Sadler Storms to Pole at Bristol

Sadler's lap was fractionally quicker than Dave Blaney, who will start on the outside of the front row, ahead of former masters of the track Rusty Wallace and Jeff Gordon, who misses his first front row start in Bristol for seven years.

"This is a very special place," Sadler smiled afterwards. "I haven't had a pole in a long time, and I really wanted this bad. I can't think of a better place than Bristol, and I feel like I already won the race."

With five hundred miles to be run on the 0.533 mile circuit, there are a lot of laps to be run before he can make that feeling a reality.

Bristol is the last race where the selection of the top 35 teams, which are guaranteed entry into the starting field, takes into account results from last year. Kevin Lapage qualified 41st - if only his 2005 results counted he would have qualified for the race, but instead he was shut out of the field.

Taking his place instead will be current sensation Carl Edwards, despite setting no time after spinning on the inside wall at turn 2 before taking the green flag. "I was thinking about the lap, not thinking about warming up my tires," he later ruefully confessed. "I don't think there was anything on the track, I was just too aggressive. Unbelievable."

Qualifying Results, Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway:

Pos Driver               Make        Time (sec) Speed (mph)

1. Elliott Sadler Ford 15.022 127.733 2. Dave Blaney Chevrolet 15.056 127.733 3. Rusty Wallace Dodge 15.103 127.048 4. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 15.113 126.964 5. Travis Kvapil Dodge 15.114 126.955 6. Jeff Green Dodge 15.156 126.603 7. Ryan Newman Dodge 15.164 126.536 8. Jeremy Mayfield Dodge 15.164 126.536 9. Greg Biffle Ford 15.168 126.503 10. Kasey Kahne Dodge 15.168 126.503 11. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 15.173 126.462 12. Brian Vickers Chevrolet 15.180 126.403 13. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 15.191 126.312 14. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 15.192 126.303 15. Sterling Marlin Dodge 15.199 126.245 16. Terry Labonte Chevrolet 15.207 126.179 17. Jamie McMurray Dodge 15.216 126.104 18. Bobby Hamilton Jr. Chevrolet 15.227 126.013 19. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 15.235 125.947 20. Ricky Rudd Ford 15.235 125.947 21. Dale Jarrett Ford 15.241 125.897 22. Mike Wallace Chevrolet 15.241 125.897 23. Stanton Barrett Chevrolet 15.255 125.782 24. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 15.263 125.716 25. Matt Kenseth Ford 15.272 125.642 26. Kurt Busch Ford 15.281 125.568 27. Michael Waltrip Chevrolet 15.297 125.436 28. Scott Riggs Chevrolet 15.307 125.354 29. Jimmy Spencer Dodge 15.312 125.313 30. Ken Schrader Dodge 15.316 125.281 31. Casey Mears Dodge 15.350 125.003 32. Shane Hmiel Chevrolet 15.356 124.954 33. Scott Wimmer Dodge 15.356 124.954 34. Mark Martin Ford 15.360 124.922 35. Hermie Sadler Ford 15.364 124.889 36. Jason Leffler Chevrolet 15.394 124.646 37. Kyle Petty Dodge 15.402 124.581 38. Carl Long Chevrolet 15.426 124.387 39. Bobby Labonte Chevrolet 15.442 124.258 40. Kyle Busch Chevrolet 15.448 124.210 41. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 15.503 123.770 42. Mike Bliss Chevrolet 15.590 123.079 43. Carl Edwards Ford no time Did not qualify: Johnny Sauter Dodge 15.454 Kevin Lepage Dodge 15.481 Robby Gordon Chevrolet 15.576 Brad Teague Ford 15.752 Randy LaJoie Chevrolet 15.858