Track:  Talladega Superspeedway, 2.66-mile oval, Talladega, Ala.
Pole Winner: Mark Martin

Pole Time:  52.799 seconds

Pole Speed:  181.367 miles per hour
TV/Radio: SPEED/MRN/SIRIUSXM

No. 34 World Hunger Relief Ford Qualifying Position: 42nd

No. 38 Long John Silver's Ford Qualifying Position: 17th
No. 55 Front Row Motorsports Ford Qualifying Position: 28th

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series goes tandem racing this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway -- one of the most unpredictable tracks for racing on the series' schedule.  Once again, most cars paired off two by two during Friday's practice sessions to find the most speed -- the form of racing that has now become standard on the smooth surfaces of the restrictor-plate tracks.  However, two of the three Front Row Motorsports entries needed to qualify for the race on speed and spent most of Friday's practice sessions working solo to find their top speed in qualifying trim.

The efforts paid off on Saturday, when both Travis Kvapil and J.J. Yeley turned fast enough laps to earn positions in Sunday's starting grid.  Kvapil qualified the No. 38 Long John Silver's Ford in the 17th position and Yeley slotted the No. 55 Front Row Motorsports Ford into the 28th spot.  Teammate David Gilliland had the No. 34 World Hunger Relief Ford ranked 42nd in time trials.

Gilliland isn't worried about where he starts Sunday's race, though.  The driver with the highest average finishing position in 2011 restrictor-plate races (9.3) is accustomed to starting in the back and finishing up front.

Mark Martin will start from the pole with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson beside him in the front row.  Geoffrey Bodine, Scott Speed, T.J. Bell and Josh Wise failed to quallify for the race.
 

The cars have been impounded until tomorrow's race, which means teams cannot do any further work on them.  The next changes won't be until the first pit stop of the Good Sam Club 500, which gets under way at 2 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN.

David Gilliland

Comments from No. 34 World Hunger Relief team driver David Gilliland after qualifying at Talladega:
 

Travis Kvapil

Comments from No. 38 Long John Silver's Ford team driver Travis Kvapil after qualifying at Talladega:
 

"It was a good run. It is hard to really do anything as a driver here. It is all on the team and Front Row Motorsports did a good job. This is a different car than we have had for speedway races. We wrecked our Daytona car earlier in the year and we brought this one here. I have to give a big thank you to Ford and Doug Yates for the great horsepower. The guys at the shop pay attention to all the details and so far, so good. We are solidly in the show and that was objective number one for us.

"It all can go out the window but myself and David Gilliland are planning to work together and be there for each other all day long. We are looking for a good solid day tomorrow because that can go a long way for our fight to get back into the top-35. We want to keep chipping away at it. That is the plan."

J.J. Yeley

Comments from No. 55 Front Row Motorsports Ford team driver J.J. Yeley after qualifying at Talladega:
 

"Obviously it's most important that we got locked in with the No. 55 Front Row Motorsports Ford.  I guess the biggest disappointment was we were in full qualifying trim, we had really good speed yesterday, and I thought that we'd be able to pick up a little more today.  The first lap wasn't bad.  We just didn't pick up the next couple tenths on the second lap.  I'm not exactly sure why, but at the end of the day, the goal has been achieved.  We're in the race."

About Front Row Motorsports: