Chasers will have to charge toward front at Talladega

Qualifying for the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, given the Car of Tomorrow and its effect on the pack mentality of restrictor-plate racing, is merely a formality.

As Jeff Gordon, second in points, said, Saturday "was all about the guys outside the top 35 in points."

That's the way it turned out, as 13 of the top 15 cars in qualifying were go-or-go-home cars. Only eight made it, with the other five losing out. The top eight includes rookie Jacques Villeneuve.

The first top-35 car on the grid will be Bobby Labonte in eight, and the first Chaser was Tony Stewart in 11th.

Sunday's race is an impound race, so the go-or-go-home drivers had qualifying setups in, which means they'll likely be heading for the rear of the field once the green flag waves. The Chasers will be headed forward. Six will start 25th or worse and four -- Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch -- needed owner points to get in.

Traditionally, the Big One rarely happens at the front of the field, but it just might on Sunday -- and an early crash would mean the Chasers would likely be piling in from behind.

Stewart led both practices on Friday at better than 194 mph. On Saturday, he qualified at 51.193 seconds, 187.057 mph, the only Chase driver to top 187 mph. Pole-sitter Michael Waltrip led the way at better than 189 mph.

"We didn't make any qualifying runs [Friday]," Stewart said. "We'll start where we start."

Where he starts is usually about 17th; where he finishes is usually second. Stewart has six runner-up finishes at Talladega in his 17 starts, to go with two other top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. His 12.9 finishing average is second in the Chase.

Martin Truex Jr., who wound up 13th on the grid, has one more DNF (three) than he does top-five finishes (two) in five starts, but when he finishes, he's usually at the front. He was fifth in this race last year, and he averages 20.0 per finish. He posted a lap at 51.259 seconds, 186.816 mph.

Denny Hamlin is looking for something positive this weekend after two consecutive disappointing outings. His lap at 51.428 seconds, 186.202 mph, good for 18th, was a step in the right direction, anything to help him improve on his finishing average of 21.3. In two of his three starts, Hamlin has finished 21st, and that's his best effort so far.

Jimmie Johnson is one of just two Talladega winners in the field, the other being his teammate Gordon. Johnson is a qualifying beast at Talladega, averaging 7.0 for his 11 starts, and his finishes haven't been too bad, either, averaging 19.3 (seventh among the Chasers). He has a pole, a victory, three top-five and four top-10 finishes at Talladega, and was in position to have won this race last year when he was hit from behind by Brian Vickers. Johnson's lap at 51.447 seconds, 186.133 mph put him 19th on the grid.

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.

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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.