Sadler gets much needed pole in Texas
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| Elliott Sadler |
Everything happens in NASCAR for a reason, or is it just by the grace of God? Elliott Sadler has won his first Sprint Cup pole in more than four years with a dominating run in Texas.
Sadler zipped around the high-banked 1 1/2-mile track at 195.397 mph Friday, nearly 2 mph better than front-row partner Greg Biffle. Fords will start 1-2-3. After getting trounced by Chevy all year long, God shined his light on them too.
Sadler's Cup future is uncertain after Richard Petty Motorsports switched his primary sponsor to Marcos Ambrose for next year. Sadler hasn't been on the pole since the 2006 spring race in Talladega. His last win was Sept. 5, 2004, in California.
Points leader Jimmie Johnson qualified 17th for the race Sunday. He's locked in a tight battle for the championship with Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick. Harvick is 26th on the starting grid, and Hamlin 30th.
Lineup
| POS | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
| 1 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Ford | Stanley | 195.397 | 27.636 | Leader |
| 2 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | American Red Cross | 193.652 | 27.885 | -0.249 |
| 3 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Aflac | 193.646 | 27.886 | -0.250 |
| 4 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Lysol | 193.479 | 27.910 | -0.274 |
| 5 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | UPS | 193.424 | 27.918 | -0.282 |
| 6 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Operation Home Front / Miller Lite | 193.375 | 27.925 | -0.289 |
| 7 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Cheerios / Hamburger Helper | 193.320 | 27.933 | -0.297 |
| 8 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Companies | 193.216 | 27.948 | -0.312 |
| 9 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | Carquest / GoDaddy.com | 193.174 | 27.954 | -0.318 |
| 10 | 43 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | Valvoline | 193.092 | 27.966 | -0.330 |
| 11 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Old Spice | 193.078 | 27.968 | -0.332 |
| 12 | 98 | Paul Menard | Ford | Quaker State / Menards | 192.775 | 28.012 | -0.376 |
| 13 | 9 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Budweiser | 192.603 | 28.037 | -0.401 |
| 14 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Tornados | 192.369 | 28.071 | -0.435 |
| 15 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont | 191.993 | 28.126 | -0.490 |
| 16 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 191.986 | 28.127 | -0.491 |
| 17 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 191.939 | 28.134 | -0.498 |
| 18 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Aaron's Outdoors Mossy Oak | 191.891 | 28.141 | -0.505 |
| 19 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Crown Royal Black | 191.884 | 28.142 | -0.506 |
| 20 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 191.768 | 28.159 | -0.523 |
| 21 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA / Susan G Komen for the Cure Signature | 191.748 | 28.162 | -0.526 |
| 22 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | National Guard / Amp Energy | 191.741 | 28.163 | -0.527 |
| 23 | 82 | Scott Speed | Toyota | Red Bull | 191.673 | 28.173 | -0.537 |
| 24 | 83 | Kasey Kahne | Toyota | Red Bull | 191.598 | 28.184 | -0.548 |
| 25 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Arctic Cat | 191.564 | 28.189 | -0.553 |
| 26 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Shell / Pennzoil | 191.557 | 28.190 | -0.554 |
| 27 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | AAA | 191.530 | 28.194 | -0.558 |
| 28 | 21 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center | 191.090 | 28.259 | -0.623 |
| 29 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M's | 191.056 | 28.264 | -0.628 |
| 30 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Office | 190.968 | 28.277 | -0.641 |
| 31 | 110 | Bobby Labonte | Chevrolet | Gander Mountain | 190.846 | 28.295 | -0.659 |
| 32 | 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Toyota | Tom Thumb | 190.833 | 28.297 | -0.661 |
| 33 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | Taco Bell | 190.201 | 28.391 | -0.755 |
| 34 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | HostGator.com | 190.121 | 28.403 | -0.767 |
| 35 | 13 | Casey Mears | Toyota | GEICO | 189.720 | 28.463 | -0.827 |
| 36 | 12 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Penske Racing | 189.633 | 28.476 | -0.840 |
| 37 | 26 | Patrick Carpentier | Ford | Air National Guard | 189.255 | 28.533 | -0.897 |
| 38 | 66 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | Prism Motorsports | 189.202 | 28.541 | -0.905 |
| 39 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Toyota | Mapei / Menards | 188.851 | 28.594 | -0.958 |
| 40 | 71 | Andy Lally+ | Chevrolet | TaxSlayer.com | 188.626 | 28.628 | -0.992 |
| 41 | 34 | Travis Kvapil+ | Ford | Long John Silver's | 187.337 | 28.825 | -1.189 |
| 42 | 37 | Dave Blaney+ | Ford | A&W All American Food | 185.663 | 29.085 | -1.449 |
| 43 | 09 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | Phoenix Racing | 188.996 | 28.572 | -0.936 |
| Did Not Qualify | |||||||
| 44 | 36 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | Tommy Baldwin Racing | 188.673 | 28.621 | -0.985 |
| 45 | 81 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | Whitney's Collision Centers | 188.653 | 28.624 | -0.988 |
| 46 | 46 | Michael McDowell | Chevrolet | Cash America | 187.852 | 28.746 | -1.110 |
| 47 | 164 | Jeff Green | Toyota | Gunselman Motorsports | 187.169 | 28.851 | -1.215 |
| 48 | 123 | Josh Wise | Toyota | North Texas Pipe | 185.944 | 29.041 | -1.405 |
| 49 | 192 | Brian Keselowski | Dodge | K-Automotive Motorsports | 182.076 | 29.658 | -2.022 |
+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie