He was followed by Jimmie Johnson, David Stremme, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth who rounded out the top five.

In qualifying itself, newly formed Gillett Evernham Motorsports looked to turn its season around with an all GEM front row.

Of note, Michael Waltrip Racing placed two of its cars in the top 15 although Dale Jarrett failed to make the show.

Kurt Busch, driving a Dodge Charger, held off the Chevrolet Monte Carlos of Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, under a green-white-checkered finish, to take his second win in three races.

For the first time in the brief history of Toyota in the Cup Series, two of its drivers finished in the top 10 in the same race: Blaney and Brian Vickers (8th).