NASCAR Cup

Nemechek scores first 2004 pole at Talladega

Joe Nemechek grabbed the Bud pole at Talladega Superspeedway in the No. 01 Chevrolet with a lap of 190.749 mph. This marks Nemechek's first pole of the 2004 season, and the seventh of his career. Joe Nemechek. Photo by Todd ...

Published: Oct 2, 2004, 5:34 PM

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Joe Nemechek grabbed the Bud pole at Talladega Superspeedway in the No. 01 Chevrolet with a lap of 190.749 mph. This marks Nemechek's first pole of the 2004 season, and the seventh of his career.

Joe Nemechek.

Photo by Todd Corzett.

"This is great," said an elated Nemechek. "This team works so hard, and to come here and get a result like this. I couldn't be happier. What a great effort by this whole team."

Ricky Rudd charted the second quickest time with a lap of 190.609 mph in the No. 21 Woods Brothers Ford.

"I thought we had a real shot at the pole," said Rudd. "But it's great to get an upfront start here at Talladega."

Dale Jarrett was third, lapping the 2.5-mile superspeedway with a lap of 190.374 mph.

"We knew in practice that we had left a little bit out there," commented Jarrett. "We did some work on the car and, really, everything we did was to make it drive better and handle better in the race. Starting up front is nice. It's a good boost for the guys."

Scott Riggs and point leader Jeff Gordon complete the top five.

"I just hope the race is caution free and we get out of here in one piece," commented Gordon. "You have to be patient here, every position counts so much, it's easy to become impatient.

"We're going to work hard and battle for every spot."

The DEI powerhouse cars of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Michael Waltrip were uncharacteristically slow for a restrictor plate race track. Earnhardt was ninth quickest with a lap of 189.481 mph, while Waltrip posted only the 13th fastest time with a lap of 189.354 mph.

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