Elliott Sadler hopes a strong starting spot at Darlington will bring him out of his slump. Credit: Aut

Rain beneficial to Dale Jr., Kenseth, Sadler

Newman's bid at fifth straight Bud Pole thwarted

The rain came at the right moment for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the wrong moment for Ryan Newman here Friday, as qualifying for the last Mountain Dew Southern 500 was washed out.

Earnhardt, third in the point standings, did not have a good morning practice, ranking 38th of 48 cars after the session.

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Newman, however, had his usual big day in practice and was set to win his fifth consecutive Bud Pole Award when the rain changed all that, and the top 10 will line up on points for Sunday's race.

The rain was good for point leader Kurt Busch, as he was 15th in practice, more than half a second behind Newman's lap of 28.620 seconds, 171.824 miles per hour.

Southern 500 1st Practice Speeds Lineup

Busch starts from the pole, much better than his average start of 13.825. His average finish is 17.857, so starting up front will at least get him the opportunity to bank five bonus points for leading early on.

Jeff Gordon was another who enjoyed the rain, given his 14th-place effort in practice. He averages a solid 6.521 for starting position here, and he finishes at 13.522.

He owned Darlington at one time, winning four straight Labor Day Southern 500s, but his last two finishes here have been 41st and 32nd.

Earnhardt will start third, much better than his 13.888 average. His practice speed of 165.370 mph was 6.5 mph behind Newman. He averages a finish of 18.111 here, and he'll need to improve greatly if he hopes to improve in the points.

Jimmie Johnson will start fourth, one spot lower than where he practiced. He averages 7.4 in starting position here, and finishes an average of 9.2, so he is poised for a solid day on Sunday. Of course, he won the spring race here.

Mark Martin, the most experienced of the Chasers, will line up fifth after practicing second to Newman. His speed, 170.495 mph, was better than 1 mph slower than Newman, .223 seconds behind.

Mark Martin (left) with crew chief Pat Tryson Credit: Autostock

Martin is consistent at Darlington, averaging 12.000 for starts in 37 races and averaging 12.783 for finishes. He, along with Gordon (6) and Johnson (1) are the only Chasers to have won here.

Tony Stewart, the sixth-place driver, will line up sixth. He was 22nd in practice, just a tick off his average start of 19.090 here. His finishing average is 12.182, so he does tend to finish better than he starts.

Newman will line up seventh, but chances are he'll be headed to the front. His average start is a Chase-best 4.8 with a Bud Pole, and he finishes an average of 9.4, so Darlington is a track he likes.

For example, Sunday's start will be the second worst for Newman in his five races here (12th is his worst).

Elliott Sadler had been qualifying extremely well of late, and he was 11th in practice. He'll line up eighth on Sunday. He is pretty consistent as well at Darlington, averaging 12.090 for starts and 15.273 for finishing position.

In his last five races here, however, he has earned top-10 finishes in four of them.

Matt Kenseth will start ninth after practicing 30th. Darlington has not been kind to Kenseth, as he averages 20.5 in starting position and 21.6 in finishing position. His best finish here is sixth, the same as his best start.

Jeremy Mayfield, who was 26th in practice, will line up 10th. That's much better than his 19.900 average start, and he's hoping the trend will continue on Sunday. He averages a finish of 18.4.