Travis Kvapil earned his first Sprint Cup pole on Saturday by outrunning 44 other drivers in qualifying for Sunday afternoon’s Amp Energy Drink 500 at the Talladega (Ala.) Speedway. The former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion got his first Cup pole in his 100th career start.

Driving a Ford Fusion for the underfunded Yates Racing team, Kvapil posted a 187.364-mph speed fairly early in the lengthy session. Many of NASCAR’s biggest stars were scheduled to qualify after him, but none came close to knocking him from atop the scoring pylon. Casey Mears (awaiting the imminent arrival of his first child) was closest at 187.295 mph in a Chevrolet from Hendrick Motorsports. Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammates Aric Almirola, Regan Smith and Paul Menard filled out the top-five in Chevys, the only other drivers in the 187-mph range.

Overall, the 12 Chase for the Championship drivers fared poorly. Carl Edwards was best among them, at 12th on the grid. Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified 15th, but will drop to the rear on the parade lap because his team changed motors during Friday's practice. Jeff Burton qualified 17th, Jimmie Johnson 20th, Greg Biffle 22nd, defending race champion Jeff Gordon 26th and Matt Kenseth 31st. Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch qualified 34th-37th. Kevin Harvick is 39th.

Five of the seven “go-or-go-home” drivers will race Sunday from near the front. They ran in qualifying trim as making the show was paramount, but they’ll adjust for the race Sunday. Mike Wallace, Joe Nemechek and Tony Raines qualified 6th, 7th and 8th. Kenny Wallace was 14th, and Sterling Marlin was 18th. Terry Labonte, Jon Wood and Ken Schrader were the other “go-or-go-home” drivers to make the 43-car field.

Ex-open wheelers Patrick Carpentier and Sam Hornish Jr. didn’t qualify. There’s already some speculation that Hornish Jr. may return to the IndyCar Series, replacing beleaguered Helio Castroneves at Penske Racing. And Carpentier may not finish the season at Gillett Evernham Racing since he’s already been told he won’t return in 2009.

The Grid

1. Travis Kvapil, Ford, 187.364 mph

2. Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 187.295

3. Aric Almirola, Chevrolet, 187.265

4. Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 187.181

5. Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 187.141

6. Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 186.984

7. Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 186.969

8. Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 186.739

9. Brian Vickers, Toyota, 186.707

10. Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 186.674

11. Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, 186.645

12. Carl Edwards, Ford, 186.507

13. Juan Pablo Montoya, Dodge, 186.430

14. Kenny Wallace, Toyota, 186.430

15. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 186.423

16. David Ragan, Ford, 186.351

17. Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 186.318

18. Sterling Marlin, Chevrolet, 186.267

19. David Reutimann, Toyota, 186.231

20. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 186.224

21. Mike Skinner, Toyota, 186.065

22. Greg Biffle, Ford, 186.061

23. Terry Labonte, Dodge, 186.057

24. Ryan Newman, Dodge, 185.945

25. Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 185.805

26. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 185.783

27. Jon Wood, Ford, 185.783

28. Jamie McMurray, Ford, 185.772

29. Dave Blaney, Toyota, 185.740

30. Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 185.722

31. Matt Kenseth, Ford, 185.689

32. Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 185.643

33. Kurt Busch, Dodge, 185.535

34. Tony Stewart, Toyota, 185.481

35. Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 185.423

36. Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 185.373

37. Kyle Busch, Toyota, 185.205

38. Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 185.015

39. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 185.008

40. Elliott Sadler, Dodge (owner points)

41. David Gilliland, Ford (owner points)

42. Robby Gordon, Dodge (owner points)

43. Ken Schrader, Toyota, 185.736

Did not qualify: Patrick Carpentier and Sam Hornish

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