Nemechek leads way at Talladega for first pole

EA Sports 500 Lineup After Friday qualifying; race Sunday At Talladega Superspeedway Talladega, Ala. Lap length: 2.66 miles (Car number in parentheses) 1. (01) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 50.202 seconds, 190.749 mph. 2. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 50.239, 190.609. 3. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 50.301, 190.374. 4. (10) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, 50.318, 190.310. 5. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 50.463, 189.763. 6. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 50.466, 189.752. 7. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 50.477, 189.710. 8. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 50.486, 189.676. 9. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 50.526, 189.526. 10. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 50.538, 189.481. 11. (02) Hermie Sadler, Ford, 50.539, 189.477. 12. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 50.542, 189.466. 13. (30) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 50.562, 189.391. 14. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 50.572, 189.354. 15. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 50.597, 189.260. 16. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 50.631, 189.133. 17. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 50.636, 189.114. 18. (43) Jeff Green, Dodge, 50.645, 189.081. 19. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 50.662, 189.017. 20. (11) Ricky Craven, Chevrolet, 50.672, 188.980. 21. (25) Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 50.676, 188.965. 22. (33) Kerry Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 50.679 188.954. 23. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 50.697, 188.887. 24. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 50.709, 188.842. 25. (99) Dave Blaney, Ford, 50.724, 188.786. 26. (77) Brendan Gaughan, Dodge, 50.729, 188.768. 27. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 50.799, 188.508. 28. (0) Ward Burton, Chevrolet, 50.804, 188.489. 29. (22) Scott Wimmer, Dodge, 50.814, 188.452. 30. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 50.826, 188.408. 31. (06) Chad Blount, Dodge, 50.914, 188.082. 32. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 50.916, 188.074. 33. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 50.928, 188.030. 34. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 50.949, 187.953. 35. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 50.966, 187.890. 36. (31) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 50.967, 187.886. 37. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 50.977, 187.849. 38. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 51.020, 187.691. 39. (32) Bobby Hamilton Jr., Chevrolet, provisional. 40. (4) Jimmy Spencer, Chevrolet, provisional. 41. (09) Mike Wallace, Dodge, provisional. 42. (98) Larry Gunselman, Ford, provisional. 43. (1) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, provisional. Failed to Qualify 44. (51) Kevin Lepage, Dodge, 51.346, 186.499. 45. (27) Kirk Shelmerdine, Ford, 51.577, 185.664. 46. (46) Carl Long, 53.327, 179.571.

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- "Front Row Joe" is back on top. Finally.

Joe Nemechek took his first pole in four years and the seventh of his NASCAR Nextel Cup career Friday, earning the top spot for the EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

"We've been right on top of our game," said Nemechek, who got his No. 01 Chevrolet around the steeply banked 2.66-mile at 190.749 mph. "You know, it's about the car in qualifying. The car has got to be right and the engine has got to be right.

"When the race comes, that's when the driver makes a difference."

Nemechek, who earned his nickname with six Cup poles from 1997-2000, shook his head when reminded his last pole came at this track on Oct. 13, 2000, 133 races ago.

"That's a long time," Nemechek said. "They're just so hard to get. The competition's so tough. But we've been so close this year, doing a good job. We've had two outside poles and I felt like this was close."

Ricky Rudd was second in a Ford at 190.609, followed by Dale Jarrett's Taurus at 190.374 and the Chevy of Nemechek's rookie MBV/MB2 Motorsports teammate Scott Riggs at 190.310.

The rest of the top 10 was made up of drivers who are part of NASCAR's new 10-driver, 10-race playoff-style championship.

Series leader Jeff Gordon, winner of NASCAR's last two races at Talladega and Daytona, the two tracks where NASCAR requires horsepower-sapping carburetor restrictor plates, had a solid fifth-place run. That set up his chance to match the late Dale Earnhardt on Sunday as the only driver to win three plate races in a season.

Gordon will go into the race, the third in the championship showdown, with a one-point lead over Kurt Busch, who qualified eighth on Friday at 189.676.

In between, were Elliott Sadler at 189.752 and defending series champion Matt Kenseth at 189.710, with Jeremy Mayfield ninth at 189.526 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounding out the top 10 at 189.481.

The other title contenders were farther back in the 43-car field, with Jimmie Johnson 16th, Mark Martin 17th, Ryan Newman 19th and Tony Stewart 30th.

Some drivers have talked about Sunday's race being a pivotal one, but Gordon says they're all going to be tough.

"In the next eight races, I think every lap is going to count and every position is going to count," Gordon said. "We're pretty happy with that qualifying run. We'll just get the car out there in the draft tomorrow [in practice] and, hopefully, it will be real strong for the race."

The younger Earnhardt, who has won four of the last five races at Talladega and finished second to Gordon here in April, said qualifying doesn't mean too much at a track like this, where cars race two- and three-wide in huge packs and move up and back through the field as the race progresses.

"There is only one thing that's seriously important to me and the team today, and that's getting a good pit stall for the race," Earnhardt said. "You don't want a bad pit stall. It's so hard to get on and off pit road here. It's important to qualify well so you can choose a good pit stall."