -0.121 |
| 5 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M / National Breast Cancer Foundation | 190.955 | 50.148 | -0.131 |
| 6 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 190.848 | 50.176 | -0.159 |
| 7 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Subway | 190.784 | 50.193 | -0.176 |
| 8 | 21 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | Motorcraft / Quick Lane / Warriors in Pink | 190.727 | 50.208 | -0.191 |
| 9 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 190.662 | 50.225 | -0.208 |
| 10 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | SKF | 190.628 | 50.234 | -0.217 |
| 11 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | Toyota | Charlie Loudermilk Aaron’s Dream Machine | 190.465 | 50.277 | -0.260 |
| 12 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Diet Mountain Dew “Paint the 88” | 190.427 | 50.287 | -0.270 |
| 13 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M’s | 190.419 | 50.289 | -0.272 |
| 14 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 190.393 | 50.296 | -0.279 |
| 15 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Ford Ecoboost | 190.370 | 50.302 | -0.285 |
| 16 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | CertainTeed Insulation / Menards | 190.332 | 50.312 | -0.295 |
| 17 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe’s | 190.298 | 50.321 | -0.304 |
| 18 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Gwaltney | 190.298 | 50.321 | -0.304 |
| 19 | 13 | Casey Mears | Ford | GEICO | 190.177 | 50.353 | -0.336 |
| 20 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Dewalt | 190.170 | 50.355 | -0.338 |
| 21 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 190.113 | 50.370 | -0.353 |
| 22 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 189.778 | 50.459 | -0.442 |
| 23 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Freight | 189.748 | 50.467 | -0.450 |
| 24 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Allstate | 189.740 | 50.469 | -0.452 |
| 25 | 34 | David Ragan | Ford | MHP / 8 Hour Alert | 189.616 | 50.502 | -0.485 |
| 26 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 189.552 | 50.519 | -0.502 |
| 27 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target / Gillette | 189.380 | 50.565 | -0.548 |
| 28 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Farm American | 189.316 | 50.582 | -0.565 |
| 29 | 51 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction | 189.025 | 50.660 | -0.643 |
| 30 | 30 | David Stremme | Toyota | SwanEnergyInc.com | 188.947 | 50.681 | -0.664 |
| 31 | 32 | Terry Labonte | Ford | C&J Energy Services | 188.794 | 50.722 | -0.705 |
| 32 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | Peanut Patch Boiled Peanuts | 188.727 | 50.740 | -0.723 |
| 33 | 26 | Josh Wise* | Ford | MDS Transport | 188.649 | 50.761 | -0.744 |
| 34 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Ford | K-Love / Curb Records | 188.638 | 50.764 | -0.747 |
| 35 | 97 | Timmy Hill | Toyota | AM / FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves | 188.326 | 50.848 | -0.831 |
| 36 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 188.296 | 50.856 | -0.839 |
| 37 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AM / FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves | 188.001 | 50.936 | -0.919 |
| 38 | 83 | Landon Cassill | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 187.986 | 50.940 | -0.923 |
| 39 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Golden Corral | 187.460 | 51.083 | -1.066 |
| 40 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Scott / Kingsford / Bush Beans | 186.991 | 51.211 | -1.194 |
| 41 | 10 | David Reutimann | Chevrolet | [email protected] | 186.783 | 51.268 | -1.251 |
| 42 | 33 | Cole Whitt | Chevrolet | Little Joes Autos.com | 186.289 | 51.404 | -1.387 |
| 43 | 23 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Chevrolet | North Texas Pipe | 185.942 | 51.500 | -1.483 |
