Rudd has Talladega pole spot Sunday

He had to beat out Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to get it.
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- Ricky Rudd gave the Wood Brothers team its first pole in 20 years, taking the top spot Friday in qualifying for the NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.
To get it done, Rudd had to beat the intimidating DEI tandem of Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
They have won 10 of the last 13 races at Talladega and Daytona, the tracks where NASCAR slows the cars with carburetor restrictor plates.
Rudd, in his second season driving for one of NASCAR's oldest teams, turned a fast lap of 191.180 mph in his Ford. Then he then sat and waited for the Chevrolets of Waltrip and Earnhardt -- both among the fastest in practice -- to take their shots.
Waltrip to start second
Each came up short. Waltrip, who won here last fall, starts second Sunday in the Aaron's 499. Earnhardt qualified third.
Waltrip, just two spots below Rudd in the 46-car qualifying line, had a lap of 190.974. Earnhardt, one of the last drivers in line, hit 190.336.
"We did watch pretty hard in the transporter after our run," Rudd said. "Of course, Earnhardt was our biggest concern, but we dodged that bullet."
Neither of the DEI drivers appeared very disappointed to come up short.
"It's anybody's game in qualifying and, like Michael, I'm just glad to have a good starting spot for Sunday," said Earnhardt, who won four straight races here before Waltrip broke his string last fall.
"My goal is to finish 1-2, whether it's me out front or Junior," Waltrip said. "Of course, I'd rather be in front."
29th pole win
The pole was Rudd's 29th and first since June 2002 on the road course in Sonoma, Calif. The last pole for the Wood Brothers, by Buddy Baker, came 630 races ago, on March 18, 1984 in Atlanta.
Rudd was surprised it had been so long since the Wood Brothers won the most recent of their previous 118 poles.
"When I started racing, that team won a lot of poles," Rudd said. "I think it was automatic at Charlotte with David Pearson. I'm just glad to be a part of it."
With constant passing and numerous lead changes a hallmark of Talladega racing in the restrictor-plate era, Rudd acknowledged starting from the pole probably won't make much difference once the green flag flies.
Still, he was still thrilled with his first pole here in 55 tries and to have something positive happen for a team that has struggled in 2004 and is 30th in points.
"Everybody comes here and it's easy to say, 'Oh, we didn't win the pole but we've got a good car and we're going to do good in the race.' I've had to say that way too many times this last year," Rudd explained. "But, now, we can say, 'We've got a fast car,' and, hopefully, we can say it's a winning car in the race, or has a chance to win.
"It's a fast race car and you've got to have a fast car to run at Talladega."
Nemechek takes fourth
Joe Nemechek was fourth at 190.109, followed by rookie Scott Riggs at 190.019, Mark Martin at 189.906, Dale Jarrett at 189.872, Jimmie Johnson at 189.661, Sterling Marlin at 189.522 and Ward Burton at 189.406.
Jeff Gordon, like Earnhardt a six-time plate-race winner, will start 11th. Rusty Wallace, who broke a 105-race winless string last Sunday in Martinsville, Va., will start 32nd.
Eric McClure, a 25-year-old rookie driving for the team owned by his uncles and his father, qualified 35th for his first Cup start.
Kerry Earnhardt, Dale's older half-brother, qualified for his second Cup start and first since 2000. Driving for Richard Childress, the owner of his late father's car in six of his seven championship years, Kerry qualified 36th.
Last year's pole winner, Jeremy Mayfield, was 38th this time, qualifying at 187.838.
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