Qualifying washout puts Jimmie Johnson on pole; withdrawal puts Regan Smith in race
Track-drying procedures are conducted on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
TALLADEGA, Ala. - NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying has been canceled because of rain at Talladega Superspeedway, giving Jimmie Johnson the pole position for Sunday's Amp Energy 500.
Regan Smith would have been the only one of 44 drivers missing the race but the No. 37 Front Row Motorsports team with driver Tony Raines withdrew Saturday afternoon, allowing Smith to take the final spot in the field.
Smith would have missed the race because his Furniture Row Racing team had attempted to qualify for the fewest races among the teams scheduled to make a qualifying attempt.
Joining Johnson on the outside of Row 1 will be Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin. Hendrick's Jeff Gordon, Stewart-Haas Racing's Tony Stewart and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's Juan Pablo Montoya complete the top five in the field that was set according to the NASCAR rule book.
Qualifying was scheduled to begin at 12:15 p.m. EDT, with the Truck series race scheduled to follow at 4 p.m.
It rained at the track overnight and the National Weather Service predicts an 80 percent chance of rain today, mostly before 2 p.m. EDT.
With temperatures in the low 60s and a strong breeze, it likely will take at least two hours to dry the 2.66-mile oval. The Truck race likely would need to begin by 5:30 p.m. EDT to be able to get the entire 250-mile race in before darkness. If the Truck race gets rained out, it would be run on Monday.
The forecast for Sunday is for sunny skies with a high in the upper 60s.
