Kahne secures third pole of the season, first at Talladega

All season long it had been the Fords that were the fastest of the fast at the ristrictor plate Superspeedways of Talladega and Daytona.

However for the first time all season, and the first time in his career, Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet proved to be the fastest car Saturday at the track.

It is the first time in 18 races that Kahne has sat on a pole at the 2.66 mile Superspeedway located in Alabama. In addition to his first pole at Talladega, it is the third time that Kahne has grabbed a pole this season.

Kahne’s lap of  50.017 seconds/191.455 MPH beat all the other 42 drivers in the qualifying session.

Ryan Newman, a driver of another Chevrolet completed the front row sweep for Chevrolet drivers at Talladega.

To find the first Fords, the manufacturer that had dominated the ristirctor plate tracks this year, that is back in the fifth position where Greg Biffle in the No. 16 Roush-Fenway Ford qualifed.

Last year’s winner of this event, Clint Bowyer, qualified third and was the fastest of the all the Toyota’s in the event with his qualifying time of  50.105 seconds/191.119 MPH earned his spot in the top-five.

Newman’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate and last year’s Sprint Cup champion, Tony Stewart, will be starting fourth on Sunday.

Starting in tenth, Sam Hornish Jr. was able the fastest of the Dodge’s with his qualifying lap of 50.234 seconds/ 190.628 MPH.

Where the chasers qualified:

A look at where the 12 chasers for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will start Sunday’s Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500:

Kasey Kahne will be starting from the 1st position.

Clint Bowyer starts in third.

Tony Stewart starts in fourth.

Greg Biffle starts in fifth.

Jeff Gordon starts in sixth.

Martin Truex Starts in ninth.

Dale Earnhardt Jr starts in 12th.

Matt Kenseth starts in 15th.

Jimmie Johnson starts in 17th.

Kevin Harvick will start in 21st.

Brad Keselowski will start in 22nd.

Denny Hamlin will start in 23rd.

Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 starting line-up:

1. Kasey Kahne
2. Ryan Newman
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Tony Stewart
5. Greg Biffle
6. Jeff Gordon
7. Carl Edwards
8. Trevor Bayne
9. Martin Truex Jr.
10. Sam Hornish Jr.
11. Michael Waltrip
12. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
13. Kyle Busch
14. Joey Logano
15. Matt Kenseth
16. Paul Menard
17. Jimmie Johnson
18. Aric Almirola
19. Casey Mears
20. Marcos Ambrose
21. Kevin Harvick
22. Brad Keselowski
23. Denny Hamlin
24. Jamie McMurray
25. David Ragan
26. Jeff Burton
27. Juan Pablo Montoya
28. Regan Smith
29. Kurt Busch
30. David Stremme
31. Terry Labonte
32. David Gilliland
33. Josh Wise
34. Michael McDowell
35. Timmy Hill
36. Travis Kvapil
37. Joe Nemecheck
38. Landon Cassill
39. Dave Blaney
40. Bobby Labonte
41. David Reutimann
42. Cole Whitt
43. Robert Richardson Jr.