Chasers slow in qualifying for Sunday's Kansas race

With track position the end-all, be-all of today's Sprint Cup race strategy, there will be some crew chiefs burning the midnight oil trying to get some on Sunday.

Chief among them will be Greg Zipadelli, who will have to guide driver Tony Stewart from the back of the field after the No. 20 Toyota posted the 42nd-fastest lap of 45 cars for Sunday's Camping World RV 400.

Front row seat

Jimmie Johnson will start first Sunday at Kansas after Juan Montoya's speed was disallowed because of an infraction.

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It's not like the 20 bunch won't have company back in the lineup, as seven of the 12 Chase drivers occupy starting spots of 25th or worse, including points leader Carl Edwards. They'll be joined by initial pole winner Juan Montoya, whose quick time was disallowed after his right-rear shock was found to have too much pressure in it. That moves everyone up a spot and Montoya starts 42nd.

Just two of the Chasers made the top 10 in qualifying, Jimmie Johnson and a surprising Matt Kenseth.

Johnson put his Chevrolet on the outside of the front row with his lap at 31.394, 172.007 mph, a smidgen behind Montoya. He moved over one spot after Montoya's DQ. Johnson has never won at Kansas, but will start first for the third time. He has four top-10 finishes and a third-place effort last year as his best showing. He averages 12.0 per finish, fifth-best among the 12 Chasers.

Kenseth is not known as a qualifier, but he ripped off a lap at 31.456, 171.668 mph in his Ford to start on the inside of the second row Sunday. Kenseth averages 14.5 per start at Kansas, one of his better tracks, but his average finish of 22.1 is 10th out of the 12. Kenseth has a top-five finish in seven starts on the 1.5-mile oval.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 11th in his Chevrolet, clicking off a lap at 31.628, 170.735 mph. Despite having four top-10 finishes in seven starts, his best finish is sixth back in 2002, and his average finish is an eighth-best 17.1.

Jeff Gordon was next in 13th, circling the track at 31.670, 170.508 in his Chevrolet. Gordon is the lone two-time winner in the seven previous races run at Kansas, last turning the trick in 2002. In four of those races he finished in the top five, and his average finish of 10.6 is second only to hometown hero Clint Bowyer's ridiculous 5.5.

Greg Biffle, winner of the first two Chase races and third in points, was the only other Chaser to crack the top 20 in 18th. Biffle's Ford clocked in at 31.730, 170.186 mph. He's the defending race winner, and half his six starts there have wound up in the top five at the finish. His average result is 11.0, third among Chasers.

Bowyer, who was second to Biffle in last year's rain-delayed race, enjoys home-field advantage at Kansas, though his starting average of 8.0 will take a hit after this year. He put his Chevrolet in 24th at 31.889, 169.337 mph. Both races he's started there have resulted in top-10 finishes.

Kyle Busch was 27th in his Toyota, logging in at 31.905, 169.252 mph. Busch has not excelled at Kansas in the past, a seventh-place finish his best offering in four starts. His 26.5 finishing average is worst among the 12 Chasers.

Denny Hamlin is another driver who isn't a finisher at Kansas, for whatever reason. He will start 30th on Sunday after his lap at 31.926, 169.141 mph in his Toyota. Hamlin's best finish is 18th in 2006, and his average finish is 26.3, slightly better than teammate Busch.

Points leader Edwards had a subpar day by his standards, as his Ford could do no better than 34th for Sunday. Edwards' lap at 31.989, 168.808 mph bodes ill for Sunday, though his average finish is a respectable 17.0. He was third at Kansas in his first season with Roush Fenway back in 2005.

Kevin Harvick was two spots back in 36th after his lap at 32.000, 168.750 mph in a Chevrolet. Harvick has finished sixth twice in seven starts, and his average finish of 16.1 is sixth among the Chasers.

Jeff Burton usually starts in the second half of the field at Kansas, averaging 25.0 in seven starts, but he wound up 37th on Friday after a lap at 32.056, 168.455 mph in his Chevy. Burton's best finish was fifth back in 2006, and he averages 19.6 per finish, which is ninth of the 12.

That left Stewart, whose lap at 32.281, 167.284 mph was faster than only Johnny Sauter on Friday. Stewart was 10th after practice at 31.627, but somehow dropped sixth-tenths of a second. Stewart averages 14.5 per start at Kansas, and his finishing average is fourth among Chasers at 11.1. He won a fuel-mileage gamble back in 2006 and had last year's race in his grasp until a late-race fender-bender cut a tire down.

Stewart has five top-10 finishes in his seven Kansas starts, including three top-fives. Stewart will now drive off 41st.