Michael Waltrip was one of a number of drivers who needed a good qualifying run Saturday in order to make the field for Sunday's UAW-Ford 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway. Waltrip didn't just turn in a good qualifying run. He had the best one of the day, posting a fast lap of 189.070 mph to capture his first NEXTEL Cup pole since June, 2005.

"I felt confident yesterday that we would make the race. I really didn't think about the pole," Waltrip said. "The two runs I got in the final practice were both wind-aided. We didn't really know what we had. Our qualifying lap, the car actually went faster than it had when I got the drafting help in practice."

The top 10 is filled with drivers who entered this week outside the top 35 in the point standings, meaning they were not guaranteed a spot in the 43-car field and had to make it on speed.

Dave Blaney qualified second with a speed of 188.838 mph, followed by Brian Vickers in third (188.779), Joe Nemechek fourth (188.471) and NEXTEL Cup rookie David Reuitmann fifth (188.459).

Former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve, who is making his NEXTEL Cup debut in Sunday's race, qualified sixth (188.215). The top 10 is rounded out by John Andretti in seventh (187.798), Bobby Labonte eighth (187.284), Kasey Kahne ninth (187.258) and Elliott Sadler 10th (187.119).

Most of those drivers had their cars set up specifically for a qualifying run, as opposed to the drivers who were guaranteed a spot in the field and went with the race setup that will be needed in the draft. "It's not like we had a choice. We had to make qualifying runs," Reutimann said. "We'll just see what we have for the race. I hadn't even thought about the race until now."

Blaney agreed that the drivers who were not guaranteed a spot in the field had to worry only about qualifying and not be overly concerned about race day.

"Our car had been pretty solid in practice, so we were fairly confident we could run a lap good enough (to qualify), but it was so close, you just couldn't be sure," Blaney said. "We wanted to do a little drafting yesterday (during practice), but you just couldn't do it. All the go-home speeds were so close, you had to keep concentrating on that. "I hope it doesn't hurt us tomorrow. But we had to do first things first, and that was make the race."

Among the 12 drivers who are in the Chase for the Championship, Tony Stewart will start 11th, Martin Truex Jr. 13th, Denny Hamlin 18th, Jimmie Johnson 19th, Jeff Burton 21st, Clint Bowyer 23rd, Matt Kenseth 25th, Carl Edwards 31st, Jeff Gordon 34th, Kyle Busch 36th, Kevin Harvick 37th and Kurt Busch 41st.

Even the drivers who will start near the back will likely be able to work their way through the pack and have a shot at the victory Sunday. But Waltrip said he and the other top-10 qualifiers will be contenders as well.

"I'm definitely ready to go," Waltrip said. "We tested down here a couple of weeks ago and got our cars as good as we wanted it, and then I went out and got in the draft and I was able to drive to the front of it and ride around in the middle of it and I was happy.

"I told my guys last night, 'If we can get in, we can win.' We did, so now it's up to me to show them that at least we have a chance to win. Who knows who will win, but I at least think we will be able to race for it."

Race fans wishing to attend the UAW-Ford 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race tomorrow are urged to get tickets now, as there is a very limited amount left for purchase. To purchase tickets, call 1-877- Go2-DEGA, log onto www.talladegasuperspeedway.com, or visit one of our ticket booths on site - - including the main Talladega Superspeedway Ticket Office located on Speedway Boulevard at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.