 Although forty-eight drivers were entered in the qualifier; according to NASCAR's qualifying procedure, only forty-three could race. Each driver ran two laps, with the starting order determined by the competitor's fastest times. Reutimann clinched his second pole position in the Sprint Cup Series, with a time of 28.344. He was joined on the grid's front row by Jeff Gordon. Matt Kenseth qualified third, Ragan took fourth, and Paul Menard started fifth. Kahne, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Johnson and Joey Logano rounded out the top ten qualifiers. The five drivers who failed to qualify were Joe Nemechek, Scott Speed, Jeremy Mayfield, Todd Bodine and Scott Riggs. After the qualifier Reutimann said, "We had a great car all day, right off the truck. This pole reminds me of how much things have changed for me in the past few years. I didn't make the field here two years ago, during a bad time in my racing career."
