#10 Valvoline
Pontiac driver Johnny Benson will start 42nd Sunday for the
500-mile race at Talladega. Benson qualified 39th of
the 49 cars on the 2.66-mile Superspeedway. He will take the
sixth of the seven provisionals.
Benson said he was disappointed with the
speed but says it doesn't reflect on how the Valvoline
Pontiac will race on Sunday.
"Qualifying really doesn't matter much
here," Benson said. "We can be up at the front of the pack
pretty quickly on Sunday if the car is good. Tomorrow we get
to see what the new restrictor plate and shock rules will do
and that will give us a better indication of where we are.
Racing and qualifying are two different deals at this
place."
Benson practiced at 186.787 mph and
qualified at 186.33 MPH. Elliott Sadler won the pole.
Several regular cars missed the race including Todd Bodine,
Steve Park, and Kyle Petty. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s time was
disallowed because his rear quarter panel was too low and
failed post-qualifying inspection.
Benson and his teammates will practice
10:30-11:15 a.m. and 12:10-12:55 Eastern time on Saturday.
Starting Lineup
1. E. Sadler
2. McMurray
3. Johnson
4. Marlin
5. Gordon
6. Jarrett
7. Schrader
8. Mears
9. Elliott
10. Labonte
11. Stewart
12. Newman
13. Green
14. T. Labonte
15. Martin
16. Jones
17. Craven
18. Waltrip
19. K. Wallace
20. W. Burton
21. D. Green
22. Mayfield
23. M. Wallace
24. Andretti
25. J. Jarrett
26. Fittipaldi
27. Nemechek
28. Skinner
29. Raines
30. Harvick
31. Spencer
32. Keller
33. Rudd
34. R. Wallace
35. R. Gordon
36. Foyt
37. Kenseth
38. Earnhardt
39. Busch
40. J. Burton
41. Biffle
42. Benson
43. Blaney
Missed Race
Petty
Lepage
Leffler
Bliss
Steve Park
Bodine
