NASCAR Talladega starting lineup 2012: Kasey Kahne leads qualifying for Sunday’s race

They say qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway has nothing to do with the driver and everything to do with the car, but you won’t find Kasey Kahne complaining about that.

Kahne won the pole on Saturday for the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500, his third pole of the season and the 25th of his career – but first ever on a restrictor-plate track.

“We’ve tried for a long time to win one here, and it just shows how awesome that car is,” Kahne said. “We have some fast cars this weekend.”

Ryan Newman was second, followed by Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle. Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Trevor Bayne, Martin Truex Jr. and Sam Hornish Jr. rounded out the top 10.

Other Chase drivers included Dale Earnhardt Jr. (12th), Matt Kenseth (15th), Jimmie Johnson (17th), Kevin Harvick (21st), Brad Keselowski (22nd) and Denny Hamlin (23rd).

Bowyer, who qualified third, was surprised to qualify so well and said it will change his strategy for Sunday’s race.

“I’m blown away, shocked that we’re top three,” Bowyer said. “We haven’t been qualifying very good on these restrictor-plate tracks, and today, it definitely caught me off guard.”

Only 43 cars showed up to Talladega, so none of the drivers missed the race. Among the qualifiers was Timmy Hill, who will be making his second Sprint Cup Series start.

Here is the starting lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway (Chase drivers in bold):