Regan Smith Qualifies 31st in Talladega

May 5, 2012

Regan Smith will start 31st in Sunday's Aaron's 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway. 

In Saturday's time trials, Smith's No. 78 Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet toured the 2.66-mile oval in 50.653 seconds at 189.051 miles per hour. 

"If you're going to start in the back it's best to do it at a superspeedway because in one or two laps you could be running up front," said Smith. "I am confident that our Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet will be running in the lead pack tomorrow. It's all about staying out of trouble and being in contention in the end."

Jeff Gordon captured the pole (191.623 mph). Rounding out the top-10 in order were: AJ Allmendinger, Marcos Ambrose, Aric Almirola, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Michael Waltrip and Matt Kenseth. 

Sunday's race will be televised on FOX, beginning with a 60-minute prerace show at 10:00 a.m. MT.