NEWS & STATS
Qualifying Recap: Dickies 500
By Brian Polking
November 6, 2009 8:45 PM ET
Jeff Gordon's bid for a season sweep at Texas Motor Speedway got a big boost, after the four-time champ but the No. 24 car on the pole for Sunday's Cup race. Gordon put down a lap of 191.117 mph, edging Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch for the top spot. It is his second pole of the season, but his first since Martinsville in March. It is his third career pole at TMS.Kahne will start on the outside of the front row, looking for his first top-10 at Texas since winning in 2006. Busch is coming off a top-10 finish in April and will look to win his first career race at the 1.5-mile track from the third-place starting spot. Former Texas winner Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch completed the top-five qualifiers.
Defending race winner Carl Edwards will start sixth Sunday. He has won two of the last three races at Texas, and his three career wins at the track are the most all-time. Mark Martin and Edwards' teammate Greg Biffle will make up Row 4, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top 10.
Point leader Jimmie Johnson qualified 12th, putting all four Hendrick Motorsports cars in the top 12. Brian Vickers qualified 15th, putting nine Chasers in the top 15 spots. Juan Pablo Montoya (20th), Denny Hamlin (25th) and Ryan Newman (26th) were the Chasers qualifying outside the top 15.
Richard Petty Motorsports had a decent day in qualifying. In addition to Kahne starting on the outside of the front row, AJ Allmendinger and Reed Sorenson will start 16th and 18th. Outside of Bowyer, RCR struggled in qualifying. Kevin Harvick will start 24th, Casey Mears will start 36th and Jeff Burton will start way back in 42nd.
In his first start in the Penske Racing No. 12 machine, Brad Keselowski qualified 35th. David Gilliland put down the 21st best lap of the session in his second start in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 02 machine. His teammate Joey Logano will start 14th.
Four drivers failed to make the race, including Dave Blaney and Max Papis.
Starting Lineup
| POS | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont | 191.117 | 28.255 | Leader |
| 2 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | Budweiser | 190.975 | 28.276 | -0.021 |
| 3 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Miller Lite | 190.941 | 28.281 | -0.026 |
| 4 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Old Spice | 190.624 | 28.328 | -0.073 |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M's | 190.523 | 28.343 | -0.088 |
| 6 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Aflac | 190.148 | 28.399 | -0.144 |
| 7 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | Carquest / Kellogg's | 190.087 | 28.408 | -0.153 |
| 8 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M Scotch Super 33 Tape | 190.054 | 28.413 | -0.158 |
| 9 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | National Guard / Amp Energy | 189.960 | 28.427 | -0.172 |
| 10 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Cheerios / Hamburger Helper | 189.954 | 28.428 | -0.173 |
| 11 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | AAA | 189.900 | 28.436 | -0.181 |
| 12 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's / Kobalt Tools | 189.860 | 28.442 | -0.187 |
| 13 | 0 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine | 189.820 | 28.448 | -0.193 |
| 14 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | Home Depot | 189.800 | 28.451 | -0.196 |
| 15 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull | 189.793 | 28.452 | -0.197 |
| 16 | 44 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | Ford. Drive one. | 189.700 | 28.466 | -0.211 |
| 17 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | UPS / Boys & Girls Clubs | 189.700 | 28.466 | -0.211 |
| 18 | 43 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | Valvoline | 189.593 | 28.482 | -0.227 |
| 19 | 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Toyota | Kingsford / Clorox / Little Debbie | 189.587 | 28.483 | -0.228 |
| 20 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target / Dream in Color | 189.407 | 28.510 | -0.255 |
| 21 | 202 | David Gilliland | Toyota | Farm Bureau Insurance | 188.950 | 28.579 | -0.324 |
| 22 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Ford | Crown Royal | 188.884 | 28.589 | -0.334 |
| 23 | 170 | Mike Skinner | Chevrolet | TRG Motorsports | 188.844 | 28.595 | -0.34 |
| 24 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Shell / Pennzoil | 188.699 | 28.617 | -0.362 |
| 25 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Office | 188.686 | 28.619 | -0.364 |
| 26 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Haas Automation | 188.646 | 28.625 | -0.37 |
| 27 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker | 188.587 | 28.634 | -0.379 |
| 28 | 171 | Bobby Labonte | Chevrolet | CBR Motorcars | 188.350 | 28.670 | -0.415 |
| 29 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Toyota | Mapei / Menards | 188.317 | 28.675 | -0.42 |
| 30 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Dewalt | 188.304 | 28.677 | -0.422 |
| 31 | 82 | Scott Speed | Toyota | Red Bull | 188.016 | 28.721 | -0.466 |
| 32 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Companies | 187.990 | 28.725 | -0.47 |
| 33 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Dodge | Stanley | 187.944 | 28.732 | -0.477 |
| 34 | 187 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | NEMCO Motorsports | 187.820 | 28.751 | -0.496 |
| 35 | 12 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Penske Racing | 187.800 | 28.754 | -0.499 |
| 36 | 7 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | Choctaw Casino Resort | 187.793 | 28.755 | -0.5 |
| 37 | 36 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | Wave Energy Drink | 187.474 | 28.804 | -0.549 |
| 38 | 96 | Erik Darnell | Ford | Academy Sports + Outdoors | 187.182 | 28.849 | -0.594 |
| 39 | 98 | Paul Menard | Ford | Vertis / Menards | 186.832 | 28.903 | -0.648 |
| 40 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 186.438 | 28.964 | -0.709 |
| 41 | 34 | John Andretti | Chevrolet | Taco Bell | 186.188 | 29.003 | -0.748 |
| 42 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 183.767 | 29.385 | -1.13 |
| 43 | 21 | Bill Elliott | Ford | Motorcraft | Champion's Provisional |
Failed to Qualify
| POS | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | 37 | Tony Raines | Chevrolet | Long John Silver's | 186.664 | 28.929 | -0.674 |
| 45 | 66 | Dave Blaney | Toyota | The Denny Hamlin Foundation | 186.156 | 29.008 | -0.753 |
| 46 | 113 | Max Papis | Toyota | GEICO | 185.842 | 29.057 | -0.802 |
| 47 | 9 | Mike Bliss | Dodge | Miccosukee Resort & Gaming | 183.592 | 29.413 | -1.158 |
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