Qualifying: Earnhardt Jr takes it

"I was really surprised to do what we did," said Earnhardt Jr. "It does more for me and my team than it really appears as far as confidence. We wanted to finish this season well and we had been struggling. This helps out a lot."

Earnhardt Jr knocked Mark Martin off the top spot and the Roush Racing ace, who is still looking for his first win this year, will start second after running a lap at 190.463mph.

"We've made some significant progress," said Martin. "But we have areas we need to strengthen and will continue to work on those."

Dave Blaney qualified his Dodge third on the grid at 189.896 mph. He, too, is looking for his first victory. Blaney's team mate, Ward Burton, was fourth in a Dodge at 189.792 mph followed by Chevrolet's Michael Waltrip.

Jeff Gordon will clinch his fourth Winston Cup title if he finishes 32nd or better in Sunday's race. He qualified 24th while closest rival Ricky Rudd, who enters the race 305 points behind Gordon with two races remaining, qualified 37th.