Talladega qualifying rained out, Johnson awarded pole

Published online on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

Rain showers at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday forced NASCAR officials to cancel qualifying for the Amp Energy 500. The starting lineup will be set by owner points, according to the rule book.

Jimmie Johnson will start on the pole since he is currently atop the standings. Johnson, who is attempting to win his unprecedented fourth straight Sprint Cup Series championship, holds a 118-point lead over Hendrick Motorsports teammate and closest competitor Mark Martin.

Johnson last started on the pole at Talladega in October 2002, when qualifying here also was canceled due to bad weather.

"It will give us a chance to try and get five points which is nice," Johnson said. "The safest place really is leading, so if we are able to stay up front and ride around up there for a long time, the whole race would be great. There's so much here that is out of your control with not only the crashing aspect that we've all been talking about, but the draft and how impatient guys are going to be to lead a lap."

Martin will start on the outside pole.

"This is the most relaxed I've been going into Talladega in the last ten years that I can remember, certainly since 2004 when the Chase format started," Martin said. "I just really feel good. I feel like this is going to be our lucky day."

Jeff Gordon, a six-time race winner at Talladega, will roll off third, followed by Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards will start sixth through 10th, respectively.

Talladega is the sixth Sprint Cup qualifying session to be rained out this year.

Sunday's 500-mile race is scheduled to start just after 1:00 p.m. (et). The weather outlook at Talladega looks much better tomorrow with mostly sunny skies.