Yes He Kahne

June 20, 2008 11:00pm CDT

Glancing at the past two years' qualifying statistics, it would seem that starting from the front would not make much difference. After all, neither of those races was won by someone who started inside the top 10. Yet history offers a different opinion.

In 2006, Jeff Gordon started 11th and went on to victory at Infineon Raceway. Then last season, Juan Montoya started all the way back in 32nd and managed to take the checkered flag. That was the first time anyone had ever gotten into victory lane after starting lower than 13th.

The thing to remember is that the feat, while remarkable, was accomplished as much through fuel mileage as driving prowess. It also marked just the second time in the track's history that consecutive winners have qualified outside the top-five. From 1992 to 2005, the winner's average starting position has been slightly higher than third.

Not everyone will have to put much thought into the statistics. It was a short but tough outing for Dario Franchitti. Just when he was expected to be a real fantasy gem, he missed the show. At least he will have some company. Scott Riggs, J.J. Yeley and Brandon Ash will be watching the race off the track as well.

Pole
#9 Kasey Kahne
92.15 mph

The Kahne train kept rolling Friday evening, but fantasy owners will want to bottle their enthusiasm for now. Sunday will be the third time in five races that he has started from the front row. The good news is that he won on the other two occasions. The bad news is that, despite qualifying second at Watkins Glen International in 2006 and sixth and eighth in his previous two attempts at Infineon, he has never finished higher than 14th on a road course.

Outside Pole
#48 Jimmie Johnson
92.40 mph

Last year, Johnson was forced to begin the Toyota / SaveMart 350k from 42nd position because his crew was caught "coloring outside the lines" on the No. 48 Chevrolet. Still, he performed admirably and finished 17th, which was respectable considering he passed 22 cars to get there. While he can't complain about his starting position, the last time he qualified second at Infineon, he went home a disappointing 36th in 2005.

Third
#2 Kurt Busch
92.01 mph

Busch left a little to be desired on the road courses last year, especially when he was expected to have won at least one of those races. Things are looking a little better than they did this time last year, though. For the past three years, he tends to finish close to where he starts; in 2005, he qualified sixth and went home third, then he started from the pole and cruised to a fifth in 2006, and last year he began his day 14th and ended it 22nd.

Fourth
#43 Bobby Labonte
91.84 mph

Could this be an omen? The last time Labonte qualified this high on either road course was in 2001. On that June afternoon in Sonoma, he started fourth and brought home a seventh-place finish. Since then, he has had just one top-10 at Infineon and it has been five years since he did that. His last two results there have been 35th and 33rd, both earned after starting from the top half of the field. So don't pencil him in for a top-10 based strictly on his qualifying run.

Fifth
#24 Jeff Gordon
91.92 mph

What Gordon did last year was a testament to his road racing abilities. Like Johnson, Gordon had to start from the rear of the field for adjusting his COT more than NASCAR allowed. So he began 41st and made his way to seventh by the end of the afternoon. It is rare for him not to qualify inside the top-10 at Sonoma. Of his 11 top-10s at Infineon, only two came after he started outside the top-10, and that counts last year's back-of-the-pack beginning.

Sixth
#19 Elliott Sadler
91.84 mph

As usual, when one Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge qualifies well, so does another. This will be Sadler's career best starting position at Infineon and his best this year since he held the outside pole at Phoenix International Raceway in April. Unfortunately, his engine expired and left him 41st on that day. Don't count out Sadler's road racing abilities; he has just one career finish lower than 22nd at Sonoma and has a four-race top-20 streak at the track.

Seventh
#21 Marcos Ambrose
91.82 mph

The Australian filled in quite nicely in the No. 21 Ford. The Wood Bros. were sitting in 43rd in the owners' points with no guaranteed starting position, so they desperately needed a good qualifying run. Ambrose gave them that in just his first career attempt at Infineon. Coming from the V8 Supercar series, he is accustomed to road racing. Earlier this year in the Nationwide Series, he started fourth and finished second in Mexico City and might have won last year in Montreal if he had not been crashed by Robby Gordon.

Eighth
#7 Robby Gordon
91.73 mph

A top-10 would be great for Gordon, but don't think he will settle for anything less than the win. The man known for his aggressive driving is a great choice on a road course. Last year, he started from the outside pole and led the most laps on the day. If the final pit stop had not been under green-flag conditions with some cars taking the fuel gamble, he might have earned a top-five. Instead, he limped home 16th.

Ninth
#12 Ryan Newman
91.52 mph

This all seems very familiar. Last year, Newman qualified ninth. Once race day came, he struggled with the No. 12 Dodge and took a disappointing 20th home for his trouble. Hopefully he will be back to his 2006 form. On that day, he qualified fourth and nearly pulled off a victory before settling for second. Overall, things look good for the Penske Racing South Dodges. After Sam Hornish Jr. qualified 17th, all three teammates get to start from inside the top-20.

10th
#16 Greg Biffle
91.45 mph

Biffle's top-10 qualifying runs tend to happen on even-numbered years. His two previous top-10 starts were sevenths, one earned in 2004 and the other in 2006—so it was not terribly surprising that he found himself close to that mark in 2008. Lately, it has not mattered where he qualifies. He finished fourth in 2006, and then was fifth last year after qualifying 17th. What's even better is that he has three top-10s in his last four road racing starts.

Starting Grid