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Qualifying Recap: Allstate 400

By Brian Polking
July 26, 2009 7:45am CDT

Rain delayed qualifying for the Allstate 400 for more than four hours, but not even the heavy showers could cool off two of the hottest drivers in NASCAR. Coming off his win at Chicagoland, Mark Martin picked up his first career pole at the Brickyard. Meanwhile, Juan Pablo Montoya completed the front row as he looks to become to first driver to win both the Allstate 400 and Indianapolis 500.

It was Martin's fourth pole of the season and 45th of his career, which ties him with Buck Baker for 10th all-time. The last time Martin has captured four or more poles in a season was 1996. As for Montoya, the last time he qualified on the outside of the front row at Indy, he went on to finish second as well.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. delivered a surprise third-place effort to earn his first top-10 start of the season. Bill Elliott qualified fourth to lead the go-or-go-homers while David Reutimann rounded out the top five. Brian Vickers and two-time race winner Tony Stewart were next followed by Kasey Kahne and 2007 pole-sitter Reed Sorenson. Clint Bowyer completed the top-10 qualifiers.

Some notable names struggled during qualifying, including Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards. Gordon will start 22nd while Edwards will roll off 41-st after spending the afternoon traveling back and forth from Indianapolis Motor Speedway to O'Reilly Raceway Park. Kurt Busch struggled as well and will start 40th.

Starting Lineup

POS CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR SPEED TIME BEHIND
1 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet Carquest / Kellogg\'s 182.054 49.436 Leader
2 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target 180.803 49.778 -0.342
3 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Amp Energy / National Guard 180.567 49.843 -0.407
4 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft 180.357 49.901 -0.465
5 0 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron\'s Dream Machine 180.216 49.94 -0.504
6 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 180.112 49.969 -0.533
7 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Old Spice / Office Depot 179.964 50.01 -0.574
8 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 179.867 50.037 -0.601
9 43 Reed Sorenson Dodge Valvoline 179.809 50.053 -0.617
10 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Cheerios / Hamburger Helper 179.773 50.063 -0.627
11 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Little Debbie / Kingsford / Clorox 179.763 50.066 -0.63
12 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M Pistonz Ear Plugs 179.712 50.08 -0.644
13 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Guitar Hero 179.709 50.081 -0.645
14 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Office 179.684 50.088 -0.652
15 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1 179.404 50.166 -0.73
16 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe\'s / Kobalt Tools 179.354 50.18 -0.744
17 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet Haas Automation 179.308 50.193 -0.757
18 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot 179.126 50.244 -0.808
19 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 179.026 50.272 -0.836
20 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Snickers 178.923 50.301 -0.865
21 12 David Stremme Dodge Penske Racing 178.919 50.302 -0.866
22 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 178.699 50.364 -0.928
23 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 178.045 50.549 -1.113
24 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 178.01 50.559 -1.123
25 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Dewalt 177.989 50.565 -1.129
26 82 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull 177.746 50.634 -1.198
27 7 Casey Mears Chevrolet Jack Daniel\'s 177.469 50.713 -1.277
28 98 Paul Menard Ford Johns Manville / Menards 177.417 50.728 -1.292
29 6 David Ragan Ford UPS 177.294 50.763 -1.327
30 187 Joe Nemechek Toyota NEMCO Motorsports 177.284 50.766 -1.33
31 96 Bobby Labonte Ford Ask.com 177.228 50.782 -1.346
32 7 Robby Gordon Toyota Johns Manville / Menards 176.974 50.855 -1.419
33 44 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge Hunt Brothers Pizza 176.936 50.866 -1.43
34 66 Dave Blaney Toyota Prism Motorsports 176.502 50.991 -1.555
35 34 John Andretti Chevrolet Taco Bell 176.346 51.036 -1.6
36 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies 176.218 51.073 -1.637
37 171 David Gilliland Chevrolet TRG Motorsports 176.17 51.087 -1.651
38 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Prilosec OTC / Wal-Mart 176.167 51.088 -1.652
39 36 Mike Skinner Toyota Guy Fieri Knuckle Sandwich 175.994 51.138 -1.702
40 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 175.428 51.303 -1.867
41 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 175.179 51.376 -1.94
42 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Best Buy 171.976 52.333 -2.897
43 8 Terry Labonte Toyota Carter / Simo Racing Champion\'s Provisional

Failed to Qualify

POS CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR SPEED TIME BEHIND
44 9 Sterling Marlin Dodge Miccosukee Resort & Gaming 175.723 51.217 -1.781
45 113 Max Papis Toyota GEICO 175.346 51.327 -1.891
46 175 Derrike Cope Dodge FlipnBags.com 170.765 52.704 -3.268