Toyotas will be starting up front in Sunday's UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

For the first time in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup history, it will be an all-Toyota front row after Michael Waltrip scored the Bud Pole for the 188-lap race after turning a lap of 189.070 mph in his NAPA Auto Parts Camry.

“Obviously it’s more important to me that we have all three cars in than I’m first,” Waltrip said. “It’s a bonus to me that I’m first, but us having all three in the first eight is very gratifying. We did not sacrifice our race chances by the way we qualified."

Dave Blaney will start outside the front row in the Caterpillar Toyota ahead of the Team Red Bull Camry of Brian Vickers.

Joe Nemechek in the Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet qualified fourth with David Reutimann, piloting another Toyota, rounded out the first five.

Former Formula One and CART champion Jacques Villeneuve will make his Cup debut on Sunday after qualifying a sensational sixth with a lap of 188.215 mph in the no. 27 Bill Davis Racing Toyota.  He proves that a washed up F1 and Champ Car driver can come right into NASCAR and qualify a 100% throttle no talent required Cup car with a lot of Toyota power right up near the front.

The next five spots were also recorded by drivers that needed to qualify on time, but only the top eight made the show. AJ Allmendinger, Boris Said and Scott Riggs, who qualified ninth through 11th, respectively, will not start due to the idiotic NASCAR top-35 guaranteed starting spot rule.

Meanwhile, the cars of Penske Racing's Kurt Busch and Roush Fenway Racing's David Ragan failed postrace inspection for being too low in the front. Their times will be disallowed, forcing them to start at the rear Sunday.

Sunday's UAW-Ford 500 is slated for a 2 p.m. (ET) green flag. 

Quotes Top-3

MICHAEL WALTRIP, No. 55 NAPA Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 1st Did you think you were going to be on the pole? “I felt confident yesterday that we would make the race. I really didn’t think about the pole. The two runs I got in the final practice were both wind-aided. We didn’t really know what we had. Our qualifying lap was faster than what we ran in practice. If I only had to worry about my car, I would’ve been happier. But, I had to worry about Dale (Jarrett) and David (Reutimann) making the race, too. It is more important for me to have all three cars in. For me to be first is a bonus. To have all three cars in the race is very gratifying.” Can you talk about the car you brought here to Talladega? “All the boys that worked on this NAPA Camry just did a great job. When we tested here, we drafted a little bit, and then we worked on our car for speed for two days. After that, we got back in the draft, and I liked my car best then. This is not a qualifying setup. It’s ready to go. We concentrated on qualifying more than the others, so I know that’s why we’re faster than them at this point, but this car is ready to go.” How is your car going to be in the race? “I’m ready to go. We tested down here a couple of weeks ago and we got our car as good as we wanted it speed-wise. After that, I got in the draft and was able to drive to the front and ride around in the middle of it and I was happy. I told my guys last night that if we made the race, I think we can win. Now that we did, I have to show them we at least have a chance to win.”

DAVE BLANEY, No. 22 Caterpillar Camry, Bill Davis Racing Starting Position: 2nd How hard has your team worked on its superspeedway program since the beginning of the year? “There are different circumstances this time, since we’re racing the COT and have a different restrictor plate. The engine guys definitely did a great job. We’re happy with it. We thought we could come here and qualify pretty good and we did. Hopefully it will race good. The times were so close between the ‘go-or-go home’ guys, that we didn’t get a chance to work in the draft in practice. I’m sure we’ll have to work on the car all day Sunday.” How big of a focus is the top-35 in points for the team? “That’s the number one focus right now, to get in the top-35 in points, so we don’t take a chance of missing the race every week. The more times we’re out, the more chance of missing we have. Obviously, we’d like to be in the top-35 after this weekend, but the ultimate goal is to be in the top-35 after Homestead. For me, the sooner the better.”

BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Camry, Team Red Bull Starting Position: 3rd How has the team improved its superspeedway program from the beginning of the year? “The team has been working so hard at it. The COT program definitely helped catch us up to everyone else. Toyota came back with more power, and that always helps. The people at Team Red Bull just built a great car. Obviously the hard work has paid off. We had a good test here and practice was good yesterday. So far, we feel pretty good about it.” Can you talk about your qualifying lap? “I just had to hit my shifts and hold it wide open. I’m so proud of these guys. Everybody at Team Red Bull and on the 83 car did a great job. This car is pretty good. We’ve caught up a little bit on the COT compared to where we were with the older car.”

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