Vickers Wins Talladega Pole In New Qualifying Format

Brian Vickers scored the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Photo by Matt Sullivan/NASCAR via Getty Images

TALLADEGA, AL — A wild, crazy and often confusing session of knockout qualifying—the first under a new short-session format designed specifically for superspeedways—put Brian Vickers on the pole for Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Jimmie Johnson, who likely needs a victory to advance to the Eliminator Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, qualified on the outside of the front row with a lap at 195.732 mph, second only to Vickers’ 196.129 mph.

The Coors Light Pole Award was Vickers’ first of the season, his first in 16 attempts at Talladega and the 12th of his career. A.J. Allmendinger (195.496 mph) qualified third, followed by Ryan Blaney (195.015 mph) and Brad Keselowski (194.007 mph), who like Johnson is in a must-win scenario for Sunday.

Keselowski, however, will drop to the rear for the start of the race because an alternator change outside of impound.

Vickers, on the other hand, will lead the field to the green flag and was delighted with the circumstances that put him at the front of the pack.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “I thought that coming to three (laps) to go that we had literally no shot. We were way back — like a half a straightaway behind the whole field, and they all checked up and gave me a chance and gave me a run. I really get no credit for it. I just tried not to wreck.

“(Crew chief) Billy (Scott) and all the guys did a great job with the car and Billy had a strategy and a plan—we stuck to it even when I thought we were crazy and we were going to be in trouble. We stuck to his plan. My spotter did a great job on top of the tower and we found some speed.”

For Johnson, the best thing about the front-row starting spot may be the second pick of prime pit stalls.

“It gives us a great pit stall pick, which will help,” Johnson said. “It seems like there will be a lot of fuel-only or two-tire stops, so that will give us a nice pit lane pick. Maintaining track position is hard to do here, there are comers and goers all day long—but what a weird qualifying session. There is no way around it.”

“Confusion on multiple levels, and I thought we were completely out of the running and was able to suck back around on the guys and catch back up and get second, which I thought we were going to be 12th the way it all worked out. I don’t know what happened exactly, but it worked out and we got ourselves and second-place starting spot.”

Blaney will start his second Sprint Cup race in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford as he prepares for his first season at NASCAR’s highest level with the Wood Brothers next year.

The new format, featuring four five-minute sessions, with the field narrowed to 24 and then 12 drivers, was not without its complications and not without its casualties.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who believes he needs a win at Talladega to make the next round of the Chase, failed to advance from the first round of qualifying and will start 29th. Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson and Jeff Gordon failed to arrive at the start/finish line before the five-minute clock expired in their first session and didn’t record a fast timed lap.

They’ll start 39th, 40th, 41st and 42nd, respectively, in Sunday’s race, all on owner points provisionals.

“I think everyone is confused,” said Logano, who was drafting to the flag with Kyle Busch but got there approximately a half-second late. “We worked with Kyle and got a good run and drafted off the right guys and were fast enough to make it, but we just didn’t get across the line in time.”

Tony Stewart needed a past champions provisional to bump Reed Sorenson out of the race—but only temporarily. When Joe Nemechek’s No. 29 Toyota had its time disallowed because an area of the oil tank encasement was improperly sealed, Nemechek was out and Sorenson was in.

And with Sorenson in, Stewart made the show with an owner points provisional, not a past champion’s.

Series regulars Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Justin Allgaier weren’t as fortunate. Unable to make the race on speed, and with no more provisionals available, they’ll watch the race from the sidelines along with Nemechek.

NASCAR-Sprint Cup Series
Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, AL
GEICO 500 Qualifying – Oct. 18, 2014

1. Brian Vickers – 196.129
2. Jimmie Johnson – 195.732
3. A.J. Allmendinger – 195.496
4. Ryan Blaney – 194.015
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6. Michael McDowell – 193.693
7. Travis Kvapil – 193.603
8. Kasey Kahne – 193.498
9. Terry Labonte – 193.431
10. Michael Annett – 193.162
11. Ryan Newman – 191.302
12. Martin Truex, Jr. – 190.981
13. Matt Kenseth – 193.415
14. Alex Bowman – 193.376
15. Carl Edwards – 193.291
16. Trevor Bayne – 192.401
17. Aric Almirola – 192.278
18. Kurt Busch – 192.096
19. Casey Mears – 191.908
20. Paul Menard – 191.773
21. David Gilliland – 190.985
22. Cole Whitt – 190.97
23. Mike Wallace – 184.729
24. Greg Biffle – 191.577
25. David Ragan – 191.42
26. Marcos Ambrose – 191.214
27. Danica Patrick – 191.149
28. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 191.134
29. Landon Cassill – 191.13
30. Austin Dillon – 191.027
31. Jamie McMurray – 190.818
32. J.J. Yeley – 190.689
33. Clint Bowyer – 190.681
34. Michael Waltrip – 190.586
35. Josh Wise – 190.507
36. Reed Sorenson – 189.305
37. Tony Stewart – Owner Points
38. Denny Hamlin – Owner Points
39. Kevin Harvick – Owner Points
40. Joey Logano – Owner Points
41. Kyle Busch – Owner Points
42. Kyle Larson – Owner Points
43. Jeff Gordon – Owner Points