TALLADEGA, Ala., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Stacy Compton won his second straight pole at Talladega Superspeedway Friday and will start in front at Sunday's NASCAR Winston Cup EA Sports 500.
Compton put his Dodge Intrepid on the pole late in the qualification session with a lap at 185.240 miles per hour. Compton also won the pole for April's Talladega 500, but finished last in the 43-car field after suffering an engine problem early in the race.
"Poles here came by a lot of hard work from the team and Dodge, (engine builder) Ernie Elliott and all the guys in the motor shop," Compton said. "We came and tested in the spring. We didn't come back for this race. We made some changes and we felt like we were going to be a little bit better for qualifying. This morning in practice, that's pretty much all we had.
"We felt like we had a shot at the top five. (Crew chief) Chad Knaus and the guys made some decisions to make some changes after practice. It paid off. We got a lucky draw, too. We got a late draw and it cooled down a little bit and maybe the motors made a little bit more horsepower. Everything sort of went in our favor today."
Compton's run knocked Bobby Hamilton off the pole. The Chevrolet Monte Carlo driver will start second after running a lap at 184.438 mph.
"We were happy with that," Hamilton said. "We didn't think we'd run that quick. To end up second is pretty neat. You don't do a lot here as a driver. It's all about the bodies on the car and all the work in the engine shop. I'm pretty happy that we qualified second because I like watching the Budweiser Shootout. I'm telling you, if we get the pole, it's for the guys because I never want to be in the Budweiser Shootout. But, if we would it, I would have been happy for the guys."
Hamilton was referring to the Budweiser Shootout, a race that pits the pole winners from the previous season in NASCAR Winston Cup racing and is held in February the Sunday before the Daytona 500.
Hamilton won April's Talladega 500 at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Sterling Marlin, another Dodge driver, will start third after a lap at 184.058 mph.
Johnny Benson Jr. was the highest-qualified Pontiac driver at 184.019 mph and will start fourth followed by Dodge's Bill Elliott at 183.942 mph.
Dale Jarrett was the highest-qualified Ford driver and will start 10th.
Jeff Gordon, who enters Sunday's race with a 334-point lead over Ricky Rudd in the battle for the Winston Cup title with six races remaining, will start 11th. Rudd will start 23rd.
