NASCAR at Talladega 2015 Qualifying Results: Race Order, Final Times, Reaction

It's the last race of NASCAR Sprint Cup's contender round of 12 drivers in the chase. Four more drivers are set to be cut after the CampingWorld.com 500 from Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, but first, the race order had to be set with qualifying on Saturday.

Jeff Gordon took the pole at Talladega in a dominant showing on Saturday, beating the second-place Kasey Kahne by two-tenths of a second. Here is NBC Sports' announcement of Gordon's pole victory:

Gordon has owned the superspeedway circuit this season. He failed to gain the pole on just one occasion at a superspeedway, and that's because it was rained out. It is the fourth overall pole this season that Gordon has won.

Here are the qualifying results and race order of the entire field courtesy of NASCAR.com.

Start	Driver	Time
1	Jeff Gordon*	49.234
2	Kasey Kahne	49.453
3	Jimmie Johnson	49.467
4	Matt Kenseth*	49.468
5	Dale Earnhardt Jr.*	49.575
6	Trevor Bayne	49.674
7	Kevin Harvick*	49.720
8	Denny Hamlin*	49.737
9	Ryan Blaney	49.743
10	Joey Logano*	49.746
11	Brad Keselowski*	49.820
12	Tony Stewart	49.845
13	Paul Menard	49.749
14	Kurt Busch*	49.792
15	Carl Edwards*	49.792
16	Kyle Busch*	49.824
17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	49.880
18	Ryan Newman*	49.891
19	Greg Biffle	49.915
20	Danica Patrick	49.924
21	Sam Hornish Jr.	49.940
22	David Ragan	49.943
23	Kyle Larson	49.946
24	Jamie McMurray	49.981
25	Aric Almirola	50.002
26	Austin Dillon	50.009
27	Michael McDowell	50.077
28	Casey Mears	50.096
29	Clint Bowyer	50.109
30	JJ Yeley	50.146
31	AJ Allmendinger	50.179
32	Timmy Hill	50.246
33	Michael Waltrip	50.338
34	Cole Whitt	50.358
35	Bobby Labonte	50.449
36	Matt Dibenedetto	50.528
37	Alex Bowman	50.549
38	David Gilliiland	50.570
39	Justin Allgaier	50.631
40	Josh Wise	50.744
41	Landon Cassill	50.885
42	Travis Kvapil	50.889
43	Martin Truex Jr.*	0.00

It's a great spot for Gordon to be in, as he'll start at the top of Sunday's race while sitting sixth in the Chase standings. A solid showing in the CampingWorld.com 500 will all but ensure him a spot in the next round.

Things were a bit different in qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway. There were only two rounds of qualifying and it was not done in groups. Instead each driver took the track alone was allowed just one timed lap. 

There were also some new rules in place for superspeedways, including that drivers are now not allowed to cross down under the double yellow line during their runs. 

Martin Truex Jr., who currently sits in eighth place in the Chase standings, was burned by the new rule as his run was erased after crossing under the line. He'll start the race in 43rd as he has to stay within the top-eight if he wants to move on to the eliminator round. 

He spoke with NBC Sports shortly after learning that he'll be starting at the back of the pack:

Truex will have some work to do just to catch the nearest chase driver. Ryan Newman, who sits in 10th in the standings, will be starting in 18th. 

Technically, there are only seven spots available because Joey Logano clinched his spot in the eliminator round of eight after picking up a win at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 11. 

He'll be starting Sunday's race in ninth in what seems to be a pretty stress-free weekend.

The same can't be said for Justin Allgaier, who received the brunt of a Clint Bowyer mistake. With a new transmission on the superspeedway, Bowyer mistakenly backed up into Allgaier's car, damaging the nose. 

Motorsport.com's Lee Spencer shed some insight on the situation:

Allgaier, who had to scramble just to get his car on the track, will be starting in 39th position. Bowyer will be 10 spots ahead of him in 29th. He seemed remorseful after qualifying:

Elimination racing will always bring some of the best finishes of the NASCAR season. Expect drivers still in the Chase to race rather conservatively early on. But as the day progresses, they'll get more and more aggressive. 

Once drivers start going all-out for the positions that will get them into the next round, that's when the fun really begins.