NASCAR at Talladega 2016 Qualifying Results: Race Order, Final Times, Reaction

Sunday's Hellmann's 500 from Talladega Superspeedway will cut the field from 12 drivers to eight in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. 

On Saturday in qualifying, Martin Truex Jr. took the pole and will lead the field:

Rank	Driver	Best Time
1	Martin Truex Jr.*	49.508
2	Brad Keselowski*	49.523
3	Matt Kenseth*	49.568
4	Chase Elliott *	49.574
5	Greg Biffle	49.585
6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	49.623
7	Kurt Busch*	49.682
8	Denny Hamlin*	49.717
9	Austin Dillon*	49.829
10	Paul Menard	49.843
11	Trevor Bayne	49.865
12	Reed Sorenson	50.855
1st Cut
13	Carl Edwards*	49.841
14	Kyle Busch*	49.865
15	Ryan Blaney	49.865
16	Joey Logano*	49.872
17	Jimmie Johnson*	49.952
18	Ryan Reed	49.953
19	Alex Bowman	49.972
20	Ryan Newman	50.014
21	Tony Stewart	50.146
22	Kevin Harvick*	50.197
23	Jamie McMurray	50.296
24	Kyle Larson	50.357
25	Brian Scott	50.393
26	Aric Almirola	50.399
27	Kasey Kahne	50.429
28	Casey Mears	50.465
29	Regan Smith	50.483
30	Danica Patrick	50.495
31	Landon Cassill	50.503
32	AJ Allmendinger	50.529
33	Chris Buescher	50.602
34	Michael McDowell	50.727
35	Matt DiBenedetto	50.823
36	Clint Bowyer	50.913
37	Michael Annett	50.938
38	Bobby Labonte	51.108
39	Jeffrey Earnhardt	51.273
40	David Ragan	51.385

It was Truex's 11th career pole and fourth of the season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and provided a huge step toward securing his place in the Chase's top eight. Starting up front on Sunday will present Truex with a great opportunity to rack up some points, as he's currently in sixth place:

He managed to put on such a solid performance despite having parts seized during an impromptu inspection. 

Truex spoke about his day with NASCAR on NBC:

Just two drivers were safe for the Round of 8 entering Saturday. Jimmie Johnson punched his ticket two weeks ago with a win at Charlotte, and Kevin Harvick joined him after he took the checkered flag at Kansas. 

With the pressure off, Johnson qualified for 17th, while Harvick will go 22nd. 

With four drivers set to be cut, starting positions and stalls on pit road will be important to keep seasons alive, especially with things being so tight near the cut line. 

Joey Logano is tied with Austin Dillon for the No. 8 spot with 3,045 points, but Logano has the last spot because he has recorded a victory this season. 

Denny Hamlin is just six points behind them in 10th place, while Brad Keselowski is seven points adrift in 11th. 

Chase Elliott has the most work to do, as he'll have to make up at least 25 points. He enters Sunday's race with 3,020 points. 

Logano did not make the second round of qualifying, though, as he will start Sunday's race in 16th. That won't make things any easier for him to hold onto his spot. 

Dillon, who's tied with Logano in eighth, will start in ninth, while Hamlin is one spot ahead of him. 

Keselowski has the best spot of those beneath the cut line, as he'll start in second. His time of 49.523 was just 0.015 seconds behind Truex's. 

With Chase spots on the line, expect a number of aggressive runs Sunday from a majority of the postseason drivers. In such close quarters on the Talladega track, that means there is going to be plenty of drama, especially during the final laps. 

Stats courtesy of NASCAR.com.