Chasers will have to charge toward front at Talladega (cont'd)

Jeff Burton has 27 starts at Talladega, more than any other Chaser except Gordon, and he's been in the top 10 at the checkered flag 10 times. Burton's finishing average of 18.5 is square in the middle of the 12 Chasers.

Burton clocked in at 51.496 seconds, 185.956 mph, good for 21st.

No place like ...

After the monumental mess on the Great Plains, how can Talladega be any rougher on teams than Kansas was? Ron Lemasters Jr. has to wonder.

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Clint Bowyer, third in championship points after three races, needed a big run Saturday. Talladega has been a horror show for Bowyer in three career starts. His average start is 29.0, and a pair of 35th-place finishes there pushed his finishing average to a Chase-worst 36.7.

His lap was at 51.532 seconds, 185.826 mph, good for 23rd, which should lift his average a bit.

Matt Kenseth isn't the greatest qualifier, but he's usually near the front at the finish. It is the same at Talladega, where he averages 24.7 in qualifying and is fifth-best in finishing average at 15.4. Kenseth's lap was 51.544 seconds at 185.783 mph -- tied with five-time Talladega winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- and Kenseth will roll off 25th.

Carl Edwards likes a little room to race, and Talladega has tons of it. In six starts, Edwards has finished fifth once (2005) and in the top 10 three times. He averages 23.0 per finish, ninth of the 12 Chasers.

Edwards logged in at 51.672 seconds, 185.323 mph, which at the time he qualified put him 37th. He'll start 31st, thanks to the logjam of non-top-35 cars at the front.

Gordon has 29 starts at Talladega, and has won five times. Both are tops among Chasers at Talladega, as are his 12 top-five and 15 top-10 results. He's also led 800 laps, so his finishing average of 15.4 is doubly surprising. That's good for fourth among the Chase drivers.

His lap at 51.748 seconds, 185.051 mph puts him 34th on Sunday.

Kyle Busch was middle-of-the-pack in practice, and his lap was 51.793, 184.890 mph. That puts him 36th on Sunday. Talladega is a place where Busch has been lucky to run all 500 miles. In five starts, his best finish is 11th, and three of those races ended prematurely. Only Clint Bowyer has a finishing average below Busch's mark of 30.8.

Kevin Harvick is another Chaser who has done well at Talladega, finishing second twice in 13 starts. His 13.1 finishing average ranks third behind Kurt Busch and Stewart, and seven of those races have ended with Harvick in the top 10. Harvick's lap came in at 51.839 seconds, 184.726 mph, and he'll start 37th on Sunday.

Like Stewart, Kurt Busch is consistent at Talladega. He has finished third four times in 13 starts, which has helped him post a Chase-best finishing average of 10.2. Busch easily put the No. 2 Dodge in the field at 51.369 seconds, 186.416 mph, but his car was too low in post-qualifying inspection and he'll start near the back of the grid in the 41st starting position. He has two other top-fives and 10 top-10 results at Talladega.

With the Car of Tomorrow making its debut on Sunday, and the top eight with qualifying setups on, it should be an interesting start to the UAW-Ford 500.