As is usual in the era of NASCAR impounding the cars following qualifying for three of the four restrictor plate races each season, the top dogs in qualifying for Sunday's Amp Energy Drink 400 at Talladega Superspeedway aren't the normal ones.
In fact, one would have to look back 11 spots to find the first driver who's an eligible entrant in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Travis Kvapil, though, isn't too worried about, as he scored the top spot in Saturday's session in his No. 28 Robert Yates Ford. To his outside, Hendrick Motorsports' Casey Mears -- who has Nationwide Series driver Brad Keselowski standing by for Sunday's race in case Mears' girlfriend goes into labor -- will start second.
Aric Almirola, Regan Smith, and Paul Menard finish out the Top-5 with a heavy Dale Earnhardt Inc. accent.
Some names that generally don't find the Top-10 including Mike Wallace, Joe Nemechek, and Tony Raines will start 6th-8th, respectively. Brian Vickers and Martin Truex round out the Top-10.
Carl Edwards will start 11th and will fill that spot as the top Chase qualifier, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. next in 15th and Jeff Burton in 17th.
Numerous Chase drivers fill in the field lower than 30th with Matt Kenseth starting 31st, Tony Stewart in 34th, Clint Bowyer in 35th, Denny Hamlin in 36th, and Kyle Busch 37th. Kevin Harvick starts 39th as the deepest Chaser, but with the way Talladega allows drivers to move so easily through the field thanks to the draft, Harvick will have as a good a shot to win on Sunday as anyone.
Sam Hornish Jr. and Patrick Carpentier will both be heading home after failing to qualify.
