Vickers wins pole for 'Dega Cup race after bizarre qualifying session
Brian Vickers captured the pole in Saturday evening’s Sprint Cup Series qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway.
The bigger story of the event was the debut of the new qualifying format that NASCAR introduced for superspeedway tracks. Drivers and crew chiefs alike were extremely upset with the new rules, specifically splitting the field into two groups in the first round.
“This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen," Kevin Harvick said of the new format. Other drivers voiced their opinions on Twitter:
What a mess lol..
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) October 18, 2014
I am usually not very vocal about these things but that was pretty silly.
— Josh Wise (@Josh_Wise) October 18, 2014
17 @StenhouseJr misses the show. Unreal.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) October 18, 2014
The qualifying here is silly, but at the end of the day all drivers have the same rules to adhere to and we r the ones pushing the gas pedal
— David Ragan (@DavidRagan) October 18, 2014
When each group’s five-minute round began, most cars elected to stay on pit road until the last minute, then headed out onto the track for a one and done lap. This didn’t go as planned, as cars were either left hanging from the draft, or couldn’t get their cars up to speed.
Because of this, some big names finished at the back of the field, and three drivers failed to qualify for the race: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Allgaier, and Joe Nemechek.
| Pos. | No. | Driver |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 55 | Brian Vickers |
| 2 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 3 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney(i) |
| 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski |
| 6 | 95 | Michael McDowell |
| 7 | 33 | Travis Kvapil |
| 8 | 5 | Kasey Kahne |
| 9 | 32 | Terry Labonte |
| 10 | 7 | Michael Annett # |
| 11 | 31 | Ryan Newman |
| 12 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 13 | 20 | Matt Kenseth |
| 14 | 23 | Alex Bowman # |
| 15 | 99 | Carl Edwards |
| 16 | 21 | Trevor Bayne(i) |
| 17 | 43 | Aric Almirola |
| 18 | 41 | Kurt Busch |
| 19 | 13 | Casey Mears |
| 20 | 27 | Paul Menard |
| 21 | 38 | David Gilliland |
| 22 | 26 | Cole Whitt # |
| 23 | 49 | Mike Wallace(i) |
| 24 | 16 | Greg Biffle |
| 25 | 34 | David Ragan |
| 26 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose |
| 27 | 10 | Danica Patrick |
| 28 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 29 | 40 | Landon Cassill(i) |
| 30 | 3 | Austin Dillon # |
| 31 | 1 | Jamie McMurray |
| 32 | 83 | JJ Yeley(i) |
| 33 | 15 | Clint Bowyer |
| 34 | 66 | Michael Waltrip |
| 35 | 98 | Josh Wise |
| 36 | 36 | Reed Sorenson |
| 37 | 14 | Tony Stewart |
| 38 | 11 | Denny Hamlin |
| 39 | 4 | Kevin Harvick |
| 40 | 22 | Joey Logano |
| 41 | 18 | Kyle Busch |
| 42 | 42 | Kyle Larson # |
| 43 | 24 | Jeff Gordon |
| DNQ | 29 | Joe Nemechek |
| DNQ | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| DNQ | 51 | Justin Allgaier # |
Here's your starting order for Sunday:
# = rookie, (i) = not eligible for points