Truex, Kahne an unlikely front row for AMS Cup race

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Martin Truex Jr. got the pole, but Kasey Kahne got what he needed in Saturday's qualifying session at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

With a lap at 184.149 mph, Truex will start from the top spot in Sunday's Pep Boys Auto 500 at the 1.54-mile race track. For Kahne, who qualified second at 183.497 mph, the front-row starting spot provides a boost of confidence for a driver fighting to hold onto one of the 12 positions in the Chase.

Pep Boys Auto 500

Race Lineup

Pos.	Driver	Make
1.	Martin Truex Jr.	Chevrolet
2.	Kasey Kahne	Dodge
3.	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet
4.	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet
5.	Kyle Busch	Toyota
6.	Kurt Busch	Dodge
7.	Mark Martin	Chevrolet
8.	Brian Vickers	Toyota
9.	David Stremme	Dodge
10.	Denny Hamlin	Toyota

• Complete Lineup

Qualifying Video

• Truex wins second '09 pole
• Kahne on front row at AMS

Jimmie Johnson (183.358 mph) will start third beside teammate Jeff Gordon (182.994 mph). Kyle Busch, currently 13th in the Cup standings and 34 points behind Matt Kenseth in 12th, qualified fifth at 182.771 mph. Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Brian Vickers, David Stremme and Denny Hamlin will start from positions six through 10, respectively.

"We unloaded with the car and kind of struggled for a little while, but we learned some things, worked on them through practice, and then we had a half-hour break and made a lot more changes, and the next practice the car just really came to life," said Truex, who won his second pole of the season and the third of his career.

"I felt real good about the car. I was happy with it, but when we made some qualifying runs, it was just OK. We made some more changes, and right there at the end I got pretty happy with the car, but we were out of tires, so we weren't really sure what we had."

After a disappointing 28th-place finish Aug. 22 at Bristol, Kahne is 11th in the standings, with a 52-point cushion over Kyle Busch.

"I felt I could have got a little bit more in the middle of [Turns] 3 and 4 back to the start/finish, but I still don't think I would have went as fast as Truex," Kahne said. "He ran a great lap, but it'll be nice to start on the front row. It's a big race for us [Sunday] night. We've got to figure out how to gain some points.

"I look at [Sunday] night as going for it, running as hard as we can, bringing the car home in one piece, getting all the points we can. And hopefully it handles, and things go right."

Notes: Erik Darnell, making his Cup debut Sunday, was slowest of 46 drivers Saturday but will start the race 42nd on an owner points provisional. Bobby Labonte, the driver Darnell supplanted in the No. 96 Ford, qualified 25th in the No. 71 Chevrolet. David Gilliland, unseated by Labonte, posted the 17th-fastest time in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford. Regan Smith, Patrick Carpentier and Tony Raines failed to qualify for the 43-car field. Terry Labonte got in on a past champion's provisional and will start 43rd.