TALLADEGA, Ala. — Two once-mighty teams returned to the top of the Talladega Superspeedway leaderboard with very different things to prove.
Travis Kvapil won the pole Saturday to show Yates Racing is on an upswing after several lean years, and Dale Earnhardt Inc. had a strong qualifying day to counter rumblings that the team is in trouble.
Kvapil turned a lap at 187.364 mph in his Yates Racing Ford to edge Casey Mears’ lap of 187.295 in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
It was the first pole of Kvapil’s career and came in his 100th start. And it was the eighth Talladega pole for a car owned by Yates, which was also the last Ford team to win at this track when Dale Jarrett grabbed a 2005 victory.
“This is a place that’s really special to the Yates family,” Kvapil said. “It’s awful special. There are a lot of (No.) 28 fans in the Talladega area, so it’s pretty cool that we can come out here give those fans something to cheer about.”
There’s also a lot of Earnhardt fans in the area, and the loyal crowd has had little to cheer about since DEI reeled off six wins in seven races at Talladega from 2001 to 2004.
A slow slide began last year when Dale Earnhardt Jr. decided to move to Hendrick Motorsports, and the team took another hit this week when Paul Menard said he was moving with his sponsor to Yates Racing next season. It’s created a steady stream of questions about the long-term stability of the team founded by the late Dale Earnhardt.
But DEI got a huge boost when all four of its cars qualified in the top 10 for today’s race. Aric Almirola qualified third, Regan Smith was fourth, Menard was fifth and Martin Truex Jr. was 10th to give DEI something to celebrate.
“I think it says a great deal about our program and where we are at Dale Earnhardt Inc.,” DEI president Max Siegel said.
Carl Edwards was the highest-qualifying Chase driver and will start 12th, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. was next at 15th in a backup car after a tire problem caused him to wreck in Friday’s second practice.
Bodine wins truck race.
Todd Bodine took the lead on the last lap and held off Ron Hornaday Jr. and Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Bodine raced to his second victory of the season and won for the second straight year in the 250-mile race on NASCAR’s largest track.
The trucks raced as many as three- and four-wide over the thrilling final laps, and Busch appeared as if he might hang on for his 20th overall victory this season in NASCAR’s top three series.
Hornaday took the points lead away from Johnny Benson with five races left. Hornaday entered the race one point back in the standings, but had a strong finish after falling back earlier on a pit road speeding penalty. Hornaday leads the standings by 39 points.
The Associated Press
Today’s race
NASCAR SPRINT CUP
AMP Energy 500
Site:Talladega, Ala.
TV: KMGH-7, noon.
Track: Talladega Superspeedway (tri-oval, 2.66 miles, 33 degrees banking in turns).
Race distance: 500 miles, 188 laps.
Last race: Jimmie Johnson barely held off a strong challenge from Carl Edwards in the Camping World RV 400 at Kansas Speedway, winning the race and vaulting into first place in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Edwards overcame a poor starting position and two pit lane incidents to catch and pass Johnson for the lead, but lost the top spot to Johnson on a pit stop with 47 laps to go. He finally caught him again on the last lap, shooting past Johnson on the low side of the banked 1.5-mile oval in turn three — but just a little too fast. Edwards slid up the track and bounced off the wall as Johnson drove back past and on to his fifth victory of the season, with Edwards holding on for second.
Fast facts: Kyle Busch, 12th in the points race, won the Aaron’s 499 at this track April 27. . . . Johnson holds a 10-point lead over Edwards and a 30-point lead over Greg Biffle. . . . Paul Menard reached an agreement to drive for Yates Racing in the Sprint Cup Series beginning in 2009.
Next race: Bank of America 500, Saturday, Concord, N.C.
On the Net:
Driver standings
1. Jimmie Johnson, 5,575
2. Carl Edwards, 5,565
3. Greg Biffle, 5,545
4. Jeff Burton, 5,454
5. Kevin Harvick, 5,439
6. Jeff Gordon, 5,432
7. Clint Bowyer, 5,411
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 5,385
9. Matt Kenseth, 5,383
10. Denny Hamlin, 5,332
11. Tony Stewart, 5,320
12. Kyle Busch, 5,264
13. David Ragan, 3,369
14. Kasey Kahne, 3,362
15. Ryan Newman, 3,147
16. Martin Truex Jr., 3,106
17. Brian Vickers, 3,105
18. Kurt Busch, 2,906
19. Jamie McMurray, 2,877
20. Bobby Labonte, 2,833
